A cover letter is the best way to introduce yourself to potential employers. Resumes are very dry. It’s hard to communicate your personality in a series of bullet points. A cover letter lets you sell yourself to the employer as the well-rounded individual you are.
The tone of the cover letter should reflect your personality, writing style and the type of job you’re applying for. Some jobs call for a very formal letter. With others, you can be more casual. It’s important to get the tone right. If you’re not sure, think about the dress code. Will you have to wear a suit every day? Then write a formal letter.
Here are some tips that will help you write a good cover letter:
- Don’t send a resume without a cover letter.
- Find out who will be reading the letter and address that individual by name.
- Don’t just send the same letter to every employer. Personalize it to match the company and job description.
- Grab the reader’s attention in the first paragraph. Otherwise, he may not read the second paragraph.
- Say where you heard about the job.
- Talk about your accomplishments, not the tasks you used to do.
- A cover letter isn’t your life story. Don’t write a novel. One page is more than enough.
- A cover letter will not get you a job, but it will get you an interview. Keep this in mind as you write. Make yourself sound interesting, so the interviewer will want to meet you.
- Say how much notice you need to give your current employer and when you can start.
- State your salary expectations only if the job ad asked for them.
Don’t try to be cute by using colored paper and colored ink. It makes you look unprofessional.
