Jamie Said:

Job Application: Cover Letters - avoid talking about yourself?

We Answered:

I've been a hiring manager for over 25 years and I will tell you that it is absolutely okay to use first person pronouns in your cover letter. In fact, it's impossible to write a good cover letter that sells your experience and accomplishments without using the words I, my, and me!

This doesn't bother hiring managers a bit - what we are interested in is your ability to convince us in the cover letter that you are qualified for the job. Here's the trick: always make sure that you are talking objectively about your experience and qualifications and how they relate to the specific position for which you are applying.

For example, if you're applying for a computer programmer position and one of the requirements is experience in .NET programming, you could say: "I have five years experience with .NET technologies and have designed and implemented four different transaction processing systems that reduced work time by 32%." This is not bragging or being self-centered. It's an objective statement of your experience and the results achieved from that experience.

Now, if you simply said something like: "I'm a great .NET programmer and can develop better than any other candidate you'll interview", that would be the WRONG way to use a first person pronoun. It makes unsubstantiated claims and comes across as merely bragging without anything to back it up.

See the difference? Go ahead and use all the I, me, and my words that you want - just make sure to use them to describe facts, not opinions.

Good luck in your job search.

Russell B.

Cassandra Said:

How can I learn to write better sales letters?

We Answered:

Tell the truth...have you ever made any money online?