Writing Great Cover Letters
Cover letters are an essential ingredient to your complete résumé package. This is the best opportunity for you to demonstrate your personal character, knowledge of the company and your business writing skills.
The following is a relatively generic format for creating your cover letter. Note that most cover letters are designed to target a specific company or at least a specific industry.
First Paragraph
You must spark the employer's interest. Focus on your unique characteristics, whether they are based on experience or personal traits that will benefit the company. Don't simply restate your résumé objective statement. You must command attention, not simply alert the employer that you are applying for a position (they already know that!).
Second Paragraph
Provide more detail about your professional qualifications or relevant educational background. Highlight your professional accomplishments and/or achievements, not responsibilities. Use active verbs when describing things that you have done and back it up with a statistic or concrete fact when possible. Tailor this paragraph to the position that you are applying for.
Third Paragraph
Demonstrate knowledge of the company, their industry, and the challenges that they may be facing. This is where you connect what the company needs in an employee and the skills that you bring to the table. You want to implicitly show your knowledge of the company without regurgitating something you read on the company's website. Alluding to general industry trends that are affecting the company will let the employer know that you can see the big picture and how your position affects the company's strategy.
Fourth Paragraph
This is the final paragraph of most cover letters. You should demonstrate your confidence and enthusiasm in working at the organization. Be sure to include a call to action, requesting an appointment with the decision maker (using the word appointment over the word interview helps make you sound more confident and professional). It is also recommended that you alert the employer that you will follow up with them, usually one week after sending your résumé package. John Williamson is a Career Development specialist and a spokesperson for Vision-Resume.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Old Hiring Foxes vs. The Hedgehogs
You are about to compete for the best people again. The recovery is happening. Labor statistics indicate over 280,000 new jobs were created in the U.S. last May. Is your company's hiring process a competitive weapon-or a ball and chain? If you're not sure, here are some places to look:
Workplace Violence - 8 Tips For Spotting Early Warning Signs
One of the greatest threats facing both employees and the companies they work for, is workplace violence. It has become the leading cause of death for women and the second leading for men, following closely behind motor vehicle accidents. In fact, the best estimates now being reported show that 1-in-4 employees will be the victim of workplace violence this year alone.
Put Some Mystery in Your Life
Mystery shoppers. For some it conjures up images of private eyes and undercover detectives. That's fair. In Nevada, a mystery shopper is required to register with a firm that is in association with the Private Investigative Licensing Board. Somewhat funny, but true. If you shop, and I'm sure you do, you have probably bumped into someone on a shopping assignment. Did you notice them? Doubtful. Or you may have found yourself on the receiving end of an evaluation by a mystery shopper. Did you realize it at the time? Probably not. But what is mystery shopping exactly? And can you really make money for shopping?
Make em READ Your Cover Letter Using This Killer Secret!
Got your attention? Great. That was my intention. Who wouldn't want to read on when the title promises a 'killer secret.'
Stop Whining and Ask For What You Want!
When you want something, the best way to get it is to make your request in a straightforward and positive way. You should not expect your boss or co-workers to read your mind and know what your expectations and desires are. Nor should you brood about the fact that someone else has not recognized what you think is obvious to everyone.
Three Steps to Writing Your Own Resume
While most professionals hire a professional resume writer, some draft their own resume. People who write a lot for business usually have more success in putting together a sharp, focused presentation; still, anyone can learn the basic steps to prepare his or her own resume.
Pebbles in Your Shoe Dont Only Hurt your Foot But Cause Back and Hip Problems!
CIO Magazine ran an article entitled, "Ten Mistakes CIO's Too Often Make" written by Susan H. Cramm, former CIO and vice president of IT at Taco Bell and CFO and executive vice president at Chevys, a Taco Bell subsidiary.
Top Ten Guidelines For Working With Executive Recruiters
1. Select the right type of recruitment partner
Vocational Experts 7 Proposals to Solve the Unemployment Problem
The subject is constantly in the news and may decide the
next national elections - the infamous jobless recovery.
More than 8 million Americans are out of work with another 4
million underemployed or no longer looking for work. Good
manufacturing, technical and services jobs are being shipped
to India, Asia, and other developing countries. The mood of
the middle and working class becomes more pessimistic, the
outlook for their immediate future more grim.
Resumes That Rock (16 Expert Tips)
It's never too early to update your resume, even if you're not searching for a new job. Why? Updating your resume is a valuable reminder to yourself of your practical value to employers.
Job Hunting Tips: Staying Active
Unemployment is depressing: financial pressures stress you out, looking for work is humiliating, and your fragile self-confidence reels under the blows of indifference and rejection.
Resumes Arent Important - They are Everything When it Comes to Getting an Interview
Employers and recruiters receive hundreds of resumes for every position they are trying to fill. To select their shortlist of candidates to interview, they look for the most common resume mistakes most applicants make and eliminate them first.
How To Get A Job Writing Speeches
Jobs in speech writing are amongst the most difficult to find, but are much sought after. In many cases, the subjects that will deliver them will want to find expert advice on what to say, how to say it, and how to make themselves look good through it. You will not start out with a job in speech writing for the President, though. You will start at a much lower level and work your way up. While many people do not like to give speeches, even fewer people like to write their own. That means that there are some great opportunities out there for those looking. But, where do you look and how do you find them? What qualifications are needed anyway?
Networking - A Key Factor in a Successful Job Search
In today's economy, job seekers need an edge beyond their experience, education and specific industry and job-related skills, in order to find and secure a position. Regardless if you are looking for an opportunity as CEO, Vice President, IT Manager or Customer Service Representative, you need effective tools to compete within a market that is job-poor and candidate rich.
Are You Taking Your Inner Brat to Work?
Is your inner brat taking over your job? Everyone has an inner brat. It's the part of us that's still a 2-year-old. It gets furious at the slightest inconvenience. It feels entitled to get what it wants when it wants, and complains when things don't go its way. Your inner brat not only makes you miserable, it makes work unpleasant for everyone else.
7 Steps To A Job-Winning Resume
A new resume can jump-start your career. Your network contacts may ask for a resume and some industries absolutely, positively demand a resume as the price of admission. When you begin thinking of your resume as a power source, the results can be astonishing.
Job Hunting Tips: Organizing Your Attack
Looking for work is an energy-devouring ordeal, often leading to running in circles and not getting anywhere. A systematic approach can help you focus on your goal, avoid wasting the energy you need to conserve for interviews and employer contacts, and lower your stress level.
Stepping Stone Jobs
What we name something matters.
How to Work Effectively With Recruiters
"R-E-S-P-E-C-T / find out what it means to me" is a line made famous by Aretha Franklin, and one that recruiters have adopted as their mantra. This is probably because there is a love-hate relationship between candidates and recruiters. Specifically, candidates love what recruiters can do for them, but at the same time, aren't fond of the fact that they need their services.
Job Hunting Tips: Accepting Judgment
Applying for work is stressful, no matter the circumstances. Even if you are already working, and merely looking to see what else is out there, you still want to be offered the position. If you realize, half way through an interview, that you would be miserable working for this company and you wouldn't let your dog take the job, you still want it to be offered. If the hours are unsuitable, the job duties demeaning, and the salary a joke, you still want to be made an offer.
|
