Your Introductory Letter Should Elucidate Why You Want To Switch To Non–Legal Jobs: Here’s How?

Whilst resume are important, most interviewers consider the introductory letters more important. It doesn't take long and the letter tells you more about the person than the resume. Letters are personal. Resumes are cookbooks. The cover letter tells how badly the applicant wants the job by how much effort they put into the letter. If they work hard to get the job, they will work hard when they have the job.

Here is an example of an introduction letter written to a leading edge company in the computer software business. The writer recently graduated and a career in public relations interests her:


February 1,

Dear Ms. Mary:

May I help you as an associate public relations specialist?

I want to put my communications skills to work. I have recently completed law school course work designed to further develop my skills for a career in business. I participated in mock trial and moot court competitions throughout my entire law school career. In so doing, I have experienced representing a client to the public, both in the printed and spoken media, under the most adverse circumstances. My training included having experienced attorneys and actors coach me on improving my presentations and rapport with juries, clients, and audiences. Developing rapport is the essence of lawyering, and I want to bring this into my public relations career.

My formalized training includes business related courses giving me a solid foundation in contracts, agency and partnership, labor law, intellectual property, business organization, and employment law. I can relate to the issues that Leading Edge Company encounters conducting business because I have studied business from the issues confrontation perspective. This background understanding lets me think on my feet a little easier than most people in the field.

I want to be part of a ground-breaking software company. Your recent development of the XYZ software is quite exciting and puts Leading Edge ahead of its closest competitors, Alpha Corporation and Beta Company. The next step of informing and selling the public will be critical to your success. I can assist you in this important area.

I have enclosed my resume providing additional information. I will contact you, by telephone, on February 21 to discuss your interest.

Best regards,

Ellen

Let us use this first introduction letter as a guide.

Notice, first of all, that the introduction letter specifically mentions a job area-associate public relations specialist. Mary Employer does not have to guess what type of work Ellen wants to do.

Ellen specifically relates two of her strong points, communications skills and business structure knowledge, to the public relations job. She explains why these are attributes to a career in public relations and how she attained these skills through law school course work.

• She states she wants to work for Leading Edge because it is an innovative leader in the business. She keeps this from being an empty statement by citing their ground-breaking software.
• She shows her knowledge of the business by mentioning the XYZ software and Leading Edge's two competitors.
• She creates a need-informing and selling the public on XYZ software-and offers to fill that need.
• Ellen closes with a date on which she will contact Mary. This tells Mary that Ellen is serious enough about the job to take action.
• She encloses a resume to complement the introduction letter.
• Notice the overall positive and professional tone of the letter.

Notice how the introduction letter translates the legal experience into business expertise. You need to do this for the reader. Do not assume the employer knows what legal training entails. Translating is critical to your success.

Now let’s look at this sample introduction letter from a recent graduate seeking a job as a corporate trainer. William does not have any work-related experience. So, he can only utilize his law school experience to showcase his skills.

Ms. Samantha Employer

Dear Ms. Employer:

Are you in need of an assistant corporate trainer in light of Universal's recent expansion into the communications equipment manufacturing sector?

I want to put the communications and teaching skills I have developed in law school to work as a corporate trainer. I have recently completed my law school course work in which I concentrated on communicating difficult, and sometimes controversial, ideas to groups of people. Mock trial and moot court participation and various clinic courses in trial advocacy, client counseling, and negotiations seminars have given me the benefit of the experience of practicing attorneys to improve my presentations.
This intense training regime developed my communication and organization skills needed to effectively train employees in new skills.

My training also emphasized research and writing skills designed to effectively discuss and persuade through clear and concise writing. My writing project was a fifty-page paper requiring hours of research, and many further hours, to distill the information into informative and persuasive writing. Most of this research was computer-assisted so I have a working knowledge of computers I can demonstrate to others.

Universal has timed its expansion well to take advantage of the exploding growth in the communications sector. In order to capitalize on this expansion, your group will have to train and motivate the work force. I would like to help with that endeavor and believe I can assist your group.

I have enclosed my resume setting out additional information regarding my background and training. I will contact you, by telephone, on February 21 to discuss this further.

Best regards,

William's introduction letter effectively shows that he is aware of Universal’s activities by citing their expansion into communications equipment manufacturing. This shows Samantha that William has made an effort to understand Universal’s business. William creates, and then offers to fill, the need for training the work force to handle the expansion into communications equipment manufacturing. He cites the skills needed to be a successful corporate trainer. He explains how he acquired these skills in law school.

William's situation is very common. He is a law school graduate with little or no work experience. He does a good job making his law school experience fit the entry level corporate trainer position requirements.

Katherine, the next job seeker, is an attorney with a few years of solid work experience. She wants to change fields into management consulting. She starts with the following introduction letter.

Mr. Robert Employer

Dear Mr. Employer:

I want to apply my business skills and experience as an account executive for a consulting firm having a client base of fast moving, innovative companies.

I have been an associate corporate counsel for a medium size specialty steel products manufacturing firm for the past two years. I have been part of the negotiating teams involved with sales contracts of specialty pressurized steel containers both to domestic and international customers. The total value of these sales contracts was on the order of Si0 million.

On the other side, I have negotiated supply contracts with vendors for raw materials for feedstock in the steel-making process and for natural gas as fuel for the manufacturing plant. In so doing, I have become familiar with the manufacturing operations and financials. My interests, as a result of participating in these projects, have shifted into a broader business range. I believe my manufacturing experience will make me an asset to your consulting group.

Your consulting firm interests me because of your work with specialty mills, in particular with those that are exporting their products. I understand that your team helped American Specialty Steel Company land a large order with an Australian-based petroleum refiner in the process of expanding. My international experience includes working with Asian and southeastern European customers. I was on a project team responsible for a multi-million sale of specialty steel goods to Pakistan. Prior to that, I was on the team working on a turnkey arrangement to fabricate a specialty mini-mill in Thailand. I want to make the change into the consulting area where I can use my experience and add upon it.

I have enclosed my resume setting forth additional information on my background and experience. I will contact you by telephone on February 21 to discuss any mutual interest.

Best regards,

Notice how Katherine used specifics to describe her work experience. She used dollar amounts and mentioned the specific types of contracts and customers. This type of specificity helps the reader translate legal experience to business experience. Specificity helps Robert relate to Katherine. Again, we see the importance of research. Katherine's research told her about the American Specialty Steel situation. Robert knows Katherine is aware of what is going on in the business.

Your resume should accompany your introduction letter. The introduction letter interests the prospective employers enough so that they want to know more about you. Your resume is available to provide them with more information. Your resume extends your introduction letter. What this means is the resume, first and foremost, must not detract from the introduction letter. The resume must complement the introduction letter.

The introductory letter is your best bet to get the coveted interview. It is far more important than the resume.

See 6 Things Attorneys and Law Students Need to Remove from Their Resumes ASAP If They Want to Get Jobs with the Most Prestigious Law Firms for more information.

Resumes are only appendages to the letter and it is very important that you give it the due respect and understand its worth and value. The ideal letter summarizes succinctly and yet completely the candidate and what he stands for and can be the difference between getting the interview, and subsequently the job, or your resume ending up in the dustbin.