You know that you’d be perfect for that great job you saw advertised: Now you just have to get an interview! Write a great cover letter in professional business letter format and your chances of getting that interview will increase significantly.
How do you write a great cover letter? First, take the time to find out exactly who will be reading your cover letter. If the information is not apparent from the job advertisement, phone or email to ask who is in charge of hiring. Then address your letter accordingly.
Whatever you do, make sure you spell the person’s name, position title and address correctly and find out if they are a Mr. Mrs. or Ms. Your attention to detail in these matters shows initiative and will impress your potential employer.
Employers are looking for specific things, so make it easy for them to pick you! In your cover letter, briefly highlight your relevant education, experience and personality traits as they relate to the job posting.
Unless the advertisement specifically says “no phone calls”, phone the company and ask for a “Statement of Qualifications” or job description. These documents will give you extra information about what qualities are important to the company and you can then emphasize how you can meet those criteria.
Your cover letter is the place to highlight relevant skills, awards, and degrees you want the employer to notice. In business letter format, paragraphs are generally short and to the point. Bullet points can also help the employer take note of relevant information while skimming the cover letter.
You may want to use samples and templates when writing a cover letter. That’s fine, but you must customize each cover letter to the specific job opening. That way, you show the employer how you are the perfect fit for the job, and you let your winning personality come through!
Employers can smell a “canned” or copied letter from a mile away, and that will affect their impression of you. The employer wants to see that you have put care into your cover letter, as it is an indication of how much care you will bring to the job if you are hired.
There are many free professionally written writing templates at Barbra Sundquist’s site, including cover letter, testimonial and disclaimer examples to make your writing tasks much easier.