How To Write Cover Letters That Get You Freelance Work। How To Write Cover Letters That Get You Freelance Work As an employer it can be quite difficult to understand why most freelance applications look identical, and why the standout freelancer is literally one in a hundred. Why does it appear that something so simple is missed by so many? The mystery does not get any less baffling when 90% of most applications are not even close to addressing what is initially asked for. There might be good reasons for this. A freelancer might put out 50 different applications hoping that 5 will bite. It is a numbers game for freelancers. However as an employer, I would never hire someone who has not even tried to reply to what I asked for. But I would consider almost anyone who replied to everything I asked for. Here is a short approach to writing cover letters that will catch an employer’s attention. Read the job ad carefully. By doing this you are already separating yourself from the rest. When you read the ad, try to grasp what is asked from several different angles. Firstly, read its immediate meaning. Secondly, read for what could be between the lines. What is the client really looking for? Thirdly, read to brainstorm a few ideas on how you could stand out from the rest. Brainstorm why you would be a good fit for the job. Focus primarily on coming up with reasons that are closely linked with what is asked for in the job ad. That way you immediately give the impression of having read the employer’s requirements and taken into account what they want. Secondly, focus on arguments linked to your personal skills and experience. Ideally, you should have this in template form, so you can cut and paste it into new projects as they come in. Create a list of common arguments. If you have experience sending out cover letters, then common arguments could be put in a simple list you can review for every cover letter. That way you can just take what you need. Ideally, the client should be able to read your cover letter, get interested, and find the evidence they need in your profile. Organize your brainstorm and list. Try to limit it to 1-3 points you would like to cover in a few paragraphs. You might notice that this can be a little hard to pick out just that few. Good. You want to be in a situation where you have lots of great arguments that need struggle for attention. Give preference to addressing the brief— maybe suggest how the work could be done or ask a question or two that you think are relevant to the assignment. Then in the end, refer to more evidence, in addition, to what you have already provided. Write your cover letter as a reply to the brief. As you progress, you can try to provide more detail to back up and give more depth to your arguments. However, at the same time, try to keep it simple. You should be able to point to 1–3 main reasons why you would be a good pick for the job. These reasons should also come out clearly in your cover letter by being indirectly referred to throughout. Try to make the cover letter informational as well as informal. If you struggle with writing, just keep in mind that all you are doing is answering one question: “Why should you pick me to do this assignment?” Finally make sure that everything the brief asks you to put in your reply is in your reply. Monitor the responses you get from your cover letters. In particular, try to test which elements you choose to include and how you construct your cover letters. You might notice that certain ways of writing your letters gets you more work. Try to make it a habit to test one thing every week. For instance, you could experiment with different first paragraphs—half of the applications could be with one paragraph and the other group could be with the other one. Adjust your formula. As you get more successful with writing cover letters you might notice that certain things work for you. However, that should not automatically be a reason to stick with one cover letter. Ideally, you should try to evolve beyond that. At least once a year, you should try to start over from scratch and look to add completely new arguments and try to integrate new evidence. This new evidence could be your latest test scores or the latest work you have available in your portfolio. Finally, a few words about bidding. If you get the above right, you will be able to get away with a higher bid. Generally speaking, your bid should be in proportion to your experience. If you have no experience, you should try to price yourself below average. If you have some experience, you can price yourself at average. If you have lots of experience, you can try to build a case to be charged over average. This should always be solidly argued, based on how you are able to deliver more quality or how you are able to reduce the overall end cost for the client. The end cost is a combination of financial cost paid by the client plus time and effort that the client puts into getting the assignment done. Case study The approach above can to some come across as being too structured. If that is you then here is an example of how a cover letter can be written by just reading the brief carefully. Your reply can instead aim at being a reply in a conversation where the clients brief was the first line. Below the bolded words in the brief are being picked up in specific sections that have been bolded in the reply. Brief: “My friend wants me to review and critique her resume, but I don’t have the time. Her resume appears to be in pretty good shape. She’s applying for a job within footwear and apparell.” Coverletter: Hi (Name) I am applying for your role improving your friends CV to better suit the footwear and apparell market. From your brief I noticed that you mentioned the resume appears to be in pretty good shape, so I do I understand you correctly that you just want to polish it to increase job chances and make it stand out in a pile of hundreds? Given that you are short of time I believe I can handle the project with minimum instructions within 1-2 hours. Also, if you need more help later with the actual application process I have also worked as a hiring manager with 15 years industry experience so I can also assist your friend with writing cover-letters that results in interviews and coach her throughout the process. I am available for interview now, and could have the resume delivered to you within 48 hours of your acceptance. Regards, (Name) Career Specialist Skype: firstname.lastname From: Bjarne Viken
Posted on: Thu, 15 May 2014 07:06:03 +0000
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