writing a speculative cover letter?

I'm one of those people who is educated in a ridiculously small field but with few relevant skills for any "real world" job (too educated to enter at the bottom, not enough experience to start at the top). As a result, I have been applying primarily to companies without advertised vacancies in the hopes that they might discover that I possess some vital and relevant skills that solve a previously undiscovered fatal flaw in their business plan.

Generally I begin my cover letters something like this:

dear mr.****:

As you are head of department ***, I would like to inform you of my interest in applying for a position as ***** with your company, ****. My CV, attached, will provide an overview of my extensive experience and relevant education. I believe myself to be an excellent candidate for employment with company **** because your vision statement closely mirrors my personal career goals.

Of course, each letter is different, but thats the jist. A short introduction, an invitation to look at my CV, the reasons why I'm perfect for a job, why the company is the only place I'd ever consider working, and finally a plea to call me and offer me loads of money.

But what I want is a better first sentance. Something that really draws the reader in. Up until now all I've ever been able to come up with (that doesn't sound too gimicky) is some version of what I've listed above. I know it's not great, but I don't know what is better. When applying for a specific job it's easy because you can talk about the job in question. But with speculative cover letters, I don't know that any jobs are available so I don't want to tailor my introduction too specifically for fear of marginalizing job offers I hadn't previously considered.

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

Reply 1

lawrence4

I would say the first sentance is spot on. You don't want to waffle, get straight to the point as sonn as possible.

Reply 2

tcelina

OP

1

hum...thanks lawrence4. But I'm not convinced. I'm sure I'm missing some perfect lead-in that will forever change the way I write speculative cover letters...

Or perhaps more precisely, I'm looking for a way to change the way I write ONE speculative cover letter which subsequently gets me the best job in the whole entire world so that I never have to write another cover letter in my life.

Job hunting SUCKS.

Reply 3

Peach

9

I'm not sure about saying 'I am writing to inform you of my interest'. It might be better to start with more of a query 'I am enquiring as to whether there are currently any (insert type of position you are looking for) vacancies within your organisation/company?'. Then say why you are particularly interested in working for that specific company etc.

Also, I would leave the part about your CV until the end of the letter. You could say 'My CV is attached/included for your further information and consideration'.

Hope this helps a little :smile: