Cover Letter Writing Made Easy

When it comes to job hunting, there are two key components you’ll need – a resume and a cover letter. While most people understand the fundamentals of a resume, there’s often some confusion when it comes to a cover letter. Fortunately, writing a great cover letter that grabs the attention of potential employers needn’t be complicated and is relatively easy to do.

What is a Cover Letter?

Investopedia formally defines it as “a written document submitted with a job application explaining the applicant’s credentials and interest in the open position.” In other words, it’s a few paragraphs that highlight your past experience and what you bring to the table. This clarifies why you would make a great employee and why an employer should give you further attention.  

What’s the Goal of a Cover Letter?

It’s simple – the goal is to show that you have an interest in an available position and briefly introduce yourself as a candidate. You’ll also demonstrate your value, try to encourage an employer to look at your resume and make them want to interview you.  

Structure

Because a cover letter is usually the first point of contact you have with a potential employer, you want to put your best foot forward. In many cases, an employer will be dealing with dozens or even hundreds of applicants, so it’s critical that you’re able to immediately grab their attention with your cover letter.

This starts with a strong opening – and the Harvard Business Review gives a great example. “People typically write themselves into the letter with ‘I’m applying for X job that I saw in Y place.’ That’s a waste of text.” Instead, you’d be better off writing “I’m an environmental fundraising professional with more than 15 years of experience, and I’d love to bring my expertise and enthusiasm to your growing development team.”

This will be followed by the body, which should be one to three paragraphs that go into a bit more detail about your qualifications and the specific skills/knowledge you possess that make you a viable candidate.

Finally, end with a closing that ties everything up and encourages the reader to offer you an interview. You might say something like; “I look forward to hearing back from you.” Make sure to sign your name at the very end.

Strategies

A solid cover letter will be concise and to the point. Remember that the goal is to simply pique the interest of an employer – and you can give them other detailed information later on. It should be nicely organized so that it’s pleasing to the eye, which means breaking it up into tidy paragraphs.

Your spelling and grammar should be perfect, so always thoroughly proofread before ever sending it out. Lastly, don’t repeat your resume verbatim, and try to throw in some other information.

By understanding a few key elements and techniques, you can write an excellent cover letter that will catch the eye of prospective employers. With any luck, this will propel you to the next stage of the hiring process and help you land an interview.

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