It does not seem that long since a good resume and qualified experience were enough to get you in the door of a nice establishment for an interview and job offer. A cover letter was just a formality known mostly for having the address of the company so the application and resume went off to the right place. All the contact information and skills were included on the attached documents, perused in detail with an appointment set for qualified applicants.
The cover letter has since changed and explains the reason for the attached correspondence. It is specific, which helps the documents reach the right person or department. Although cover letters may be in regards to any situation, such as a copy of a sales receipt for a defective product or a request for clarification on correspondence received from the company, a cover letter should always rest atop a resume and the company’s application form.
Even though the application and resume are very thorough, few supervisors and managers have time to go through each application they receive. It is important for you to pique their interest with the cover letter. Since it has the place of honor on top of the other pages, make certain that spelling is correct and the letter formatted in a readable style. Do not send a generic letter. Make it personalized to the company and department with which you are seeking a position. If a contact name was provided, include it, as well.
Nearly everyone uses a word processing program of some sort to create a resume and cover letter. Therefore, there is no excuse for having spelling errors, different styles of font in the center of a statement or an outdated piece of correspondence. It is difficult to persuade someone of your enthusiasm if you did not take a couple of minutes to update your cover letter.
Some people like to use special paper, often tinted, for their cover letter and that is perfectly acceptable. One reason is that the person reviewing it might remember how impressed he or she was with the statements noted on a light mint green or tan watermarked page. Recognition frequently attunes to colors, so make that point work for you.
If you have to drop to a small font size to squeeze everything into one page, you are saying too much. Remember, you want to list the highlights so the reviewer looks further. Make it easy to read. Common fonts include Arial and Times New Roman, with an 11-point font size a good measure. In today’s job market, there are literally thousands of applicants and the letters that are easiest to read are the ones typically selected.
One particular difference when sending a cover letter by email is that your name, address and phone number are part of the closing. Many companies only accept online applications, so do be certain to check requirements before sending off hard copy documents that will likely be discarded.
Why are you applying and what qualifications do you have to do the job? Briefly highlight those features, including your leadership opportunities and both formal and informal learning. Give quick, but brief, examples and then ask yourself if those examples pertain to the position for which you are applying. There is no need to discuss your enthusiasm or great communication skills; prove it with your cover letter and the attached documents.
Making a cover letter takes a lot of time and effort and those badly needing to get a job would go as far as finding a sample cover letter template online. These people do this because they can easily modify the template and add the skills and other details so the cover letter looks seemingly original. However, you can find tons of templates online with varying layouts and that may cause some problems if you happen to be building your cover letter out of a bad template. To avoid any risks, forget all of the templates that you see online even if some formats are correct. Make your own sample template with these techniques in mind so you can always use that template as your reference in any future cover letters you make.
Every cover letter should be brief in such a way that all of the messages and thoughts that need to be carried out to the recruiter are present. This is exactly why company representatives do not even bother reading any cover letters that are more than a single page long. Any lengthy page has a lot of unnecessary elements that can cause confusion. Word count will never be a consideration so do your very best to shorten those 15-word sentences to just a few words where the point still stands. There are some exceptions to this rule, which is why you see referral cover letters being a bit longer because further explanations are necessary.
It is normal to end up typing lots of information in your cover letter simply because you want the reader to know all of your big highlights. The problem of listing too many highlights about yourself is the possibility that it will make your cover letter look as if it targets multiple companies. This is something that readers do not like because they are looking for individuals that are truly dedicated for that one company. Try to evaluate all of your skills and experiences and only include the ones that are relevant to company you are applying for. If your sample template shows that it is directed towards a company, you will remember to modify it so it will be directed to another company.
Honest and Authentic