What We Have Learned: Cover Letters

The last chapter that we covered was on the use of cover letters and how to make it effective. I’ll be quickly covering the quick tips of effective cover letters and what I have personally learned from this section.

Quick Tips:

·       Address the letter to a specific person or the position name of the person what will be interviewing you. Do your research on who this will be beforehand!

·       Say exactly what their company is and what exact position you are applying into. This will help them know exactly what you want.

·       Talk about what you can do as much as possible. This is the part where you will tell them in a different way what skills you have and how that will benefit them.

·       Give them an easy way to contact you. Write in a phone number and/or an email that you use.

·       Thank them for considering you. This takes up their time, so be polite and courteous.

·       Put Sincerely, then your name at the end of the letter.

·       It should be no longer then a page, but not much shorter then a page either. Be brief, but do not be scared to sell your skills more if you need bulk.

·       Do NOT use words like “I hope”. It shows that you doubt that you can fill the position which will make them doubt that too.

What I Have Learned:

I have learned that cover letters are not an optional thing when you are applying for a job in most cases. I was told that it was just something that I could do and not something I should do. I also learned that cover letters need to have specific information for the company that you are applying to. It makes sense when you think about it, but I had assumed that it could be a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. I learned that a cover letter is a platform to show a perspective employer your strengths in a new way.