A cover letter is your first impression from afar, your book cover, and a brief look into what you can offer a potential employer. Are you a copy-and-paster or an individual that clearly took the time to personalize your letter?
Here are some tips and techniques to help you stand out from the rest so you can move from applicant to interviewee.
1. Address your receiver. This can be a tough one right off the bat because you may not know if this unnamed person is a female or male. In a survey of more than 2,000 companies, Saddleback College found that employers preferred the following greetings: “Dear Hiring Manager” (40%) or “to Whom it may concern” (20%). Be sure to add a comma after the salutation you have selected.
2. Keep it short. Remember less is more so keep your letter to a minimum of three paragraphs. Your first sentence should get right to the point. “I would like to express interest in the Marketing Coordination position.”
3. Do not repeat your resume. Keep in mind your cover letter most likely will be stapled to your resume. This is your chance to shine. Showcase the skills that may not be mentioned on your resume and how they can directly benefit the company which you are contacting. A good lead into that could be a sentence like “My previous experiences not on my resume consist of…”
4. Use key words. Keywords are a vital element of a persuasive cover letter that portrays you as a confident and qualified applicant. These words fall into three general categories: skill words, results oriented words, and words which show recognition for achievements. Examples of skill keywords include: analyzed, planned, programmed, designed, created, built, taught, and trained. Skill keywords will help your application get selected by the software employers use to select candidates for further consideration.
To help showcase your accomplishments and not just your skills use result oriented words like: increased, reduced, redesigned, implemented, generated, and produced. And lastly, recognition keywords attest to how you have excelled in your previous jobs and how you have accomplished more than was required. Words like honored, awarded, promoted, selected, recognized, chosen, and credited will help formulate that sentence for you.
5. Formulate a lasting impression. The closing paragraph of your cover letter must be one of the strongest elements because it is the last impression you leave in the reader’s mind. Your closing statement should have three objectives: (1) to thank the reader for his or her time (2) to reiterate your interest in the position and (3) to call for action. Visit WikiHow for some great final paragraph examples.
6. Make it easy for the employer. If you are responding via email, make sure to include your cover letter in the body of the email and separately as an attachment to make it easy for your potential employer to save, print it and remember you.
Finally, remember to spell check and grammar proof your new and improved confident cover letter. Once you’ve attached your resume and hit the send button you will be on your way to a possible new exciting opportunity. Don’t lose faith and never give up!
