“First impressions last”. A lot of people say this and when it comes to job applications, this adage could not be truer.
Your cover letter serves as an important part of your job application because that will give a first impression to prospective employers. Now, if one expects to become a successful job seeker, he will want to know the different ways by which he could attract the attention of employers through cover letters. This also means that he has to avoid the common mistakes that a lot of people make when making cover letters.
There are a lot of myths surrounding the making of a cover letter which could then kill your chances of selling your skills to potential employers. There are also people who do not believe in the importance of the cover letter. As a job seeker though, you should make sure that you send in a resume with a cover letter, lest you want your resume to go into the employer’s trash bins.
Good cover letters should be able to draw attention to an applicant’s different strengths, as well as present information that could not be found in the resume. This could make an applicant “shine” among all the others.
There are even some employers that check the cover letter more than the resume when choosing which candidates to consider for the available positions. A cover letter does a lot more than simply introduce one’s resume, so it has to embody the person who sent the application.
It is also important for an applicant to research about the company. One has to know the name and the gender of the person who will be reviewing the resume. If unable to do so, a generic greeting such as “Dear Employer” is good. It is important not to assume the gender of the reviewer.
Also, it is encouraged that you do not make very short cover letters, especially when you have a lot to convey to the one who will be reviewing the resume. The cover letter should not be unnecessarily long though.
There are some people who might think that handwritten cover letters are better because they come off as having a more personal touch to them. This is actually false. There are times when employers are unable to read the handwriting, or worse, they might assume that the applicant is not as up-to-date as they want since they do not know how to use a computer’s word processor.
Cover letters should reflect a person’s strengths, but it does not mean that it is a venue where the applicant should talk about his or her personal life and his or her feelings. The applicant has to show the employer that he or she will be able to benefit from the asset that is the applicant. It is important to set one’s self apart from the other applicants through showcasing excellent, even unique, skills.
Cover letters are important because they can really help the person get the job (or ruin his chances, depending on the kind of cover letter he came up with).
