Your Cover Letter - Does It Tell The Story?
Let's face it, employers are much smarter than we might think
they are. In fact large corporations pay large salaries to their
HR department staff. That's because they are being paid to sift
through thousands of resumes each year and filter out the ones
that are worth looking at.
Corporations are looking to build organizations that are made of
the right type of staff with the right mental attitude. These
corporations recognize that "People are their greatest assets".
Your cover letter is your first step in getting the attention of
those potential corporate employers. Remember the HR departments
job is to recruit and hire employees so you need to be able to
stand out from the goes a long way in capturing and retaining
the attention of these people whose main job is to recruit
people and coordinate with the workforce.
A well-written cover letter will engage the recruiter to spend
more time reading the details of your resume. Before you start
writing your cover letter you should write down what the message
is you want to convey on your cover paper. Read it several times
to make sure it sounds right and makes sense. Make sure it's
captivating and packs the power you want. It should be 400 or
500 words that can make the difference.
Before you start writing think about these tips: Make sure you
keep your sentences short to ensure your message is clear and
concise. You don't want the recruiter to have to read it over
and over because they won't so get to the point.
Use simple language and forget the fluff and over emphasis on
the company. Boring! The recruiter already knows everything
there is to know about "the company" but what they don't know
about is you. Using a "I look forward to working with ABC
Industries" is okay but that's it!
Be sure to organize the content of your cover letter into small
paragraphs or bulleted points. Do not have more than four
paragraphs in your cover letter. You must also be sure not to
use slang or spoken words like "Lookin." Big mistake!!
Check both your cover letter and your resume) for spelling or
grammatical errors. That's the quickest way to get your
application tossed! Make sure both your resume and your cover
letter deliver what the employer wants.
A good way to start writing is with the correct greeting phrase.
If you know the name of the person you are addressing then you
can start with 'Dear Mr. Brown.' Address it as Hi Jim' and you
can be guaranteed your application will go into file 13.
The first paragraph should reference the position they are
hiring for or you can put in a separate line such as Re Your
advertisement on Job.com Ref # 1111.
Second paragraph should tell why you applied for that position
and reference your skills and how those skills match the
requirement but put it in your own words. Avoid mentioning
skills you don't have or projects you have never worked on. If
there are more achievements you want to include make a bulleted
points which are easier and quicker to read and comprehend.
Your final paragraph should make an impression that stands you
out. It should also tell them your resume is attached and that
you are "looking forward to meeting to further explore this
opportunity." Make sure your address and telephone number are
present. Then sign it Your Truly with your full name.