The T-letter

[James Barrow]

>Samuel Wright replied:
>>Shira Abel asked:
>>
>>...what is a T-letter?
>
><http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/employmentarticles/tletter.html>

A T-Letter seems to be the perfect cover letter for a recruiter.  In my
experience, most recruiters are unwilling or unable to the most basic of
word-searches, resulting in an often-asked question: "I have your resume,
but I don't see widget experience. When did you last use that?"

Seeing the job requirements in one column, and your matching experience in
the other takes care of the "10 second grab" that Gene spoke of.  In my
experience, direct hire positions - those in which I'm dealing with a
company's internal recruiter or HR - have been significantly slower paced,
allowing the interviewers involved the time to look through any number of
resumes of any length.

Recruiters, on the other hand, require a great deal of hand-holding:

"Can you send me a Word formatted copy of your resume?"
"There should be a copy on the web site for download"

"Can you do something to emphasize that you've had widget experience?"
"I can move those bulleted items to the top of the job description"

To me, a T-Letter is very impersonal and seems to fit the
recruiter/candidate relationship better than it does the client
company/employee.  If WidgetCo was seeking a tech writer, I'd much rather
send a cover letter that begins, "I've never worked aboard a submarine, but
I know people who have". ;^)

- Jim