Recently I had the opportunity to give a seminar to the members of a professional association in the Boston area. It was great for me personally – networking at its finest, with a dozen of the top biotech company H/R executives in attendance. After my talk, I had a chance to circulate and ask my audience which issues were most important to them in a hiring decision.

Of course, I got the expected responses about a “fit for the open position,” and “a match with our culture.” However, when one of my contacts said that she looks for “an evidence of productivity,” everyone immediately latched onto that comment, agreeing that it is a major factor in the hiring process.

In other words, what you’ve accomplished in the past is the best determination of what you’ll be accomplishing in the future. “We look for people who have been productive in whatever environment they were in. If it’s an industrial scientist, we like to see significant project experience, or perhaps patents. For a person coming from academia, productivity means publications,” this H/R Director added.

Most resumes highlight plenty of accomplishments, and the CV format generally includes a list of publications. But there are reasons to believe that your goal of gaining an interview can’t be met by simply sending a resume or CV. That’s why I personally believe that you need to emphasize this productivity issue in your cover letter.

Did you know that cover letters are often read, while the enclosed resume or CV is simply skimmed?

Highlight Your Productivity

Many people believe that the cover letter is a throwaway, and that the resume or CV attached is what counts. While it is entirely true that the resume has to be well written and have good content, the cover letter's job is to point to the key selling points, and to make it more specific to that reader. Just like the cover of a magazine.

Can you imagine how much fun it would be to browse the newsstand if every magazine on the shelf looked alike? Instead, the cover builds interest and shows you what lies inside; it summarizes some of the key things that you will find there. But although a cover letter can have more content than a magazine cover, the difficulty remains keeping it brief.

Writing something that is powerful and yet succinct is the most difficult kind of business communications. While it's easy to go on and on in a company memo or an email, saying the same thing in half the space can make your work twice as powerful. Writing succinctly should be your focus when you are drafting the cover letter for your job-hunt package. The cover letter will be 3-4 paragraphs at the most, on one page. You’ll need to arouse the interest of the professional reader who spends an average of less than 2 minutes per resume submittal.

That’s not much quality time with H/R, is it!

Cover Letter Tips

You’ll find a number of tips for writing a good cover letter below. Before reading these, let me caution you that if you are using snail mail you will need to make certain that your multi-page CV has enough postage on it. Twice a week our company has to pay for postage that was shorted by people who didn’t put enough stamps on their envelope. What a terrific impression these folks make when someone has to pay the postage due on their application!

-While cover letters are often saved along with the CV or resume, sometimes they are separated and a manager ends up getting only the letter, or vice-versa. Make certain that all of your contact information is on both documents.

-If you are writing companies via regular mail, using personal stationery for the cover letter is a classy touch. Stationery is usually on high-quality cotton content paper, one size smaller than the 8.5” x11” size of the resume.

-Never try and save time by using a window envelope. Many a resume has gone into the accounting department because of this blunder. It also makes it look as if you have submitted a CV to every firm under the sun.

-Don’t use words that are uncomfortable for you or that you wouldn't use in conversation. As an example, “My resume is enclosed for your perusal” should probably read, “My resume is enclosed for your consideration.”

-While it is OK to use some “boiler plate” on every cover letter, don’t waste the opportunity to get your message fine-tuned to the job at hand. If you are writing to a company about a specific position that you know something about, mention how your previous experience can help with their need. Never use anything that looks like a “form letter.”

-Avoid creating what professional writers call “I-strain.” This refers to the constant use of the word “I,” which can get very tedious in a cover letter. After you write your letter, go through it to remove a few extra “I’s”. Instead of writing a closing comment like, “I can be reached after 7:00 PM,” you could make it “You can reach me any evening after 7:00 PM.”

-Three paragraphs makes a good format: the first paragraph can introduce who you are and where you work, the second paragraph refers to one of your most appropriate accomplishments, and the closing paragraph suggests some sort of action, or describes your availability to interview.

Final Thoughts about an Evidence of Productivity in the Cover Letter

The best kind of productivity to show in your cover letter is something that actually makes sense to the company you are writing. Henry Ford once said, “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get inside the other person's point of view and to see things from his angle as well as your own.”

That’s why you must specifically identify something in your background or in one of your achievements that best relates to the company's issues. Often the ad you are replying to is a give-away, and yet people neglect that important information. For example, if you are a process engineer and the ad refers to cell-culture bioprocessing experience, do not spend that important middle paragraph describing your previous experience with chemical reactions. Find the nearest evidence of productivity which matches the required experience.

Some people just don’t get how important this is. I recently spoke to a fellow who was having a great deal of trouble in the job market, and asked him if he had been customizing his cover letters. “You bet,” he answered. “I’ve changed the name and address at the top of every one of them.”


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About the Author:

David G. Jensen is a consultant with twenty years experience in Human Resources and Recruitment in Biotechnology. His company, CareerTrax Inc. (Sedona, AZ) works closely with companies and regions all over the globe to help them develop their biotechnology infrastructure. Prior to founding CareerTrax, Jensen was the CEO of the executive search firm Search Masters International, which was sold to Kelly Services in 2001. Contact Dave Jensen at (928) 282-5366 or via email at dave@careertrax.com.


© CareerTrax Inc., Sedona, AZ 2004