A cover letter is a part of your job application that gives you a chance to explain your skills and interests. The detail that you were not given enough space to explain in your resume can be given in the cover letter. This post will explain how you can unravel the full potential of a cover letter and how it can personify you in front of your potential employer. The article will cover the why, what and what not of a how to write a cover letter in detail. A free sample cover letter has been given at the end to give you an easy start before we wish you the best of luck for your job hunt.
Purpose of Writing a Cover Letter
A cover letter introduces you to the potential employer and tells him/ her why you are THE person for the job both in terms of professional and personal skills. A good cover letter gives you a brighter chance to have your resume considered to be read from the pile sitting in front of the employer.
Things to Know Before Writing a Cover Letter
Before you formally start writing your cover letter, get some insight about what you should be writing.
- Length
ONE PAGE. There is no upper limit beyond this, so make sure you utilize this page to the best. Keep things short but make them impressionable. - Know the job you are applying for
As soon as you learn about a job vacancy, know what the job requirement is, in detail. Your cover letter should present you as the ideal candidate in terms of how you fulfil the job requirement and which of your skills go beyond the basic requirement. - Know the company you are applying forLearn about the agenda of the company you are applying for. Include their agenda in your cover letter as your motivation.It might be the case that you heard about a company but they don’t have advertised or published a vacancy relevant to your skills. Don’t hesitate in applying for a job, instead, use your cover letter to build a relationship with the company and tell them why you should be considered if there be a vacancy. Compose the content so convincingly that the employer keeps your resume in hit list whenever a vacancy arises or might even call you to get the current mess in his company, reorganized. It’s all about how you present yourself.
How to Send a Cover Letter
You can either make your cover letter the content of the email in which you are sending the resume or you can send it as a separate file with the resume. The intent is to have the employer look at your cover letter before the resume, so make some arrangement for it whether you are sending a printed copy or via email.
Content of your Lover letter
This section is the abstract of how to write a cover letter.
- Salutation
Are you sending your cover letter via email? Start by addressing the employer in a polite manner like ‘Dear Employer Name’. If you don’t know the employer’s name, you can address your email to human resource.
If you are sending a printed version of the cover letter, a letterhead would go before the salutation. State your contact address and phone number in the letterhead. Then go with the salutation. - Introduction and Purpose
In this paragraph, introduce yourself and highlight your highest qualification. State how you learnt about the vacancy and that you would be interested in applying for the job. - Body
This is your time to shine. State your personal and professional skills and how the employer cannot have a better candidate than you. This paragraph should reflect your passion and interest in the vacancy to motivate the employer to proceed with reading your resume. Be bold and confident in your language and use this space to present your strengths as the potential strength the company can use to rise and grow. - Call to Action
In this paragraph, state that you would be looking forward to an interview. Invite the employer to contact you for further detail about how your skills would work best for the job description. You can also invite the employer to know how well suited you are for the job by reading your resume. Give your contact number or email address or both in this section. - Ending
Sign off with best regards and your full name.
Common Mistakes in Writing a Cover Letter
- Errors in Text
Always proof read what you’ve written as there is always room for mistake. There are some spelling mistakes that might even get missed by your editor, like use of a wrong word in a sentence. Don’t rely on the spell check blindly.Double check the facts you are stating. For example, you might have written an incorrect academic year that conflicts with your resume. - Too Much and Unnecessary Detail
Remember, you are enclosing your resume with this cover letter so DO NOT repeat information unnecessarily. Cover letter is where you can relate to the vacancy so don’t start explaining your childhood dreams and passions. Be passionate about the job instead. - Irrelevant Detail
You might be applying in more than one organizations at a time. Don’t use the same cover letter for all the job applications. Each employer speaks a different language for the same designation. For example, one might consider relevance of education as a strength while the other, relevance of job experience. Compose your content according to the needs of the employer so you can be considered the best candidate for the job. The employer is not interested in how good you are at something unless it’s of use to him whether the job description says it out loud or is hidden under the job title itself.
As much as the content of cover letter is important, you also need to focus on the format in which the content is organized. After reading the detail about how to write a cover letter, below are copies of sample cover letters in Word and PDF formats that you can use and share with your friends and colleagues and open doors to new job horizons. We have attached separate copies for email and printed formats of free cover letters in Word and PDF formats. From Team Frittt, we wish you all the best in landing the ideal job.
