Tips on Writing a Cover Letter
Aside from your stunning resume, it is often the cover letter that spells the difference between getting that job you want and having to constantly look for other employment options. In other words writing a cover letter is equally, if not, more crucial than your template based resume. Writing a cover letter correctly can give your potential employer a pretty good first hand impression of your abilities.
Be concise but substantial
Although writing a cover letter may differ for a lot of writing experts, they all agree on being brief and to the point. It is therefore in the definition of conciseness that experts may disagree. For some a cover letter can be as simple as stating that you are applying for a job and that you have attached your supporting documents. Others would go on to advice that a cover letter should also state such details as what you are applying for, where you learned of the vacancy, why you think you would fit the position and how you can be contacted. Still others would advice persuasively selling oneself to the potential employer. Whatever the content and style however, writing a cover letter means not getting carried away. It may be all right to write a bit about your qualities but under no circumstances should you include your whole employment history. As a general rule, a cover letter should only be a few short paragraphs long and should not fill the whole paper.
Follow a format but remember to personalize
Hundreds of templates for writing a cover letter exist in books and the internet. Others suggest using these but other may also say that it is not original and may even be untruthful. If you are a beginner at writing a cover letter, the best thing to do would be to look for templates you like, study them and then make your own letter with your own words based on what you’ve seen. Remember to personalize and place the exact names of managers or people you are addressing your letter to. Avoid greetings that are too long-winded and sound as if you are writing to a member of a royal family. The important thing in writing a cover letter is that you come out as somebody who is sincere. You should also do your addressee a favor by picking formats that are easy on the eyes.
Use Your Common Sense
The most important thing about writing a cover letter is to use your common sense. If you know who you should address your letter to for example and his name is actually written on top, there is no sense in writing “Dear Sir/ Madam”. This is also the computer age so it is naturally understood that you should look for a way to get your hands on a computer where you should write your cover letter. Above all else, do not make errors in the name of your addressee, his position, the name of the company and especially not in the grammar and punctuation of your content.
