The American researcher Dr Rudolph Flesch found people are more likely to read writing if it contains two or three times more instances of “you” (and “your,” “yours,” and the reader’s name), than references to the writer (“me,” “I,” “our,” “we,” and the writer’s name).
Think of this when you are writing your next cover letter.
It’s not:
- I am an experienced…
- I am looking for…
- I hope to join an organisation that…
- I am hoping for X where I can…”.
Forget all that.
Instead try:
- Your advertisement indicated you are looking for…
- Your organisation can benefit by…
- The value proposition for your organisation is…
The reader doesn’t know you and therefore has nothing invested in helping you achieve what you want (even if you say it is in the company’s best interests to hire you). The company does have something invested in their own prosperity, image, longevity, growth and success.
Appeal to the company’s “Me Factor” rather than your own. Remember Radio WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) as that’s the station company decision makers are tuned into!
