The executive report is a completely different type of cover letter. It’s also an extremely effective tool to use anytime you become aware of a job opening from an online job posting, help ad, or personal recommendation. This type of cover letter gets straight to the point and makes it easy for the reader to determine your qualification level for your job title. Why should you send an executive briefing cover letter?
1. Directly match the requirements listed with the appropriate skills you have, which makes the assessment much easier for the reader.
2. The first CV reviewer in Human Resources may not have a complete understanding of the position or its needs, so an executive briefing directly matches the requirements of the open job with your qualifications. This is an extremely useful tool for someone working on dozens of job openings at the same time.
3. Your general resume will always require some customization for each specific job. The executive briefing allows you to fill any gaps in a concise and beneficial way.
4. Imagine that you have been presented with a great opportunity, but your resume is quite out of date and you need to submit something immediately to take advantage of this great opportunity. An executive briefing would allow you to easily update your work history.
An executive briefing can also help you through the selection of resumes and the cycle of multiple interviews. The reason for this is that you will likely be interviewed by several different people, and not all will likely fully understand the needs of the job. When this happens, that is when the difficulties begin.
A manager may ask an employee to “take a few minutes for this applicant and give me your impression.” This means that these other interviewers have no way to judge you fairly and expressly by the requirements of the job. While the manager will look for particular skills associated with projects, the personnel department will try to match their skill set with the list of job requirements in the job description manual.
Plus, by bringing multiple copies of your resume and executive briefing, carefully stapled, you ensure that everyone you interview has your specific job requirements and matching skills in a document right in front of them.
From: best_accountant01 @ yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Accounting Manager
Date: October 4, 2010
To: blsmith @ hatfield.com
Dear Mr. Smith,
I have ten years of accounting experience and am responding to your recent CareerBuilder post for an accounting manager position. Let me highlight my skills in regards to the listed requirements.
Your requirements
My experience
Bachelor of Accounting, 4 years of experience Graduated with a degree in Certified Accounting in 1999, and have more than four years of experience as an Accounting Manager.
Excellent leadership and people skills.
Efficiently managed a staff of 30; able to motivate staff, including supervisors
Compelling Administrative Skills Advancement Assistance for Basic Reference Skills Library with Microsoft Excel for 500+ Clients
Excellent communication skills New staff and supervisors were trained through technical skills conferences, daily training and communication meetings.
My resume, pasted below and attached in Microsoft Word, should detail my background and qualifications. I hope this executive briefing helps you use your time effectively today. I’m ready to make a career change, so I hope we can talk soon.
Sincerely,
Adrian brown
