Cover letters are your first sales
pitch to a potential employer. Remember that employers receive
hundreds of resumes and cover letters from people that are applying
for the job you want. Your goal is to stand out from the other
candidates. A good cover letter introduces you to the employer
and explains why you are one of the best candidates applying
for the job. The following are guidelines to help you create
a cover letter that stands out from the crowd.
1. Proofread your letter for errors and tone before you mail
it. Writing like a professional assumes
that your letter contains no spelling, typing, or grammatical
errors. Job applicants are frequently disqualified because of
such mistakes.
2. Address your letter to the person who
can hire you- hiring managers and department heads. Call the company and find out the name
and title of the person to whom to address your letter. It shows
initiative and resourcefulness, and will impress your reader
that you figured out a way to address him/her personally.
3. Send your letter to an individual, not
a company. Use their name and title, when available.
Do not guess gender when addressing a letter. Your goal is to
get your letter to the person who is actually doing the hiring
and for whom you would be working.
4. Write in your own words. Make sure that your letter sounds
like you, not like something out of a book. Your cover letter,
as well as your resume, should be an accurate reflection of
your personality. Employers are looking for knowledge, enthusiasm,
and focus.
5. Check out reference tools to help with
grammar, spelling, etc. Because it is so critical to be as
accurate and professional as possible with your cover letter,
don't hesitate to utilize the variety of reference tools that
are available to help you with grammar, spelling, and letter
writing.
6. Show you know something about the company
and the industry. This is where your research comes in.
Don't go overboard-just make it clear that you didn't pick this
company out of the phone book. You know who they are, what they
do, and you have chosen them.
7. Use terms and phrases that are meaningful to the employer.
Customize your letter as much as possible
to the needs of the employer. This requires that you think about
the company, their customers, and the work you see yourself
doing for them.
8. Be sure you include a return address and phone number.
Your return address includes your
street address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number
with area code.
9. Adapt a formal tone to your letter to promote yourself
as a professional.
Your letter should be as close to a business proposal as you
can get-not a plea for an interview. What do you offer that
is of value? What objectives can you help them achieve?
10. Downplay "I" and emphasize "you." Try to convert "I haves" into "you
wants" for the employer. What can you do for the organization
that will create interest and arouse a desire for an interview
with you?
11. Sound confident, but not cocky. If you meet all the stated requirements
for the job, spell this out in your letter. Accentuate the good
match between your skills and their needs. Doing so will emphasize
your viability as a candidate.
12. Make sure your letter provides readers
with some insight into you as an individual. Make your accomplishments, skills,
and background the subjects of your sentences, and emphasize
what these can contribute to your reader's organization. Use
concrete, specific language so that the reader gets a good sense
of what you have done and who you are.
13. Draft your letter in a way that shows
how you will fit into the organization. State who you are and what you want
in terms of what you can do for the company. Appeal to the interest
of your employer.
14. Structure your letter so that each part achieves a particular
goal. State the purpose of your letter in
your opening paragraph. Keep the letter organized. Decide on
the focus of your letter and ensure that all points reinforce
the topic.
15. Visually call attention to your qualifications by underlining
them, bolding them, or indenting them in lists with bullets.
You have to be careful with underlining
because the line is often printed too close to the word, and
reduces its readability. Use these kinds of emphasis sparingly
just to make the highlights stand out when the reader gives
your letter a quick skim.
16. Keep it short. Keep it simple and clean...not
cluttered. Use no more than seven lines, and preferably five
or fewer, per paragraph. Vary the sentence length. None of the
sentences should be very long, but you don't want a staccato
stream of very short sentences. One page is the maximum for
letters.
17. Demonstrate your skills. For any position, there are two types
of skills: core skills that any serious applicant will be expected
to have, and a much broader range of skills that would be useful
to the employer but go beyond the basic requirements. Having
the first kind gets you in the door; the second makes you stand
out from the competition.
18. Send original letters. Do not send copies that look mass-produced
and do not use form letters. Do not use dot matrix printers.
Do not hand-write your letter.
19. Keep the letter interesting. Your cover letter should cover two
important points: (1) what you can do for the company and (2)
what you can do to fill the company's needs. Most people miss
the most important point. They spend all the time telling about
themselves when they should be concentrating on how they will
benefit the company. That is what the employer will find interesting.
20. Include a copy of your resume. Remember that the one purpose for
a cover letter is to get your resume into the hands of the employer
and to obtain an interview. Don't forget to enclose a copy of
your resume.
21. Avoid vague statements. A letter that could be sent to any
employer merely by replacing the name of the company is called
a broadcast letter. It can be improved with more specifics.
22. Open with an attention grabber that generates interest
immediately. There are many ways to open your letter.
Whatever opening you use, get to the point quickly, but engage
your reader's attention. If you quickly focus on discussing
how you can contribute to the organization, you have a strong
opening.
23. Do not enclose a photo. Unlessyou are seeking employment
in modeling, acting, or other performance industries, it is
not appropriate to send a photograph with your cover letter.
An employer will see what you look like, should you reach the
interview stage. Until then, a photo will not help you get a
foot in the door.
24. Do not write in all caps. Do not justify right margins. The contents
and organization of your letter are the most important elements,
but presentation has an effect too. Be sure your letter has
a professional appearance.
25. Finish your letter with a request. The primary goal of your cover letter
is to get an interview. Be sure and ask for one at the end of
your cover letter. Be prepared to initiate the follow-up communication
yourself and let your prospective employer know you will be
doing this. This may be just enough to get them to hold onto
your letter and give it a more thorough reading.
