Make the Most Out of Your Resume Follow-up Letters

In this challenging job market, it is important to maximize every opportunity you have to market yourself.  That is why a targeted resume follow-up letter is such a key component of your job search arsenal. Here are  tips for making the most out of your resume follow-up letter:

Reassert your interest.  This is the basic premise of a follow-up letter.  Regardless of the “texture” you add, at its core, the letter needs to clearly communicate your continued interest a position or the company (or, better yet, both).

Highlight something you learned.  Keeping an eye on the companies in which you are interested is a very smart strategy (LinkedIn makes this especially easy).  In doing so, you may notice that a company recently earned praise, reached a milestone or announced exceptional earnings.  By tactfully praising them for this, you show that you are engaged and paying attention to the company’s success.

Share a recent achievement.  Did you recently earn an award or blow-away quarterly profitability targets?  The resume follow-up letter is a great place to share that new achievement.  Don’t forget to take the time to also update your resume and LinkedIn profile with your new accomplishment as well.

The resume follow-up letter is an outstanding way to reengage potential employers, set yourself apart and enhance your candidacy.  Seize that opportunity and certainly take the time to make the most out of it; you could be surprised at just how effective a follow-up can be.