When applying for a job, it’s important that you take advantage of every opportunity to make a positive, strong first impression. Your resume is one way to do this, but another often overlooked way to make sure your resume gets the attention you want is to write a strong cover letter. Many people either don’t write cover letters, or don’t consider them important and worth spending any time on. Don’t make this mistake!
Cover letters give you the opportunity to show your personality to a potential employer and the chance to focus on some “soft skills” you have that might be hard to communicate in a resume. These include things like personal communication skills, enthusiasm, dedication, attention to detail, and professionalism, to name just a few.
The first and by far most important thing about a cover letter is to make sure that you spell check and double check your letter for grammar! This seems like a small point to make, but it’s far too common for a cover letter to contain errors that instantly communicate two negative points: that you’re not detail oriented, and that you don’t care about this job enough to take a few minutes to check your letter. Don’t make this mistake!
The content of your cover letter is also very important. Before you start writing your letter, consider the kind of job you’re applying for. Is it a formal setting, like a legal office, or a more relaxed creative atmosphere, like an advertising agency? You’ll want the tone of your writing to be appropriate to the audience – this is not to say that you should ever be too casual in your cover letter, but you can probably be a little less formal if you know your audience is going to be relaxed.
As you write, make sure that you explain why you’re applying for this particular job with this particular company. Take moment to research the office or company a bit, so that you can drop some details into your letter that will let the hiring manager know that you’re knowledgeable about their company. This kind of small detail can make you stand out as a more serious, more interested candidate. You’ll also want to compliment the company if you can do so without it seeming forced, to let them know that you look forward to being part of such a quality enterprise.
Lastly, let your cover letter be a chance to communicate some unique details about you and your skill set that might not come through in your resume. For example, if you have hobbies relevant to the job opening, or some short work-related anecdote that communications your strong interpersonal skills, your cover letter is the place for this information. Remember, your cover letter can be the difference between someone reading your resume or putting your resume in the “no” pile!
Again, the most important recommendation of all is this: Don’t forget to proofread! Good luck with your job hunting, and happy writing!
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