Subscribe to RSSThe Dos And Don’ts Of Good Cover Letters
Writing a cover letter can be a tough challenge for some people. How exactly are you going to convey everything that you want? How will you make yourself rise above your competitors, which in this job market is fiercer than ever? One idea is to search for cover letter examples on the web to use as a guide. But even then, you should know what a good cover letter looks like. The good news is that you can follow some easy dos and don’ts to help you realize what should and should not be done. Going off of this kind of basic advice, you will be able to craft your own unique cover letters that will help you land the interview that gets you the career you always dreamed about.
The first “don’t” to remember when writing cover letters is don’t write an entire autobiography. A cover letter should be one page maximum, unless you were specifically told otherwise. This one page has to include all of the critical information that you want to share with this potential employer. This means relevant job histories and experiences, education, and more. Don’t try to make conversation, don’t add filler, and don’t ramble on and on. Stick to the most important points and you’ll make an impression as being direct, while also highlighting all of your best attributes.
One thing you should do is to create your cover letter as specifically as possible to the job that you’re applying to. This means that you shouldn’t have a one size fits all cover letter that you use for every job application. Your cover letter should talk specifically about individual experiences that you’ve had or lessons that you’ve learned that will apply specifically to this position. Talk about why this specific job gets you excited, and why you’d be the perfect candidate.
Still, while you don’t want to have a generic cover letter that you submit to everyone, there’s nothing wrong with crafting a couple of cover letter templates that will speed up the process when you apply to many jobs. For example, maybe you are going after three types of jobs – marketing positions, sales team positions, and entry level sales team management. You can write up a simple template of a cover letter for each of these three types of positions, which go into detail about the experiences and skills that apply to each.
Each time you apply to a specific job, you can fill in the blanks and mention specifically about why you would be a good fit for the job, why you would want it, and why you would excel. You’ll still be creating unique, highly focused cover letters, but you’ll be saving yourself a ton of time by not having to redo it from a blank page every time out.
Finally, the most critical “do” of creating cover letters is that you absolutely should talk yourself up. This is not the time to be modest. You should keep your resume “dry”, but the cover letter is the time to put in some emotion and opinion surrounding the facts. Sell yourself, and make yourself stand apart as different and desirable, or else you’re just another empty sheet of paper that will be put in the trash.
Writing a cover letter is not as an exact science. However, there are some tested and true tips that can make the process easier. Abide by dos and don’ts and you’ll be that much closer to crafting an amazing cover letter. When you do that, your dream job will finally be yours for the taking.
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