Key Takeaways:

  • Address the cover letter to the right person and use proper salutation.
  • Use the job description and company website to guide your cover letter and connect it to the company’s mission or vision statement.
  • Provide concrete examples of how you can help the company and ensure the cover letter is grammatically sound.
A

cover letter is the first thing an employer will read about you, so it's important to get it right.

Here's how to write a cover letter to make you stand out amongst the crowd and land you an interview:

Don't use a generic "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir or Madam."

The first step to writing a cover letter is to make sure that it's addressed to the right person.

The job description will usually list a hiring manager, so use that as your guide. If there isn't a hiring manager listed, you can reach out directly via email or phone and ask for their name. Or try Googling them and seeing who pops up on LinkedIn or other social media platforms.

Once you have the correct person's name, address the letter “Dear [insert appropriate title here]”--this shows respect while also giving them an idea of how important they are in this process (which is really only fair).

If all else fails and you can't find their name, start with "Dear Hiring Manager."

Once you've got that part down pat, it's time to get writing!

Use the job description and company website to guide your cover letter.

When writing your cover letter, it's important to use the job description and company website as a guide.

The information contained within these pieces of content should help you understand the company, its culture, and its values. You'll also want to be able to connect what you're presenting in your cover letter back to that mission or vision statement of theirs.

If you're applying for a position at a nonprofit organization or government agency, then the mission statement will most likely be quite obvious (or at least easy enough to find). For example: "Our mission is helping those who are less fortunate than ourselves."

In contrast, if you're applying somewhere like Google (a private company), then finding their mission statement might not be so easy—but it's still worth looking into their culture and values because there's no doubt that this info will come up in conversation during the interview process; having some context beforehand will make all of those conversations much more productive!

Provide concrete examples of how you can help the company.

To show how you can help the company, you should use specific numbers and statistics to support your claims.

For example, if you are applying for a marketing position at an ad agency, share with the hiring manager how many people saw your last advertising campaign. If you have performed well in previous roles (like sales or customer service), mention those experiences in your cover letter as well.

You should also demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about the industry or field in which the company does business. The more familiar you are with it, the better able you will be to discuss how its operations could benefit from some of your ideas or suggestions.

Be grammatically sound.

As with any essay or letter, your cover letter should be impeccably written. This means using correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting. It’s also important to use proper capitalization. The most common mistake people make when it comes to writing a cover letter is not proofreading the final product before sending it off for review.

If you want your application package to be taken seriously by the hiring manager, then you need to make sure that it is free of errors that would distract from its message and impact negatively on your candidacy.

We hope that we’ve helped you understand the importance of writing a cover letter and given you some tips on how to do so.

Happy job-hunting!

To learn more about how you can be successful in your job hunt and interview process - check out the classes below:

Jul 15, 2022
 in 
Business & Jobs
 category
Posted