10+ Do’s And Don’ts Of Cover Letters For Resume | Writing Tips

We all know how Cover letters are necessary for every application you submit online. They not only enhance our possibility of bagging the jobs but also help the recruiter get to know us in a way much better than they could ever know about us from our resume. Cover letters, in general, are a great way of introducing us to any organization in a simple yet effective way.

If you are a newbie and want to know why cover letters are necessary or how to craft a cover letter on your own, then you can read my blog here – writing a killer cover letter in no time.

In this article, we are going to take a step further and understand what are the things that we must include and what things are better left omitted.

Tips For Writing A Cover Letter

Let’s begin with the elements of a cover letter that everyone must remember and master. These elements are as necessary as adding your experience in the resume. Why is that? Because these elements describe you and let the readers know what they can expect.

1: The first thing that you must always remember to add in a cover letter is the letter heading. What does that mean? A letter heading is just like a company’s letterhead which will include your name, contact information, social profiles, instead of any company’s information.

Not sure what information you must include? Here is a list of things that a recruiter will expect your cover letter to have:

• Your name (duh!)
• Contact Number (most important)
• Address of correspondence
• Social Profiles (LinkedIn, email address)
• Website (if available)

Apart from these, if you have any other information that you think might interest the reader, you can include that too.

2: Next, the address of the addressee and their correct names plus their designation is important. Why is that? You see, when you send someone a letter, they expect you to know that you are sending it to them and not a random person. Also, it will make your letter personalized and won’t look like you have used the same letter for all your applications. Don’t do that too though!

3: After you have written the proper address of the addressee, write the date and subject like any other letter. Then you can start writing your letter.

4: At the end, don’t forget to include your signature to maintain authenticity.

Easy, right?

Writing a simple cover letter that goes with most of your applications is easy, but writing a cover letter that bags you an interview in your dream company is not that easy. You might think that you will just add the summary of your resume and all will be done – It’s a big no!

There are certain things that you might understand for crafting a letter that catches the eyes of the recruiters in a second and compels them to open and read your resume. There are a lot of resumes in many corporations that go unseen just because the HR was bored while reading the cover letter. True story!

So, what makes a good cover letter? Well, not much! You just need to be true, relevant, impressive – together.

Let’s talk about some things that you can add and should take care of in the cover letter if you want them to hire you!

Cover Letter Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s Of Cover Letters

1. Make sure you understand the job profile and know what you are applying for. If you are unsure you can re-read the posting. The thing is that the cover letters are supposed to be personalized according to the job profile. If you are not clear what the job posting is then you won’t be able to write it properly. And a general letter will not be sufficient for different companies and roles.
2. Address the letter to the intended reader only. Suppose you have written the letter to the HR manager of the company but it turns out that the recruiter is someone else – that wouldn’t cut the deal right? So, how do you know who to write the letter? As I have already talked about on my other blog about perfect cover letters, you can always call them to know who will be the recruiter. Sometimes the job postings mention who to address the letter to, but you get the idea.
3. Check and highlight the keywords relevant to the job. Not sure what those keywords are? You will find them in the job posting. Just go to the requirements sections and you can see for yourself. Why is it necessary? If you are applying online, your cover letter will be scanned to check if you have the required experience or not, and that will be done by checking those major keywords.
4. Your passion must show in your letter for the job position, for the company. Show that you are committed to what you do and are enthusiastic about future roles you will be playing.
5. Along with your passion, show them that you are the person they are looking for. Mention how you can overcome hurdles on your way, give some real-life examples if possible. Tell them how your past experiences made you fit for that job.
6. Keep the letter short, straightforward, and free of grammatical errors. No one would like to read a foot long letter which is actually just a story about your life. Be logical and put in only what matters for that job. Everything else is right there in your resume already.
7. Don’t just talk about what you require and are seeking. Talk in the language of the company and speak about what you can bring to the company.
8. Make sure you end the letter with a call to action asking for what the letter is for. It could be to set up a meeting or to make an appointment for an interview.
9. Check out cover letter examples that you know are written correctly and for professionals.

Don’ts Of Cover Letters

1. As I mentioned in the Do’s section, don’t bore your reader. The application that you created and sent with such expectations will be sent down the shredder in no time if you do so! Make the presentation of the letter unique so that it stands out and lets the recruiter understand that you mean business.
2. Don’t repeat things, keep the flow, and give the reader plenty of time to digest what you are writing. Don’t ramble or confuse the recruiter.
3. Opening statements must be attention-seeking so don’t start it with a boring statement that would just kill the mood of the reader.
4. Make sure you don’t use slang or unprofessional language in the text. It will just deduct your points instead of making the letter interesting.
5. Never ever think that cover letter is not of importance. Most companies don’t even expect applications if they don’t include a cover letter.

Conclusion

To say that we succeed in the first attempt is an exaggeration, never happens in real life. But, we can practice and use these tips on the internet to polish our skills until we make it. Right?

What are your opinions on this article? Do write in comments.