Cover Letters at a Glance

Share it

Here’s a quick introduction to writing an effective cover letter:

Be Clear: Don’t meander. Get to the point. Lose anything that doesn’t help tie you to the job you’re applying for.

Be Concise: Cover letters are scanned quickly, not digested at length like a good novel. State your purpose and qualifications for the job in as few a words as possible.

Be Grammar Conscious: Don’t be overly familiar by using slang, even in e-mail. Write in a professional and cordial manner.

Be Positive: Don’t allow negativity to color your writing. Even if you’re not applying for a sales position, think like a salesperson. You’re writing a pitch and your the product.

Be Specific: Don’t re-use old material from other cover letters. Where possible, you should write a custom cover letter for each new position and take into account specifics of the job description. This is difficult because so few applications turn into job offers – but try.

Beware of including weaknesses: You’ll get your chance to detail your weaknesses during the interview. Don’t start boasting how you need to beef up your Time Management skills until you absolutely need to.

Be Knowledgeable: If you know anything about the company or industry you’re applying for, try to convey this without being obvious.

Be Conscientious: Review your cover letter at least once before e-mailing or mailing it. Grammatical or spelling errors can indicate sloppiness or a lack of professionalism. You can spell all the words you like wrong once you get the job. And please, if you have a spell checker, USE IT!!!

Share it

Related Posts

If you ever said or did something stupid in an interview, consider these interview disasters....

Every single employer has an ideal applicant residing in the front of their mind when...

Do Be friendly to absolutely everybody (this applies to life in general too) Make eye...

Make your Next Career Move

Looking for new opportunities, better pay, or more flexibility in your schedule?

Find Your Teammate or Find Your Team.

The Search Begins Here.