Today's topic is the ever confusing cover letter. Most employers now ask for one. But what exactly is it, and what should you put in it? Why is your resume not enough to get an interview?
We'll start with the basic explanation of what a cover letter is. A cover letter precedes your resume and is looked at first by a prospective employer to see if you are a good fit for a position as far as skills and personality. It's like your personal introduction. It can be a professional outline of your skills, an expression of interest in the position you are applying for, a personal brag page, or a desperate plea to be hired. How do you know which of these your cover letter looks like? It's difficult sometimes to decide what to put in a cover letter. You don't want to seem redundant by putting what is already in your resume in a cover letter, but you do want to highlight certain skills.
Here is a basic rundown of what to put in a cover letter. There are 8 sections to a well written cover letter.
Section 1: Your information. You should start with your address, and the date.
Section 2: The employer's information. Do your research. Make sure you are addressing your business correspondence to the right person. Start with the name of the person hiring, and their professional title. Then list the company name and address.
Section 3: The greeting. Mr. Mrs so and so, or attention HR manager, keep it professional, you don't want to put yo wuz up dude, or any such here.
Section 4: Purpose of the letter, tells the employer the position you want to be considered for. This is short - usually 2-3 sentences. Points to cover: express interest in a particular position, how you heard about the position only if it is a mutual contact or recruiting firm referral. They know they posted it on such and such website, and reminding them is assinine. Make a connection, show them you did your research, what about the company interests you, make sure to be specific here. Don't generalize.
Section 5: Your personal qualifications. Bring attention to your relevant experience for the job you are applying to. Choose a few accomplishments or highlight general qualities you have and provide examples of such that make you qualified for the job. This section will change based on the job you are applying for, and is usually the longest section of any cover letter. What to consider for this section: The first sentence here should grab attention. It should be short and accomplishment-oriented as well as directed at the skills and qualifications needed for the job. You should have supporting evidence to back up what you are claiming. Cite specific jobs/internships/activities/projects and accomplishments associated with those experiences. Use your resume to come up with some specifics, but NEVER reiterate passages from your resume word for word. Discuss why you did what you did.
Section 6: The summary. Sum up what you have said, mention the position title and company name to remind them what you are looking for.
Section 7: Ending paragraph aka, see attached resume, contact information etc.. This is a short 2-4 sentences paragraph. You should refer to the enclosed resume, request an interview and let the reader know what will happen next (Contact them within specific period of time unless it is a recruiting program). It is vital that you thank the reader for his/her time and consideration.
Section 8: Signature. Thanks, sincerely, etc.. your signature, actual written one. You can do a typed one, but also a written one makes it more personal, and it lets them know you are truly not just handing them a computer generated lemming page. Put any relevant professional title here as well.
A resume is nice, but it's still just basically a spreadsheet without the boxes showing. If you can get letters of recommendation from others, then do so, and include copies with your cover letter and resume. Only use professional letters, don't have your mom, best friend, room mate write it for you. Ask your previous employer if they would do this for you, school counselors, or teachers, even your pastor would be acceptable, as long as it is from someone who knows you in an impersonal yet supervisory position. If you do use a recommendation letter, keep in touch with that person, and use them as a reference, make sure they are ok with being used as a reference in addition to the letter.
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