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Cover Letters That Work
A cover letter is a one-page business letter that you always send to an employer with your resume. A good cover letter not only explains which job you are applying for and why you think you would be a good candidate, but also who you are as an individual. It is important because it gives you the opportunity to talk more in depth about some of the skills and experiences on your resume that are applicable to the job you are applying for. You get the chance in the cover letter to show how the different parts of your life that you listed on your resume fit together and form a complete picture of you and your career goals. Unlike resumes where you might have only one, you will have as many cover letters as jobs that you apply for. In order to get you noticed, each one should be tailored to the company and position. By following our guide you will learn to create a cover letter that is unique to you and can be changed for every job you apply for.
The Three W's
The Main Body Paragraphs
The Format
Critique Your Cover Letter
Submitting Via Email
The Three W's- Why? Who? What?
Before you start writing the cover letter, take a look at the job description and your resume. Think about the Why, Who and What that are involved in your cover letter and how you can pay attention to these factors as you write.
The Why describes your goal and purpose for writing the cover letter, which is to get the employer to give you an interview.
The Who is the person or persons that will read your resume and cover letter. Remember that you are telling your audience about yourself, but that they want to know you've done your research about them too. Your letter should show that you've done some research on the company's interests, needs and goals.
The What refers to the content of your cover letter and how you organize it. Your cover letter will be more readable if the content flows from one topic to the next and makes sense organizationally.
The Main Body Paragraphs
Paragraph 1: Introduction
The first section is the most important because it should catch the reader's eyes and get her/him interested in interviewing you. It should be just a few sentences that state which job you are applying for and where you heard about the job (i.e. a specific website or newspaper). Let the reader know how you are different from other applicants by pointing out two or three things you have to offer. This is also a good place to let the employer know exactly what you will get out of working for them and what they will get from you as an employee. You should also let them know how the particular position relates to your overall career goals. Though your career goals can be a complicated thing to talk about, you should limit yourself to one or two sentences. You should tell them just enough to make them want to know more about you in an interview.
Paragraph 2: Describe Your Skills and
How They apply to the Job Posting When thinking of what to write, look over the description of the job you are applying for and find the most important traits and abilities the organization is looking for. Next, think of ways your skills and experience match up with the organization's needs. Come up with specific examples of how you have used your skills. This is a good section to discuss skills developed from non-traditional work. Any specialized equipment or programs you may know how to use could be mentioned here.
Paragraph 3: Closing and Thank You's
The final section should provide the reader with information on contacting you, as well as make a statement on what you expect from the reader. This would be the section where you could say, "I am available for an interview at any time." Finally, a short thank you is an important way to end.
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Tips for Organizing Your Cover Letter:
* Use white space to make the resume's layout seem organized and uncluttered.
* Use bullets, bolding, italics, and highlighting sparingly. Too many changes in font or formatting can be overwhelming and clutter your cover letter.
* Type your cover letter in a readable font like Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana or Garamond that is not too large or too small. Usually, 10-12 pt font size is best.
* If you are printing your cover letter and resume to mail to an employer, you should print both on matching, high quality paper. You can put your nicer paper into the copy machine at the library or community center. High quality paper is a little heavier than normal paper so it will stand out. The most professional colors are white, beige, and gray and can be bought at an office supply store. Most office supply stores usually will have matching envelopes.
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The Format
Now that you have your body paragraphs written, it is time to put them into the Cover Letter Format. The format of the cover letter should be standard business letter format, with your name and address at the top and the recipient's information below that. The letter should be addressed to the specific company and the specific individual who will process your application. You can usually find this through research or simply by calling the company to find out to whom your letter should be addressed. Because the easiest way to understand how to format a cover letter is to look some examples, we've included some as a guide. Here's a sample cover letter template courtesy of JobStar.org http://jobstar.org/tools/resume/ctemp.php
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Critique your Cover Letter Draft
Now that you've put together a cover letter draft, it's time to look it over and make sure it's what you want to send a prospective employer. Check it over with these tips in mind:
1. Check for Content
Does your cover letter say what you want it to say? Does it give your strengths up front? Does the information make sense in the order you put it in? Does the cover letter offer a clear and concise picture of you? Besides yourself, ask several other colleagues or friends to critique your cover letter, especially if it's your first one.
2. Check for Clarity
Does your cover letter have a clear objective? The cover letter needs to be targeted to support your reason for writing it. Check and make sure there isn't information that is redundant, out of place, or unimportant.
3. Consider Word Choice
Your cover letter should be positive and confident, but not aggressive or overly modest. ACTIVE VERBS are a huge part of describing yourself accurately and positively. Here is a short list to help you.
Achieved
Arranged
Attended
Authored
Communicated
Conducted
Consulted with |
Edited
Implemented
Incorporated
Initiated
Issued
Led
Made |
Organized
Overcame
Participated
Performed,
Responsible for
Reorganized
Solved |
Spoke
Started
Traveled
Worked with
Wrote |
4. Check for Length
Unlike a resume, a cover letter should be only one page. If it's longer take the time to shorten it. To keep it short make sure your descriptions are clear and to the point. If it's too long take a moment and circle the 2 or 3 points you think are most likely to get you the job. Then go back and look at what you didn't circle. Are those things you could cut out or make shorter? If you think your cover letter is too short make sure you've related your skills to the job description and fully shown the employer who you are. You can try and provide more of a description with active verbs.
Submitting Via Email
Many job postings will give the option of sending your resume and cover letter via email. This is an easy, fast way to apply for jobs, but it also exposes you to more potential mistakes. Read the tips below before you send any applications online.
- By applying via email, your email address and the message of the email are going to be the first impression a potential employer has of you. Make sure that the tone and word choice of the email are professional.
- Do not send job applications using your current work email address. If you don't have a personal email account, sign up for a free one through yahoo, gmail, or hotmail. Think about the email address you choose as well; using your first or last name, or some variation of the two, is best.
- Once you have a cover letter written for one job, you may be able to use most or parts of it for other jobs you apply for. This is especially true if you are applying for a specific type of job that has similar job responsibilities across different companies. If you do recycle the letter, be sure to change every reference to the job title and company name before sending it! An employer will not consider your application if it's obvious you didn't take the time to proofread your cover letter.
- Make sure the file names of your resume and cover letter are clear and understandable to the person you're emailing, such as "Smith_Resume" or "Cover letter_Women Work!."
- If the job announcement tells you to submit your materials to a specific person as opposed to the general HR department, be sure to address the cover letter to that individual. If you don't know the sex of the person based on their email address or the announcment, look on their website for a list of staff, or call the company and ask.
- Write the job title in the subject of your email; this alerts the recipient to your purpose for writing, and may also prevent your message from being filtered as spam.
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