Job Search: Part 2—Cover Letters
July 29, 2008 by Lillie
Table of contents for Job Search
- Job Search: Part 1—How to Write an Interview-Winning Resume
- Job Search: Part 2—Cover Letters
- Job Search: Part 3—Interviews
When I wrote the post about writing a resume, I did not intend to create a series. That post has become the most popular I’ve written. Part of the popularity, of course, came about because the post was part of a group writing project and was Stumbled several times. However, there does seem to be a strong interest in job search advice, so I decided to make that post the first in a series of three about the job search process.
Today, we’ll talk about cover letters. The resume is a sales tool to get an interview; the cover letter is a sales tool to get your resume read. These tips will help ensure that your cover letter gets the right attention from the hiring manager.
- Address the letter to the right person. You may need to dig a little to find the right person, but your letter will more effective if it is addressed to a specific person—the person who will be reviewing your resume.
- Customize the letter for every job. Several commenters on the resume-writing post recommended that the resume be customized for different jobs. While this may be helpful, it is more important to customize the cover letter. After all, the cover letter is what the hiring manager sees first and what will determine whether the resume is reviewed or not. If your resume doesn’t include relevant experience and qualifications, revise your resume for this position. If your resume includes the information, highlight the most important elements (experience, skills, education, certifications) in the cover letter.
- Use letterhead stationery with your complete contact information. If you don’t have stationery, you can create it on the computer. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should look professional. If you sending the cover letter by e-mail, format it like a letter in the body of the message.
- Keep the cover letter to one page. Include the important information in a short, concise document.
- Capture the reader’s attention at the beginning by explaining why you are applying at this company. If you’re not familiar with the company, do some research so you can address why you are a good match for the company and/or the position.
- Emphasize how you will contribute to the company. Stating you want to work for the company because they have the best benefit package of any company won’t make a favorable impression. Telling the employer your experience in quality control will contribute to the company’s new department will impress.
- Show how your qualification match the employer’s requirements. If you’re responding to an ad or job posting, mention specific requirements (such as x number of years of experience, license, degree, knowledge of particular equipment) and demonstrate how you meet or exceed those requirements. If you not responding to a specific job listing, mention your strongest qualifications for a job in the industry or type of job.
- Conclude with a strong close. Let the employer know you are eager to meet her to discuss the needs of the company (or how you can contribute to the company’s goals). Repeat your contact information for your preferred method of contact as well as when you are available.
- Proofread carefully. If possible, ask someone else to read the letter both to catch grammar and spelling errors and to be sure the letter makes sense and flows smoothly.
You can read examples of the various elements of the cover letter at How to Avoid the Four Most Common Cover Letter Blunders.
Next, we’ll discuss interviews.
Cover Letters are essential and really give a glimpse of who you are. I feel that if you should spend time on one thing it should be the cover letter. Thanks
The importance of cover letters are often overlooked and rushed. Your article provides excellent guidance in getting this, at first sigh unimportant, part of the job hiring process done RIGHT!
Konrad@Job Tips´s last blog ..Job Interview Preparation: Be the Interviewer
Thanks for the reinforcement of the importance of cover letters, Konrad.
Unfortunately, addressing the letter to the right person isn’t always possible when responding to an online application. But everything else is spot on. Great tips, thanks!
The cover letter is truly important. I have read quite a few that were poorly worded and pretty much made certain that their resume was going to end up in the trash.
You are right about customizing it too, because you can tell if it is just a form letter and that also helps move your resume towards the trash.
Lillie,
This post provides excellent advice on how to craft a superior cover letter — one that will get results! Every element you’ve mentioned is critically important to ensuring that a job applicant’s finished letter will command the hiring manager’s attention. Your expertise shows!
Jeanne
Lillie, I Stumbled this article as well:
http://jobmob.stumbleupon.com/review/24080693/
Jacob from JobMobs last blog post..Offbeat Yet Normal Israeli Marketing Writer Job Interview Story
When I was a hiring manager years ago I was always surprised at the number of resumes I would get that did not even include a cover letter. Your points are all excellent!
Larry
damnIneedAjob.com
I think cover letters are really important – We recently did some recruitment of which I was partly involved in and those apps with cover letters stood out much more…
Andy
Hi Lillie,
It’s interesting actually – my cousin is in recruitment and he doesn’t consider them that important, but I feel if someone takes the time to write a cover letter, then normally (not always though) they are slightly more enthusiastic about the role!
Take care,
Andy
Well, sometimes you might not have the name of the right person to address the cover letter to. What do you do then? “To Whom It May Concern?”
Val,
Sometimes you can’t find the name of the person because the company goes to great lengths to keep you from finding out. I would first try to find the name—sometimes all it takes is a phone call to the company and a question to the receptionist.
When you can’t find the name, however, I would address the cover letter to a title rather than “To whom it may concern,” xomething like Dear XYZ Company Personnel Department or Dear Hiring Manager.
In my experience if you cannot find the name of the person to address it to, it is always better to address something like “Hiring Manager” or “Human Resources” rather than “To Whom it may Concern”
Hope that this helps.
creating (if you wrote YourName@Keyword, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
Thank you for agreeing with me.
Cover letters that can catch the employer’s eyes are the most effective. I have read many times that when employers are looking through cover letters or resumes, they separate the “attractive” ones from the “plain” ones. I’m not sure if this is true or not but it doesn’t hurt to add a little bit of creativity to your cover letters keywords being “little bit”.
Chris,
I think you’re right on the “little bit.” The cover letter (and the resume) should be laid out in a nice format with plenty of white space and in a font that is easy on the eye and attractive. However, I’ve always heard that hiring managers don’t like anything too creative. Things like brightly colored or odd-sized paper or very unusual fonts stand out too much, and not in a good way.
Writing a cover letter these days is more important than it ever was in the past. This economy makes it difficult to be considered for a position, so explain to the employer why they should consider you.
illmill,
You’re right that cover letters are more important than ever.
I think it is important to adapt your cover letter to each individual company you are sending your resume too. It is the first thing that is seen and should identify what you are looking for in this job opportunity.
Absolutely right, Anthony.
As a customer support manager responding to candidate queries, it still amazes me how many speculative applications we receive on behalf of our clients, where the candidate hasn’t even bothered to confirm the type of position they wish to apply for, let alone write a covering letter. Do they honestly believe their application will be considered?
Alext,
Writers do the same thing—they send query letters to publishers that don’t publish anything remotely similar to what they’ve written.
I guess in both cases, they think they’ll toss out a bunch of stuff and see if anything sticks.
In olden days cover letters were of less importance and not deemed much. But in today’s competitive world and stringent recruitment process cover letter plays a vital role. One of my Human Resource Executive friend who is in-charge of recruitment for a corporate giant, told me that he never reads the resume initially. All he cares about is that how relevant the covering letter is and whether the candidate has the required educational qualifications. Resumes which qualify the previously said attributes only will be shortlisted. Lillie, I think the proofreading part has to be emphasized a lot. Not only for covering letters. It is applicable for emails, blog post, articles or whatever form of writing. People never proofread what they have written. As soon as they are done they just hit the send button.
Girish@Car Rental Auckland´s last blog ..Rugby World Cup Car Rentals
Girish,
It wasn’t very long ago that only top executives needed resumes. Now everyone looking for a job needs one. And you’re right, the cover letter has become very important. That’s what sets the applicant apart from others enough for the hiring manager to look at the resume.
And you’re also right that people should proofread more. It’s very important to make sure we’ve said what we meant and said it without errors. As I mentioned yesterday in an editing workshop I presented to a writers group, though, I’ve never seen a perfect book. We may never achieve perfection, though we may come close on short pieces like e-mail and blogs, but we should strive to make our writing as nearly perfect as possible.
So many people just whip up a quick cover letter and call it good, but this is such a big mistake to make. You really need to spend time on it and do it right.
Kevin,
Sometimes I think people aren’t sure what to do so they just throw something together. Other times they don’t understand how important the cover letter is. And sometimes people are just lazy.
With the downturn slowly winding the unemployment rate is slowly diminishing. I bet this article would be helpful to those who are again starting over. They can create some flawless and appealing resumes if they follow your tips. They are so appropriate and right. Thanks for sharing this tips for free with us
Michael,
I’ve written or edited a lot of resumes and cover letters so hope my experience can help job-seekers who rarely have a need for these documents.
Your post is very informative for the job seekers getting a good job in this time of recession is not easy. You should follow a useful guideline to make it. Resume is an important thing for job seekers. It should be well written so that easy to understand and it should be impressive too. Well your tips are up to the mark dear. Thanks.
monika,
Yes, it is more important than ever in a down economy to have an exceptional resume and cover letter.
Well writing the resume in a correct way does help a lot in getting a job.thanks for tips.This will help a lot of people.
Michael,
I’m glad you found the post useful.
Hi great post. Cover letter can in reality suplement a candidates resume because it personalize his skills and skills .It without doubt will make an enormous difference for any candidates applying for an interview and land them the jobs of their wishes. I wonder how many applicants are familiar with these things! i bet not many….
Justin,
Too many candidates work hard on their resume, then toss off a quick letter for the cover letter without realizing they may be destroying any chance of getting the resume reviewed.
Cover letters are very important. If you could not be bothered to write a cover letter with your job application, will you be bothered to do your job properly? Cover letters also prove to companies that you have the ability to clearly organise your thoughts and that you have good spelling and grammar skills. You also get an extra chance to prove your suitability for the job position.
Charlie,
Those are excellent reasons to put a lot of effort into the cover letter.
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