5 Tips on How to Create an Awesome Cover Letter
Recently, someone emailed me the cover letter they use when applying for job openings, asking me for any suggestions on how it might be improved. This person has very good experience, but wasn’t getting many responses from potential hiring managers. So I recommended some changes.
There can be some exceptions, but here is what I generally suggest for cover letters:
1) Make the cover letter easy to scan (which is what most reviewers do). Big, long paragraphs should be avoided. If it’s not easy to scan it could be getting set aside. The same goes for your resume – format it so it’s easy to read through quickly.
2) Introduce yourself and your capabilities briefly. If there is a mismatch between the job description and some of your qualifications, give a quick explanation as to why you should be considered anyway.
3) Show your interest in the position and plant the seed that you would be a good fit, while also indicating that you’ve done your homework on the company and the position.
4) Make your cover letter short and sweet – ideally, one (1) page. Most people are busy (duh!). Too much information can actually hurt your chances of getting a call.
5) Ask for their consideration of your resume/application.
Remember, your objective is to convince them that reading your resume, and then talking to you, is worth their time!
If you don’t know where to start, just google “cover letter examples.” There are plenty available to give you ideas for wording and letter structure.
Terry here 🙂
Now that you have some ideas on how to write a great cover letter, do you want to learn about how to write a resume to go with that cover letter? One that will increase your chances that it will be seen by a live person – AND – get that person to pick up the phone and give you a call?
Grab my free resource to learn about surefire resume writing strategies.
http://theengineerscoach.com/resume-writing-strategies/
