How to write a Best Cover Letter? Today we are here to tell everything about writing a best cover letter for you. A cover letter is a formal document that goes hand in hand with your CV or resume. It highlights the skills and experience of a candidate by providing detailed information. Merely attaching this document will make a remarkable difference between giving a job interview and successfully attaining the job. So, what are you waiting for? If you want to pursue a successful career with no gap, it is the supplementary document that any applicant must have. It gives you a piece of additional information about the reason why you are the best candidate. It complements the CV in a way that it elaborates your way of working in the professional environment.
A common misconception about a cover letter is that it is a detailed personal statement of CV. It is not a duplication of CV at all. Most of the companies mention it in a job posting list. But if there is no mention in the job posting, try to send a cover letter along with resume in any way.
The cover letter is a first-ever introduction about your personality after getting the layout of facts from the resume. It can create the best impression on the employer if it is well written. A cover letter acts as a screen to select an employee after an effective CV gets approved before the interview. The extra effort you put in your job application will show up in the form of well-organized and well-written cover letter. Read the full article below to understand how to write a perfect cover letter.
Types of Cover Letter:
There are different types of cover letter available depending upon the requirement.
Prospecting Letter:
This type of letter will navigate around the possible positions. The example includes inquiry letters.
Networking Letter:
This type of letter will show the purpose of networking in the form of requisition to have additional information and research in job assistance.
Application Letter:
This letter is the most significant one with common use in the job application process. This is written in response to a particular job posting for the introduction of the candidate.
How to Write a Professional Cover Letter?
A successful cover letter should have a format like:
- An introduction that will be attention-grabbing and memorable
- The organized format of relevant work with the example of experiences
- A mind-blowing conclusion compelling the employer to call for action
Length of Cover Letter:
The cover letter should contain a piece of detailed yet concise information. It must not exceed the length of one A4 page. The word limit does not matter. However, the page must not be crowded with useless words.
Content of Cover Letter:
As described above, the length if the Cover letter is already short which cannot fit your whole career on a single page. Therefore, you should carefully select the stories which add value to the company in which you are applying. All the job company look for the three things in their candidates: the reason of doing the job in that company, how the candidate is compatible and competitive with his skills and work experience relevant to the job. The content is in such a way that it convinces the reader that you are best for the job.
Problem Solver:
Show the company that you are the best problem solver in the working area. Do not start with self-praising. Start with a practical example. For example, narrate the experience in which you play a key role to solve a problem. It is better if the company has a particular problem, explain your role in how you can and play the role in problem-solving.
Tone:
The overall tone of your letter should be constructive and positive. For this purpose, search for the company which helps you to set the tone.
The Stories:
The stories from your career relevant to the job have a significant impact on the cover letter. Choose the stories wisely. Tell the stories according to the requirements in the job description. They will help the employers to give insight into your personality and working letter.
How to start writing stories?
First one is to research the company online. Discuss with employees to know the working style of the company. Compare the skills with job requirements. Make the first draft and use some methods to highlight your competencies in the cover letter.
Be honest:
Likewise, in the CV, must tell your stories to the employers honestly. If you demonstrate the skills that you do not have will lead you to bite back because that skills can be asked in the future interview.
Be Unique in your wording:
The word variation in the letter will make you stand out. The use of advanced vocabulary to replace the commonly used words will make you creative. Think something new in writing than the average applicant.
The Conclusion:
Always end your letter with the reason why the company should contact you. Be polite in your wording and suggest them to call you out for information. End the letter with some formal sentences like l am looking forward to work in your company.
Format of Cover Letter:
The format is given to organizing the things on the letterhead given by the company. Review some letter samples so that you can get an idea about how things are formatted on the cover letter. The length should be one A4 page. The cover letter has a format similar to the other letter. The format varies from job to job description and can be sent in both printed form and email. Since it is a strong endorsement of your personality and skills in a practical work setting, so make sure to take time to personalize your letter.
Header:
The header comprises yours and employer or company contact information. The contact information should include full name, complete home address, phone number and email id. In email format, the contact information will send to the end of the letter after signatures.
- Contact information format:
- Forename Surname
- Home Address
- City, Country
- Phone number
- Email id
- The same format goes for employer information
Salutation:
Begin with the salutation marks such Mr., Ms., or Dr. If you do not know the company head name, simply place the designation after Dear. For example, Dear Hiring Manager. It is far better than writing informal sentences such as TO Whom It May Concern.
Introduction:
Start with your introduction as a direct, expressive statement. If someone refers you to the job, mention him with skills you have. First, show how do you get to know about the job and mention the skills relevant to the applied job? Like this, the preview of your whole letter, start with sentences engaging to the reader’s attention.
Body of the Letter:
This will comprise one or two paragraphs, demonstrating your skills and capabilities along with the reason about the job. Mention the qualifications required in the job with an explanation of the reason how do you meet the criteria. Avoid restatement of your resume. Instead, mention your work experiences to show practical examples. This is very important to blend your skills in the working environment to come up with a solution. Use some tangible examples to show your attributes in the job. The paragraph length depends upon your experience and practical examples related to skills. But it should be concise enough to take less time of employer.
Closing:
It is the section where you restate your skills to show how you are a good fit for the company briefly. The other thing is to express your excitement to give further information about your personality at the end. State how you would you follow up the company.
Signatures:
After writing the closing paragraph, go for the complimentary closing such as with gratitude, with appreciation, thank you and then add signatures. In an email, simply write your name along with contact information.
Font Size:
It is the official document working for formal purposes. In the writing setup, the font size should be 10-12 throughout the letter. The larger font size will cover the large space, and the smaller font size would decrease the readability.
Font Style:
The font style should be like straight and easy to read. For example, the font styles such as Georgia, Calibri, Times New Roman, Arial etc. are without italic. The margin should be of 1 inch on all the sides.
The spacing between paragraphs, header and closing should be uniform throughout the letter.
Proofread the Cover Letter:
Once you are done with the cover letter, there will be a time given to edit the complete document. Give it two to three revisions with the possible editing by yourself. Edit the thing accordingly after getting it to proofread by your relatives and friends.
What should not include in the cover letter?
As the average letter contains a lot of generic terms and sentences. The examples are “to whom it may concern”, ” I am not sure” etc. There are many overused expressions which do not make the good impression are “thank you for taking the time to look at my CV and cover letter. It does not make sense. These words phrase only annoy the hiring person and will result in your rejection. These cliches only meant to bore the recruiters, and they only end up in groaning on your phrases. They want something new and refreshing in your letter.
As described in most of our article, the irrelevant information not only boring and page filling, but it also led to missing out the important information in the cover letter.
How to submit a Cover Letter?
If you take longer than necessary, it will lead to prolonging the opportunity of getting the job. The job description tells the candidate about the submitting process. The emailing of the CV along with cover letter will the preferred way.
Example of Cover Letter:
Sample Cover Letter:
This type of cover letter encourages the recruiters to hire you for a job. It highlights the skills and experience in addition to the information provided in the CV to avoid repetition.
Cover Letter with No Job Experience:
It is tough to seek for the job with no experience. Remember not to sell yourself for short. It means to describe your abilities in detail, together with the experience you gained during university life. For example, it can be any volunteer work in club and societies that is relevant to the job.
Cover letter for Master’s degree:
Many of the students opt for higher studies because they want to expand their knowledge and improve their job prospects. The purpose of a cover letter is to explain how higher studies will help you to improve your job performance. Explain the gains of capabilities from the course.
Cover letter for Changing the Career:
If you have large gaps in the CV or want to change your career, explain the reason carefully in this type of letter. Relate the experience with new kind of job.
How to disclose a Disability?
It is illegal to describe your gender, marital status, and disabilities in the cover letter. However, if you have any physical disability and want to some changing in the professional setting, you can ask for it. You can disclose the disability to outline the adjustment in the setting. It is illegal for employers that they discriminate you based on your disabilities if they do not affect your work.
Since the cover letter is all about your personality, the sentences having a structure such as “I did that” make the cover letter boring and disrupting. Change the sentence structure to pepper with the word “I”. Make the sentence interesting by using tangible words.
This is all about the guideline of how to write a perfect cover letter. Craft the first draft after reading it. Practice improving your writing style. Write an effective cover letter to stand out the list of candidates. Invest time and effort to pursue a career that can improve your job perspective.