Have you ever believed in the power of words? A great chance to prove that it works is to write a cover letter. A cover letter is a perfect opportunity to tell your story as a bonus to your resume without duplicating information. In a cover letter you provide the reasons why you are interested in a certain position and describe your professional skills and achievements.
When in doubt whether to submit a cover letter with your resume, you’d better submit it: You contact a person you’ve never met before and make him/her interested in you, so even the shortest cover letter gives you an additional chance to get someone’s attention. To know how to write a cover letter is an advantage as you graduate from the university and take aim at getting a good job, but before that you have to create a great resume.
Please, check out the following recommendations, which will help you write a cover letter:
SIMPLICITY
The structure you should follow can be like this: opening line, work experience, accomplishments, meeting request.
ONE PAGE ONLY
Don’t let your employer get bored with your cover letter. Be concise and write to the point – one page is more than enough to tell about yourself.
GOOD STORY
Everyone applying for any position should know how to present themselves. It’s not hard to write a story about your professional skills and background – it’s hard to write a nice story. If you can tell about your life and work experience in an enjoyable manner, you are already on your way to success.
REWORDING
Before you send a resume and cover letter to your potential employer, thoroughly read the job description telling you what you should expect from the position and what is expected from you. Try not to use the same phrasing found in the job description – reword it, but never ever turn to writing false information about yourself to avoid unpleasant situations.
STYLE
Try not to be too official and avoid using too many introductory words or anything that don’t tell important details about your professional skills and knowledge. You can follow the writing style of a person you are contacting (e.g. HR). Also it’s going to be a plus to insert a little joke, if appropriate.
BEGINNING
Write what job position you want to obtain in the company and the company name. State a mutual contact (e.g. John Smith recommended I get in touch with you and apply for the product manager position). In this manner you can attract more attention than other candidates: You demonstrate that you have a certain relation to an employer and company you are eager to join.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Dedicate one or two sentences to describe your previous work experience. Do not waste time and space describing your previous work in detail, however, as this data should be included in your resume.
EXAMPLES
Name a few examples of your professional achievements, which can make your employer think that you are just the right person to work with.
CONCLUSION
In the last line, leave a short notice regarding a meeting and tell the recipient when to expect to hear from you.
proofreading
Spelling and grammar errors won’t do you any good, as they only distract the reader and spoil impression of a new candidate. Proofread carefully! Make your letter the best application letter!
As an example, you can use the cover letter provided by Kate Wendleton, a founder of the national career coaching organization:
Rachel Tepfer suggested I get in touch with you.
I am a seasoned financial services marketer at SanguineBank with a strong packaged goods background and extensive experience in product development and merchandising, branch management, electronic banking, and innovative distribution planning.
I created the SanguineBank Investment Portfolio, the bank’s first complete presentation of its retail savings and investment products, and developed successful ways to sell the SanguineDip account in the retail setting.
As an Area Director in the New York retail bank, I doubled branch balances in mid-Manhattan in only three years.
Most recently, I have been developing a set of PC-based fund-transfer products for SanguineBank’s Financial Institutions FISI +4.08% Group.
Prior to SanguineBank, I rebuilt the baby shampoo division for Johnson & Johnson and managed all bar-soap marketing at Lever Brothers.
A résumé is enclosed for additional background.
I am seeking to move to a new assignment that would take full advantage of my consumer financial services marketing experience, and am extending my search outside of SanguineBank as well as inside. Rachel thought it would be worthwhile for us to meet briefly. I’ll call in a few days to set up a mutually convenient time for us to meet.
I’m looking forward to meeting with you.
Do you have other good ideas of how to write “catchy” cover letters? Share them in the comments below or write your own cover letter template for job.
