Friday, January 20, 2012

Cover Letter Success

By Barbra Sundquist


You know that you'd be perfect for that great job you saw advertised: Now you just have to get an interview! Write a great cover letter in professional business letter format and your chances of getting that interview will increase significantly.

How do you write a great cover letter? First, take the time to find out exactly who will be reading your cover letter. If the information is not apparent from the job advertisement, phone or email to ask who is in charge of hiring. Then address your letter accordingly.

It's really important to spell the person's name, position title and address correctly and find out if they are a Mr. Mrs. or Ms. Employers will be impressed by your attention to detail in these matters.

Employers are really busy so make their job easier. In your cover letter, specifically explain how you fit the job qualifications. You want them to read your cover letter and get the impression that you have everything they are looking for.

There's something else you can do that will put you far ahead of other applicants: Unless the advertisement specifically says "no phone calls", phone the company and ask for a "Statement of Qualifications" or job description. These documents will give you extra information about what qualities are important to the company and you can then emphasize how you can meet those criteria.

Highlight relevant skills, awards, and degrees you want the employer to notice. In business letter format paragraphs are generally short, and use bullet points where possible. This helps the employer to notice the relevant information while skimming the cover letter.

Beware of following cover letter samples or writing templates too closely. Although samples and templates are useful to show you the proper business letter format, they are a starting point only. You must customize your cover letter.

Employers can smell a "canned" or copied letter from a mile away, and that will affect their impression of you. The employer wants to see that you have put care into your cover letter, as it is an indication of how much care you will bring to the job if you are hired.




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