How to Write a Cover Letter: 3 Effective Tips You Can Use and Tune Up for Great Results
Cover letters are important. Do not take it for granted that employers are only interested in your resume. Cover letters offer you the opportunity to get your own personal message across. The key here is to be short and straight to the point. Most employers are short on time. So make sure you keep a tab on the talk. And avoid getting into a short story about your family tree.
Every letter you write must be tailored specifically to that job of interest. You do your chances no good if you slap a general cover letter alongside your resume for all applications. Your cover letter is meant to perk the attention of the employer and get him to look at your CV. Here are 3 effective tips you can use and tune up your cover letter for great results.
Dear Who
If you go for the general ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ route what you are saying is that you are lazy and could not really be bothered with who you are sending an application.
Do not use a blanket approach if you can help it. Try to locate the hiring manager or employer online if possible. Google and LinkedIn have made things much easier. There is nothing better than scoring early points with your first words and showing that you have tried much harder than everybody else.
Want Work Why
Ensure that you state the name of the company that you wish to work and why. Do not go for the fluffy and tired approach about wanting to prove your skills or add value to the company. Human resource people have an uncanny way of knowing if you are just blowing a lot of bull. Their goal is to get people who really want to work for the company and not people just looking for a pay check. And they are very good at it.
Do your homework and look for genuine reasons why the company would be a perfect fit for you and your abilities. Furthermore, your letter should state what you bring to the table for the company and not what you are selling. This prods your prospective employers into wanting to learn more about you and reading your resume.
Write Clearly & Proofread
A cover letter is actually a writing skill test in disguise. So try not to disappoint. Remember that there are many job seekers jostling for very few jobs. And if you are not careful with your English, you get criss-crossed out. Even if you have a better looking resume than other applicants.
Make sure you start off with a strong opening to draw in the reader and have him read your cover letter in entirety. Use short sentences and avoid big vocabulary. Each paragraph should not contain more than 4 sentences and your whole letter should not jump pass a single page.
Perform a spell check and proof read with eagle eyes. Get another pair of eyeballs to look at your cover letter if you can. Sometimes, your eyes can be deceiving and you might miss out some mistakes
