The Painless Path To Cover Letter Writing

If you want to get an interview at the company of your dreams, the first step is to write them a terrific cover letter. While it’s true that your resume will give your work experience and qualifications, the cover letter serves as an employer’s first impression of you, as they will look at the letter before they review any of your other documents. A cover letter inherently has more flexibility and so can help you to creatively express yourself. In addition to basic personal information, a cover letter also clarifies the following points:

1. The job you are applying for.
2. The reasons why you want this particular job.
3. All of the skills you have that will help you do that job well.
4. Your knowledge and understanding of the company you want to work for.

The path to painless cover letter writing is easy — just follow these tips and you will stun your potential employer even before your resume is reviewed.

* Think before you write. Write down in outline form what you want to say in your letter. – This way you can organize your thoughts to write a letter that is clear and logical.

*Short and sweet. A good cover letter is concise and if possible should not run over one page. You want a professional tone, but you shouldn’t continue on too long your reader will lose interest. Always keep them wanting more is the perfect motto for cover letter writing, because your resume will be the “more.”

*Custom-fit your letter. Tailor the specifics and approach to suit the particular job you’re trying to get. If it’s a managerial job you want, then adjust your letter to be relevant to that job. Tell the potential employer about any managerial experience you’ve had, emphasizing that this would make you the best candidate for the job. If you don’t have that background, explain to the manager why you would be the perfect person to learn on the job. The custom fit is the key to cover letter writing.

* Write, rewrite, and rewrite again. Your cover letter does need to be a masterpiece of a sort, but it’s not exactly a painting and you cant expect to write it right on the first try. You may need to write one, two or three drafts — or however many it takes. This will give you the opportunity to add new ideas as you go along and delete ramblings that need to be cut.

*Proofread. Nothings says “Please go on to the next resume” like a cover letter loaded with spelling and grammatical mistakes. Read and re-read it several times to be sure its perfect.

* Would you hire you? When your letter is finished, read it as a potential employer would. What do you think, are you so intriguing that you’d like to know more? If not, it’s unlikely that the potential employer will, either. If this happens again and again, go back and add and delete content until you’ve got it just the way you want it.