How to Write a Great Cover Letter

How to Write a Great Cover Letter

Give the reader a small glimpse into your background, which encourages them to want to learn more by reading your resume.

• mention the name of the company in the letter, followed by an explanation of why you’re interested in working there.
• make a sales pitch as to why the employer should want to work with you
• letter should explain what you can do for your ‛customer,’ not what you are selling
• The most effective cover letters are those that do one of the following two things in one sentence or two: They make a compelling statement that begs a response, or they ask a question that must be answered.
• A good approach is to ask for clarification of a point that makes it clear they have done their homework, as in: ‘Your ad said X while your Web site said Y … Could you help me understand Z?’ ” he said. “I believe the goal of the job seeker is to start a conversation rather than just throw a resume into a pile.”
• Perfect spelling and grammar are mandatory
• cover letter can also be used to bridge your background and the job.” For example…
• "As you can see, my resume is attached. But what you won’t see on my resume is my passion for video gaming: it is how I see the world...

Length and Format

1. First paragraph:  Introduce yourself and state why you re writing; you are enthusiastically presenting yourself for a job, and your background makes you the best candidate. List a referral source if possible.
2. Second paragraph: List your value to the company. Describe how you will contribute to the company from Day One. This should be based on research of the company and job. Share knowledge of the company’s goals, accomplishments and opportunities. Tip: Use bulleted lists of requirements and descriptions of how your background matches them
3. Third paragraph:  Call to action. Ask for the interview and state when (exactly) you will follow up.

Be aware when applying online...

• Cover letters are a concise way to communicate your value to a company, and some recruiters and hiring managers do use them to winnow candidates. They demonstrate your attention to detail and anticipation of the company’s needs. Finally, small employers don’t necessarily employ ATSes, meaning your cover letter will more likely be read by human eyes.
• the ATS renders the content of your e-mail as the cover letter and assumes any attachment is your resume. Thus, when asked to e-mail a resume as an attachment, assume your e-mail content will be saved as a cover letter and write it accordingly.
• Granted, your resume is center stage. Your cover letter may not be read at all, and it won’t salvage a poor resume, but it must be crafted just as carefully to satisfy software algorithms and HR screeners.
• Look at the cover letter as a way to put in additional skills and credentials to add additional searchable keywords that a company may have programmed in the ATS to identify candidates for a specific job posting.
• Applications may accept cover letters as text pasted into its online form, not as an attachment. Therefore, the application stores cover letters with the resume as searchable text.
• Like your resume, your cover letter has little room for error and demands exacting attention to structure and usage of keywords.
• Eighty percent of HR staff, hiring managers and recruiters read the resume first.

Creating Effective Cover Letters

Do cover letters matter? Do recruiters and human resources managers even look at the correspondence that accompanies your resume and job application? The answers vary widely even among career experts and HR pros, many of whom have strong opinions on the matter.

'My Cover Letter Was Out of Shape'

After this job seeker discovered that physical activity motivated him to slim down at the gym and shape up his job search, his company-to-be found him on OpsLadder.

Cover Letters Still Play Valuable Role in Hiring Decisions, Survey Suggests

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