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The resume cover letter is your all important foot in the door.
Whenever you send in a full resume for a position, it should always be accompanied by a covering letter. This brief introductory letter needs to establish that you are a qualified candidate and that it would be in the employers best interest to continue further, read your full resume and consider you for the first interview.
This is a tall order but two items must be up front: your ability to do the job and and your professional qualifications. The employer you are trying to entice must have no doubts that you fit the criteria for the position.
Unfortunately many people go overboard with this covering letter and forget to focus on the main reason for it’s appearance. In order to get the attention of the selection committee and have a chance at that all important first interview you will need to avoid these six, all to common, mistakes. Ignore them at your peril!
1…Who are you writing to?
The address line is extremely important. Not only should it look good and be spelled correctly but it should be addressed to the actual person who will be reading the letter. Sounds simple but ‘Hi, how are you’, doesn’t cut it. Find out who is hiring, what the position is and what the actual full name of the company is. Check the spelling, check the full address and use it, even if you are sending the cover letter by e-mail.
You want the letter to be personal not generic and look like you have already spent some time, formed an interest in, the actual company. Personnel managers do not like templates and they certainly will not overlook errors.
2…It’s more about what you can do for them?
Your potential employer wants to know how you will be of benefit to the cause: the factory, the workplace the work team. Telling them how much the opportunity to work for them will enhance your career will have a simple end. Employers don’t want to hear this because they are looking to improve their staff, add to their team and they want to know how innovative and positive you are. You have to let them know very early on, what you bring to the table and how that can be of benefit if they hire you. Remember, it’s a competition.
3…Why is your cover letter the same as your resume?
Your cover letter is simply to entice the employer to read further, to find out more, to delve into greater depth. That’s where the resume itself comes in, so don’t repeat what you have written in your resume. Lead the employer to consider the main highlights and point out why you have the qualifications and aptitude for the position and therefore give him reason why he needs to read on: he needs to read the resume in full! Speak more about your career goals that your actual specific qualifications and talk of what you can bring to the company, not a specific research program you worked on.
4…I need a job!
Write as if you are discussing your situation with someone real: the personnel manager concerned for example. This means a limited use of ‘I’ and less of the ‘Me’. This becomes an opportunity to show your communication skills and control of the language, for while you are talking about yourself, you need to put it into the context of a discussion about your qualifications and attributes. It’s your only chance to convince a prospective employer that you are thoughtful, well spoken and have a good understanding of basic communication skills.
5…Call me,when you have a minute!
I don’t think there is a quicker way to get rejected than to suggest that a potential employer, ‘Call you at their earliest convenience’. Not only is this a generic ending reeking of ‘template’ resumes but it doesn’t present you as someone who is excited and interested. You want to know right away, your truly excited about the prospect of working for them. Tell them you want to do a follow up and how and when you will do that. A phone call, for example, to see if your resume has arrived and been accepted. This is your closing statement, that you will be following up your application in some manner. Take action, be positive, show leadership.
6…done good last febury!
Do I really have to point his out? No spelling or grammatical errors please.
You have a spell checker on your computer? You have friends and family who can read. Ask a teacher or a University professor. Get someone who really knows about writing and ask them to critique your work. Not how good it is but ‘how can I improve it’?
Be ruthless, your next job may depend on it!
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