Top Cover Letter Tips to Land the Job

Top Cover Letter Tips to Land the Job Image via Isorepublic.com Tailor it to each specific job The last thing recruiters want to read is another generic cover letter that could have been used for any other job. They have read enough of those; they want to see something fresh! It’s okay to have a generic letter but be sure to tailor it to each specific job you apply to. You can do this by doing some research on the company and figuring out what their culture is like. What are their values? What is their mission? Are they laid back or formal? Also, take another look at the listing and find out what exactly they are looking for. Present yourself as someone who can solve those problems and who fits in perfectly with their mission. This does require some extra work, but it’s worth it when a recruiter reads a cover letter that’s tailored to their company rather than another boring generic letter. Start off strong The first paragraph of your letter is crucial. Make sure you use that to your advantage! Write an introduction that will catch the recruiter’s attention and keep them reading until the end. You don’t want them to read your introduction and then throw your application away. At the same time, don’t forget to re-state the job you are applying for. Sometimes, resumes and cover letters get separated, and you don’t want the recruiter to go through the trouble of figuring out which position you are interested in. Focus on the company, not on you Doing research on the company beforehand will also allow you to focus on the company rather than yourself in your letter. Many people will tell you to use to word “I” sparingly in your cover letter because recruiters want to hear more about how you can benefit their company rather than how great you are. Like I said before, focus on the company and what you can add to it. Proofread Your cover letter is one place you don’t want to make a silly mistake. It is way too easy to overlook a typo when you’re writing on your computer, especially when you rely on spell check to catch all your mistakes. Spoiler alert: spell check doesn’t catch all typos … it won’t tell you that you typed “food” when you meant to type “good.” Make sure that at least one other person takes a look at your letter before you send it off. They might even give you some ideas to help you better express yourself. Avoid making these silly mistakes by having someone else proofread your letter after you’ve done it yourself. Don’t make it too long Recruiters read many cover letters, so they don’t want each letter to be too long. Usually, they recommend keeping your letter to a maximum of one page. For this reason, you should keep your letter short, sweet, and to the point, but informative, too! The company’s first impression of you will be your cover letter, so you want to make sure it is excellent. Do your research on the company, write your letter (focusing on the company and not on yourself, of course), and then have a friend or two proofread it. If you do that, you should be good to go. Good luck with your job search!