Cover letters are of various kinds, and writing a cover letter could really be a task for creative people. This is because even if it is just a piece of paper, it will help the reader decide whether they are going to open the application or not. If your cover letter is not eye-catching or attracts the attention of the reader, then there might be a high chance that your application will be seeing the face of a shredder real soon.
But who said that you cannot create a good cover letter if you are not creative? Or who said that you cannot create a really successful letter without a little help? No one! If you are short on time, or just don’t know how you can create an awesome cover letter – read this guide till the end to understand the basics and advanced rules that you must remember while writing the letter.
What Is The Purpose & Importance Of A Cover Letter
Before we begin with the how-to part, let us see what are the different reasons for which a cover letter is important. If we talk about the basic purpose, your cover letter will introduce you to the reader, the organizations, and your potential employers.
A cover letter will essentially describe your interest in the organizations and draw their attention towards the resume. This will surely motivate the reader to consider you as a potential employee. Remember that a cover letter that you share along with your application is your very first contact with the organization, so a neat and well-written letter would be key to gain further correspondence.
Cover letters are important because they tell the intended reader exactly what they need to know. This includes the type of position you are seeking, and that you are qualified for it. One more thing you can share in the cover letter is any gap or change that you might have taken in your employment history. You can mention the circumstances in a positive way.
An ideal cover letter must – > Introduce you > Mention the job or position you are seeking or applying for > Showcase your skills and experiences that are relevant to the job > Attract the attention of the reader and prompt the reader to read your complete resume > End with you asking for a meeting or interview
How To Start A Cover Letter
To start writing the letter, you must first find out some details about the job and the organizations you are writing the application for.
Yes, just like when you write your resume you research on the company and write the application to match the job – you do that here too.
What you need to know –
1. Check who you should address the letter to. You don’t want to start your letter with just sir or madam, mentioning the person who you think will be reading the letter will increase your chances to get that job. How to find the name of that person? If you found the job posting in an advertisement, they generally mention who to send the application to. Otherwise, you can just give them a call or send an email prior to sending the application and ask.
2. As mentioned above, do your research. About the job, the organization, their website, the employees. Try to find everything you can about the company so that you can make a cover letter that will match the job as well as have the tone of the company.
Having the tone of the company just means that you are talking in their language. You can understand that by visiting their website, reading about them online, connecting to the employees on LinkedIn. You can take this information and include it in the cover letter. For example, you can include that you are good at working in a team and mention your previous experience if the job has a requirement for the same.
Cover Letter For Job Or Internship
After gaining enough information about the desired job, you must start writing your cover letter:
- Start by writing a really good introduction/opening line to get your reader hooked. It’s already been mentioned, I know! But it is really important to have your readers more attentive and wanting to read more.
- Introduce yourself in the opening line. Make a snappy sentence that will show your enthusiasm and interest in the job position.
- Usually, people think that cover letters are just a summary of your resume. But it is not that way. You must go beyond what you have mentioned in your resume. You can expand the points included in the resume and show off what skills you have that would benefit the company.
- Don’t talk about what you expect from the company, rather point at the things that you can and will be bringing to the company. For this look into what the job position requirements are and see if you have those qualities. If you do – mention them.
- Focus on those past experiences that are necessary for the job you are applying for. If you are looking for a job as a programmer and focusing on how you are good at writing emails, that is just not going to be profitable for you. You can also add details about any summer internship or part-time job that you might have taken which are relevant to the position.
- Have worked on a project? Got improvement in the success graph? How about mentioning the numbers in the cover letter itself? This will give your application a boost as you would be providing details about what you can do in very few words.
- Share feedback from former co-workers or clients or your ex-boss. It will surely illustrate your skills and passion for the company.
- Don’t end with just mentioning your experience, insert a call to action statement at the end. You can include “Awaiting your positive response” or something like that which must highlight your excitement towards the company.
Good Cover Letter Format With Examples
The format of a cover letter starts like any other letter that you work on. It includes your contact information, information of the person it is intended for, the body of the letter, conclusion or ending note, and finally your signature.
The format is always the same for any formal letter; what changes are the details that you include. Let’s break down the cover letter format –
1. Start with the heading of the cover letter. It is just like you see in any company’s letters – a letterhead. You include all your contact information here. This is important to make your letter more precise and less space-consuming.
You must include:
Your name: Full name, and try to make it easy to read. Use a clean font and have the font size more than other elements.
Current Residential Address: Important for any letters or feedbacks the company want to send to you.
Phone number: Include a backup number in case your personal number is unreachable and they want to set up an interview.
Email Address: A professional email address must be included. Online profile: If you have a website, you must include that. Also, share your LinkedIn profile.
2. The date on which you are writing the letter. Necessary to make sure they know that you have created the cover letter fresh and personalized for them.
3. Information of the intended person. The next will be to add the contact information of the person who is going to read your application. It could be the HR of the company or the employer. Use correct and full name and designation. As I have already mentioned, you must dig in to know who will be taking your interview so that you can fill in the details correctly.
Include these details: Name of the Hiring Manager along with the designation Company’s name and address, city, state, and zip code This article offers free shipping on qualified Face mask products, or buy online and pick up in store today at Medical Department
4. Use correct salutation and address the reader in a respectful manner. You can use a generic greeting too if you don’t know what salutation you must use. Definitely, don’t go for “whoever it may concern”.
5. Next element will be the body of the letter. Start with the introduction paragraph, introduce yourself as I have mentioned before. Then share your experience, highlight any skill that is relevant to the profile. End with the conclusion paragraph in which you will be adding the call to action statement.
6. Finally, end the letter with a generic “thank you” and include your signature and your full name at the end.
Cover Letter For A Job Example
Applying for a job? Here is a sample that you can refer to when you are writing a cover letter for a new job.
Cover Letter For An Internship Example
For those who are applying for an internship just after college or during there college, can take a look at how simple a cover letter could be kept.
Conclusion
There are various types of cover letters, for various jobs, businesses and more. The writing style is almost the same for all the job profiles, you just need to take care of the elements that you must include in the piece. I hope you got what you were looking for. Share with us your cover letter story.