A cover letter is the backbone of your job application, some like to call it Achilles’ Heel of job seekers. Job seekers often undermine the importance of cover letters, mainly concentrating their energies and focus on decorating their resume, which is fair thinking, but in the process they end up creating a poorly written cover letter. So the question arises, “do employers really want to see cover letters?”
Yes, definitely! In fact, writing cover letters as an afterthought is one of the biggest mistake job seekers make, resulting in poor responses and no callbacks from the hiring managers. So maybe your resume isn’t entirely to be blamed. And if you have spoken to a professional resume writing agency, they will educate you on the necessity of a profound cover letter that demonstrates your work abilities to employers.
When it comes to getting maximum calls for interviews, a cover letter acts as a supporting player in addition to the lead role, that is your resume. You must put some effort in the cover letter to convince the employers that you are the right fit for the job. Hiring managers do look at your cover letter to decide if they should even read your resume. If your not a superb cover letter writer, hire a reputable and talented resume and cover letter writing service.
What is the most common mistake job seekers make when writing a cover letter?
They keep it brief, generic, and templated, and if you intended to do the same, don’t! Compatibility matters and you must have a powerful cover letter to go along with your impressive resume to make a solid impression on your future employer. Stating on your cover letter, “See resume for further details” is a waste of space and unnecessary. There is really no point of stating the obvious.
What you see is what you get. If your cover letter is written as a formality, your job application will be read as a formality. Get the point? Employers use it against you to probe your mindset. In short, when you know that recruiters always consider cover letters, you should benefit from the opportunity and craft it to bottom-line the best of your professional achievements that will force the readers to get the whole package from your resume.
How to use cover letters to bait the employers into reading your resume?
You do want your cover letter to redirect the hiring managers to check out the resume, but make sure the transition is smooth. Merely mentioning that “you can find more about my skills and experience in my…” is not going to work. So maintain a professional attitude, the mission here is to draw their attention, not to provoke their wrath.
Your cover letter should complement your resume in an independent way, so the hiring manager can get an idea of what follows. Include your key skills relevant to the job so the reader will automatically be enticed jump to your resume. It is very important that you use targeted keywords on your cover letter that conforms to the job description.
Keep the cover letter compatible with your resume
Occasionally, job seekers make the mistake of writing cover letters that speak differently from the resume. It is essential that you summarize your qualities based on skills, abilities, experience, and key points already highlighted in the resume. Otherwise, you can only pray that the recruiter is a very tolerant person, which is too much optimism.
Does the length of my cover letter really matter to the employer?
As previously mentioned, don’t leave blank spaces. Experts say that a single page cover letter with 2-3 paragraphs is more than enough to intrigue the interest of the employers. This is your premium space to convince them that you are a worthy candidate, but if you wish to add a fourth paragraph as well, make sure it serves the purpose, otherwise stick to the rule of thumb. Additionally, it is better if the cover letter has the same font as your resume.
What do employers want to see on your cover letter?
Avoid Dear Sir/Madam: If the job announcement was posted with the name of the key person, address the letter directly to his/her name. If no, research the company’s online portals like their official website, LinkedIn or Facebook page to find out the name of the hiring manager(s). It gives your cover letter a ballistic start and grabs reviewer’s attention instantly.
Start with a simple introduction: Opening lines should indicate that you wish to apply for the announced position followed by where you learned about the job vacancy with proper reference of the issue/website. You don’t have to write the full date; writing the job opening month is a widely used standard.
Experience in relative field: Now it is time to roll out how much experience you have in accounting, management or any other jobs that were related to the vacancy you are applying for. State your professional qualifications and mention duration of every job, promotions and other achievements of your track record. You can add short descriptions of your experience in other industries, if it contains some applied aspects that match the requirements provided in the job advertising.
Get familiar with their business: Use internet and other resources (annual reports, etc.) to learn more about the company and align your experiences with their business objectives and interests. For example, if the employer has recently diversified into more areas of media marketing or expanded their offices in another regions, you can tell them that have been there with promising results. Likewise, if it is a non-profit organization, you can mention your experience in charitable causes. It is a proven strategy that acknowledges that you are a resourceful person and you have done your homework.
Express your interest: In the opening lines, you already said that you “wish to apply” for the job, now in the ending lines, it is time to reaffirm your interest with a solemn intention to face the challenges with dedication. This is how your last paragraph should end followed by thanking the employer for considering your job application.
Signing off: Always use “yours sincerely” instead of “Yours faithfully,” because the later lacks the professional touch you mean to implicate and the trend has become so general that hiring manager won’t miss the mistake if you concluded the cover letter otherwise.
Proofreading: You thought signing off was the last part? Of course, not. Revise the letter 10 times if you have to—to remove any punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors. It is the final and a very critical step. Ignorance can result in immediate rejection of your job application.
What we learned:
Average job seekers hasten up cover letters; a small effort on your part can help distinguish your job application from rest of the candidates. Cover letters should always be concise, with business tone and to the point. At any given time, hiring managers could be dealing with several job openings, so always mention the one you are apply for with proper reference. Focus on employer’s needs with selling points and establish a good communication that can urge them to read your resume and can get you an interview.
Write only relevant and the most recent experiences, add other projects if they are of great value in this regard. Finally, revise your cover letter to remove any errors.
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