Cover Letter Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs
Music employers often receive 50, 100, or even 300+ applications for each job opening, making outstanding cover letters critical. With this kind of intense competition, search committees seek any excuse to purge a file and narrow the pool. Yet hopeful applicants make all kinds of mistakes that get their materials immediately thrown into the “no” pile: poor writing, typos, not addressing key points in the description, not supporting claims, overusing the word “I”, emphasizing the wrong points, etc.
Here are some of my all-time favorite disqualifying statements from cover letters. And what makes these errors so amazing is that every item on this list is absolutely true. You can’t make up this stuff!
1. If the chair of the search committee is named Dr. Shankovich, avoid beginning with “Dear Dr. Frankovich”.
2. Do not staple a photograph to the right hand corner of your letter, particularly if you’re a balding and overweight middle-aged man.
3. Your commitment to saving the environment is appreciated. But if you spill significant amounts of coffee on your letter, consider printing a new copy.
4. A strong design can make your letterhead stand out. But avoid fonts where the letters resemble hearts or appear to have blood dripping from them.
5. Reconsider replacing your cover letter to Dean Marianski with a hand-drawn cartoon including the quote bubble “I’ve always wanted to work with Merv. He’s awesome!!!!!”
6. While it’s critical to outline your philosophical take in a cover letter, some statements are best kept to yourself, such as “I believe music educators should not get married or have families because it shows a lack of commitment to the profession.”
7. Refrain from spending two paragraphs clarifying your time behind bars. (Save that for the interview.)
8. Here’s one that I made (ouch!!!) as a compulsive document saver. After my letter was finished and in perfect condition, I subconsciously saved a couple last times before emailing it off. But in my haste, “control” and “S” were pressed in the opposite order, adding two “s’s” to my document. This transformed the phrase “With a strong background in music theory pedagogy” to “With ass strong background in music theory pedagogy.”
9. Even if you are extremely famous, do not replace your letters of recommendation with the phrase, “For referrals, just talk to anyone in the music business.”
10. Do not conclude by writing “I believe my outstanding record of success and diverse profile make me the perfect candidate for Eastern Iowa University.” At least not when the application is being send to Yale.
64 Responses to “Cover Letter Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs”
Leave a Reply
DAVID CUTLER balances a varied career as a jazz and classical composer, pianist, educator, arranger, conductor, collaborator, concert producer, author, consultant, speaker and advocate. Dr. Cutler teaches at Duquesne University, where he also serves as Coordinator of Music Entrepreneurship Studies.
|
|
This web page is known as a walk-by for all the information you needed about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll positively discover it.
The aim of giving gifts would be to thank loyal clients; attract new prospects; show appreciation to employees; and honor executives or managers
Just thought you should considered adding extra videos to your weblog posts to hold the site visitors a lot more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire piece of yours and it had been very great but since I am more of the visual learner,I found that it would allow me know how it turns out! I appreciate what you guys are always up though.
Thanks for posting this blog for us. I will see to it that next time I follow the procedure mentioned by you and try for my jeans. Keep us informing more about it.
I’ve viewed many blogs and I can certainly tell that this one is my front runner .
Cover Letter Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs | the savvy musican blog | The Savvy Musician Blog alcmax usyqjub lbtiqc coach outlet howell mi coach factory coach handbags korea bjxibcl thivkvyr christian louboutin shoes victoria beckham louboutin outlet christian louboutin outlet free shipping xofreme zrbdg ugg ムートンブーツ ugg ブーツ ugg ムートンブーツ ktrxtkhg moncler 通販 モンクレール 店舗 moncler jp wcoivsom
wish you can write better and i like it so much
There are many reasons why companies continue to present pens as promotional gifts
I really like your article. It’s evident that you have a lot knowledge on this topic. Your points are well made and relatable. Thanks for writing engaging and interesting material.
Great blog, I am going to spend more time reading about this subject
Thanks , I’ve just been looking for info about this subject for ages and yours is the greatest I’ve came upon till now. But, what concerning the bottom line? Are you positive concerning the supply?
Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast! What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol
Dead composed written content, appreciate it for selective information. “He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak.” by Michel de Montaigne.
My dream retirement locale is Portugal! We have browse that it is THE place to retire in Europe due to a decrease than average cost of living , a large coastline (so it’s simpler to live close on the ocean), and significantly less citizenship/visa red tape.