Quick Cover letter/Letter of interest Question!

[sdsualumn]

So I have written and sent off a handful of cover letter/letters of interest within the past few months.

I know that you should do some research to find out who will be receiving the letter, and direct it towards them.

But my question goes a little deeper in that. I am going to be applying for this one big job within the next week or so. So, I want it to be good. The position is an assistant position within a certain department in a D-1 athletic program.

I know the name of the head guy. The guy that I will be working directly under and with on a daily basis. So, I know he will have a say in who gets to be his assistant. But, like all applications, you send it to the HR department. Should I direct the letter to someone in the HR or to the head guy?

what exactly does the hr do with the apps? do they pass it on to the specific departments, or do they actually decide who gets hired?

thanks.

[Usmivka]

Depends on the place. Where I used to work, the CV and application was a formality because the individual employers chose their new hires before even posting the job. Everyone had to apply through the online hiring system which was vetted by HR, but so long as you were remotely qualified they passed your app on to the person who posted the job, who would immediately send back the name they had already decided on for a rubber stamp. For actual open application processes where the hirer hadn't already identified someone in house (most state schools give preference to current state employees by law), then it tended to be straight up merits--but the the person who posted the job always got to see the full application if the applicant made it through the "minimum qualifications" screening at HR.

But writing a note to your prospective boss isn't generally what people mean when they say to "direct" a CV. I think a more common approach would be to rewrite your qualifications section to emphasize what experience and job skills you have that are immediately pertinent to the job description.

[sdsualumn]

thanks for the response.

but no, I mean when you start off the cover letter, it is advised not to put "To whom is may concern" or "Dear hiring managers". It is recommended that you put the name of the person hiring. So would I write it to the person in HR or the Head guy who is looking for an assistant?

[TropicalCharlie]

Since you know the name of the Head guy, address the letter to him but send it to HR. Include Re: xxx position, job #abc (usually jobs have a requisition number when posted to HR's site for most employers that utilize online recruitment). Most HR offices nowadays use a software that searches for key words based on the posted job description. This is another weeding tool companies use to separate qualified applicants from the rest of the pool. It would be very advantageous to write your qualifications and experience in a way that includes these key words.

[sdsualumn]

Thanks, I really appreciate it Charlie. I havent been putting "Re: XXX position" or the job req #. Maybe thats why i havent been hearing back from much place lol.

But I appreciate the help. I will definitely do that stuff.