Introduction
You’ve sent out your resume, and now you’re waiting for the phone to ring. The first step in the interview process is your cover letter—here’s how to write one that will get employers’ attention:
Be specific about the job you want.
To make your cover letter stand out, you need to focus on the specific job you want. This means knowing the title of the job, who will be hiring you (the hiring manager), and what skills they’ll want to see. The best way to do this is by doing thorough research on their company website and LinkedIn page. The more information you have about what’s required for this position, and how it aligns with your background and experience, the better chance you have at writing a cover letter that will get noticed!
Once you’ve done that research—and written down some bullet points about why an employer should hire YOU—it’s time for step two: writing a stellar cover letter that shows off those skills in action!
Use a template, but make it your own.
- Use a template, but make it your own.
- Show the employer that you understand the job description.
- Make sure you are not using the same template as everyone else.
- Show that you have done your research and know what is required of the position and company.
Tailor your cover letter to the company and show some knowledge of what the company does.
Tailor your cover letter to the company and show some knowledge of what the company does.
The first thing you should do is use the company’s name and address in your cover letter, which will make it look like you took time to apply for their position instead of just sending out a generic application. Next, mention something about the company that you have read about or heard about before. This shows that you are interested in learning more about them and are invested in being there as an employee or intern. If this is not possible due to lack of information on their website or social media presence, then at least use their website to learn about their mission statement and values (if these are available). You can also try searching for articles that mentioned them recently so that you know how they are doing lately (e.g., news coverage). Lastly, make sure that your resume has consistent formatting throughout—this means using headings such as “Education” rather than “Education:”
Cut the fluff. (Avoid generic statements and meaningless phrases.)
>Cut the fluff. (Avoid generic statements and meaningless phrases.)
Generic statements are soft, irrelevant words like “I am an energetic person who loves to learn new things.” If you want to say you’re energetic, say something like: “During my internship at XYZ, I was often asked to stay late working on projects with a team of other interns. This taught me how important it is for a business to get as much done in one day as possible—and also how much fun it can be when everyone works together!”
Meaningless phrases are similar but more vague: “I am a well-rounded person who excels at problem solving and teamwork.” Instead try telling the hiring manager what kinds of problems you have been able to solve lately—and what kind of teamwork you have been involved with recently (for example: “As part of my marketing internship last summer, I researched statistical data from our corporate website visitors and worked with management teams across several departments on strategies for future growth. During this process I learned several valuable skills including…).
Tell them why they should hire you… in 3-5 sentences.
Tell them why they should hire you. In three to five sentences, tell the employer what skills and abilities you bring to the position. Don’t just rehash your resume’s bullet points; instead, explain how your skills will benefit the company. This paragraph should be brief, but it’s where most cover letters fall short in demonstrating how qualified you are for a given role.
If this isn’t clear from what you’ve already written about yourself or from your resume (or if there isn’t much information available on either), now is when you need to provide some details about why an employer should hire YOU specifically for this job: “I have extensive experience with ABC Company, having worked as a sales representative for three years.”
Incorporate keywords from the job description (like the name of required software or expertise mentioned).
- Look at the job description.
- Find keywords that are important to the job.
- Use those words in your cover letter.
Avoid obvious buzzwords and jargon by looking at salary statistics for specific positions that use those words often to see if people actually get paid more for using them.
You want to avoid obvious buzzwords and jargon by looking at salary statistics for specific positions that use those words often to see if people actually get paid more for using them. If a company is paying someone with this position $30,000+ per year and you have no experience, don’t add that information in your cover letter.
Instead, focus your cover letter on the qualities of the job you are applying for and why you are qualified for it.
Proofread your cover letter thoroughly.
Proofread your cover letter thoroughly.
The last thing you want is to have an employer go through all the trouble of reading your cover letter, only to find spelling errors and grammatical mistakes in its final draft. To avoid that embarrassment and wasted time, make sure that you proofread your piece with a fine-toothed comb before submitting it. This will help catch any typos, misspellings, formatting errors (such as margins), spacing issues or even content errors (like mixing up two people’s names). It’s also important to check for clarity and accuracy—you don’t want any potential employers thinking you’re unprofessional simply because they can’t understand what you’re trying to say! Finally, make sure that the length of your piece is appropriate for what kind of position it’s applying for: if someone is looking for someone who can conduct long phone interviews over a few minutes on end without getting bored or distracted by other things going on around them then they’ll need something much longer than half a page but if they’re only looking for someone who does basic admin tasks then there really isn’t any need at all for such an extensive document in order get hired…
Review a list of what not to include in a cover letter so that you don’t make these mistakes.
Don’t mention salary requirements
It’s best to leave this information out of your cover letter. Many employers will expect you to include it in the body of your application, but if they don’t provide an option for you to do so (either directly or indirectly), don’t mention it at all. It shows that you’re more concerned with the money than with the job itself, and that can make employers lose interest in hiring you—and quickly.
Don’t include a photo of yourself
Including photos with applications is considered unprofessional unless specifically requested by the employer. If you want to show off your face, use a professional headshot as opposed to a selfie or group shot from college (unless those are specifically requested). If there are no photos provided on LinkedIn or another professional site like Dribble or Behance, consider uploading one there instead! This way everyone can see who they’re hiring before making any decisions about whether or not they want them around their workplace too much 😉
Learn how to format a cover letter (specifically with regard to margins, fonts, spacing, etc.)
It’s important to format your cover letter properly. The first thing to consider is the margins and font. Make sure you have one-inch margins on all sides and that the font is at least 12 point. If possible, use a serif font (like Times New Roman) instead of a sans-serif one (like Arial). Serif fonts are easier to read because they have little lines at the end of each stroke; this helps guide the eye across words and sentences more smoothly than sans-serif fonts do. You should also make sure that your cover letter has ample spacing between paragraphs so that it doesn’t look like one big blob of text when printed out or converted into an email attachment.
The next thing you need to think about after formatting is content: what should go in there? As mentioned earlier, talk about why you’re interested in working for this particular company—not just any job—and how this position fits into your long-term career goals. Be specific! And don’t forget: if they ask for a cover letter with “two pages” written at the bottom, try not going over two pages flat out or it’ll come across as unprofessional even if there isn’t anything wrong with having three paragraphs instead of just two (“What would happen if I put three?”).
Finally, remember that every cover letter needs an ending! It shouldn’t be abrupt but rather sum up why hiring you would benefit both parties involved—namely yourself and whomever’s reading through all these applications before making their own decision list (we’ve got ours!).
You can write a great cover letter that will help you find the perfect job for you!
Before you start writing your cover letter, make sure you have a good understanding of what the company is looking for in their employees.
- Know the position you are applying for and find out everything there is to know about it.
- Go over the job description and write down skills that might be relevant to this position. These could include things like computer skills or problem-solving abilities which might not be listed but are still important in getting hired.
- Look at other similar positions within this company or within other companies that do similar work or have similar goals as yours will have some overlap of skills needed between them all!
Conclusion
The cover letter is an important part of the application process. It helps employers understand what you bring to the table in terms of skills, experience, and personality. It also allows them to see if there are any gaps between what they need from their employees and what you can offer them. Your cover letter should be concise yet informative without being overly formal or informal—after all, it’s a communication tool designed specifically for this purpose! The key is knowing how (and when!) to use specific language so that your message comes across clearly every time
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