Cover Letters are an exciting subject and there
is a lot of discussion all over the internet as to whether recruiters or
hiring managers will actually read a cover letter. My own advice is to
use a cover letter when your sending your resume directly to a hiring
manager, and avoid it when your sending it to a recruiter and they will
not read it.
This begs the obvious question-- How do I write a Great Cover Letter.
In order to write a fantastic cover letter you will need to show off your personality, knowledge and just what makes you different from the various other candidates that have applied.
One rule of writing great cover letters-- DO NOT just repeat what you're about to say in your resume. Your resume is likely to be "skim read" and if the information on your resume and cover letter is the same, then you run the risk of the hiring manager utilizing "extreme skim reading" which means that it likely they will miss vital information on your resume.
A straight forward model for writing a great Cover Letter is to follow the following guide.
The Who
You need to kick off your cover letter with a personalized message. "To whom this may concern" shows that you have not done your homework and more than likely you have bulk emailed your resume to as many opportunities as possible. Out of the 16 resumes I was emailed over the weekend, 10 did not even have my name on despite the fact that its in my e-mail address.
Inside most job adverts, you really should be able to find the full name of person, if you using LinkedIn then its very easy to figure out who published the job, whilst with a bit of research on the internet or a simple phone call to the company and you should be able to find a certain person to send your resume to. If you do find a name, make sure that you use their first name, and spell it properly.
If you have searched high and low and genuinely can not find someone specific to send out your resume to, then use Dear Hiring Manager.
The What
You need to get to the point very quickly and therefore within the first sentence point out which job you are making an application for and who within the company recommended you for the specific job.
Try to be a specific as possible whenever you are indicating a role. Obviously, if you're applying to a job from a job advert, make sure that you include the job title. If you're sending out your resume straight to a firm and do not know the exact position then you can use the division and a level of seniority such as Senior Sales Roles, or Junior Roles in Administration.
As I have mentioned over and over again, a reference is worth its weight in gold and therefore if at all possible you really should be naming a mutual friend or an ex-employee within the company that you're applying to or the best of achievable reference, a current employee. Use networking programs such as LinkedIn or someone within your own personal network and you will hopefully will be able to find a contact. Make certain that you ask for approval before you drop their name into an email.
If you really can not find anyone to recommend you to a particular role, then open your cover letter using the reason you have applied for this role. 99% of hiring managers and recruiters will look at the first couple of sentences. "I need a job" is honestly not a good opening line and in most cases means in that no further progress will be taken with your cover letter or probably your resume.
The Why
This next paragraph has to be customized for each application you apply for. You have to refer to your qualifications, experience and character and how they will fit into each companies culture.
You have to make sure that you keep this section both concise and you focus on why you're a match for the business based upon your former experience. Try to examine the job advert and making use of the keywords within it, discuss why you're a perfect fit for the company. Its completely okay to use some examples, however you need to makes sure that you don't just repeat what you're about to say in your Resume.
I would go as far as saying, make an effort to not mention anything that is already in your Resume. This is essential as you want a hiring manager to examine your resume, and if you have already let them know your experience in details in your cover letter, why would they go through your Resume?
You will want to convince the reader that you're a potential superstar, but keep an eye out for over promotion.
The Closing
Always keep this simple, and with the optimum word coming from above "concise". Recruiters and hiring managers are extremely unlikely to review a long Cover letter, personal I do not even read them unless you have a wonderful resume and then I might have a glance.
You need to state that you "look forward to the opportunity to interview", and I will often go further and ask for the opportunity to interview and make sure that you have attached your resume. Yes we have all sent out an email in the past without our resume attached and errors do occur, however try not to make this simple error.
Remember-- A Cover letter that starts with "Dear Sir/Madam, I am making an application for the position... " says absolutely nothing more than "its a mass produced cover letter, that is only helpful for one area of my PC, the rubbish bin".!!!
This begs the obvious question-- How do I write a Great Cover Letter.
In order to write a fantastic cover letter you will need to show off your personality, knowledge and just what makes you different from the various other candidates that have applied.
One rule of writing great cover letters-- DO NOT just repeat what you're about to say in your resume. Your resume is likely to be "skim read" and if the information on your resume and cover letter is the same, then you run the risk of the hiring manager utilizing "extreme skim reading" which means that it likely they will miss vital information on your resume.
A straight forward model for writing a great Cover Letter is to follow the following guide.
The Who
You need to kick off your cover letter with a personalized message. "To whom this may concern" shows that you have not done your homework and more than likely you have bulk emailed your resume to as many opportunities as possible. Out of the 16 resumes I was emailed over the weekend, 10 did not even have my name on despite the fact that its in my e-mail address.
Inside most job adverts, you really should be able to find the full name of person, if you using LinkedIn then its very easy to figure out who published the job, whilst with a bit of research on the internet or a simple phone call to the company and you should be able to find a certain person to send your resume to. If you do find a name, make sure that you use their first name, and spell it properly.
If you have searched high and low and genuinely can not find someone specific to send out your resume to, then use Dear Hiring Manager.
The What
You need to get to the point very quickly and therefore within the first sentence point out which job you are making an application for and who within the company recommended you for the specific job.
Try to be a specific as possible whenever you are indicating a role. Obviously, if you're applying to a job from a job advert, make sure that you include the job title. If you're sending out your resume straight to a firm and do not know the exact position then you can use the division and a level of seniority such as Senior Sales Roles, or Junior Roles in Administration.
As I have mentioned over and over again, a reference is worth its weight in gold and therefore if at all possible you really should be naming a mutual friend or an ex-employee within the company that you're applying to or the best of achievable reference, a current employee. Use networking programs such as LinkedIn or someone within your own personal network and you will hopefully will be able to find a contact. Make certain that you ask for approval before you drop their name into an email.
If you really can not find anyone to recommend you to a particular role, then open your cover letter using the reason you have applied for this role. 99% of hiring managers and recruiters will look at the first couple of sentences. "I need a job" is honestly not a good opening line and in most cases means in that no further progress will be taken with your cover letter or probably your resume.
The Why
This next paragraph has to be customized for each application you apply for. You have to refer to your qualifications, experience and character and how they will fit into each companies culture.
You have to make sure that you keep this section both concise and you focus on why you're a match for the business based upon your former experience. Try to examine the job advert and making use of the keywords within it, discuss why you're a perfect fit for the company. Its completely okay to use some examples, however you need to makes sure that you don't just repeat what you're about to say in your Resume.
I would go as far as saying, make an effort to not mention anything that is already in your Resume. This is essential as you want a hiring manager to examine your resume, and if you have already let them know your experience in details in your cover letter, why would they go through your Resume?
You will want to convince the reader that you're a potential superstar, but keep an eye out for over promotion.
The Closing
Always keep this simple, and with the optimum word coming from above "concise". Recruiters and hiring managers are extremely unlikely to review a long Cover letter, personal I do not even read them unless you have a wonderful resume and then I might have a glance.
You need to state that you "look forward to the opportunity to interview", and I will often go further and ask for the opportunity to interview and make sure that you have attached your resume. Yes we have all sent out an email in the past without our resume attached and errors do occur, however try not to make this simple error.
Remember-- A Cover letter that starts with "Dear Sir/Madam, I am making an application for the position... " says absolutely nothing more than "its a mass produced cover letter, that is only helpful for one area of my PC, the rubbish bin".!!!
Thomas Greig is a Head-Hunter by day and a Career Advice Blogger by Night and writes Career Advice for the website GetAJobWith Tom.
Tom's dream is to provide enough information for you to successfully
find your dream job no matter whether you need help with your Resumes
and Cover Letters, Interview Preparation, or General Career Direction,
his website will help you make some crucial decisions for your career
path.
Please do not hesitate to view his website for more information.
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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_H_Greig
Please do not hesitate to view his website for more information.
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