Is your resume cover letter hurting or helping you? Your resume cover letter can make or break you in the job market. Potential employers will use the letter to determine whether you are qualified enough to work in the company or not. Sometimes it is helpful to look at cover letter samples if you are getting stuck. You can do the same for a professional resume.
You should use a professional cover letter to market yourself. If sending your resume by email, it is often a good idea to put the resume cover letter in the body of the email. If you choose to present your cover letter this way, keep two thing in mind.
First, be sure that you personalize the content. Email is personal and a cover letter can be formal. Second, be sure it is not too long for an email. Condense it a bit.
Here are some tips which you can follow to make sure the cover letter gets you an interview.
5 Tips for Writing a Resume Cover Letter
Tip #1: Write Solid Content
When writing a cover letter, you should include facts alone. The employer is only interested in what you can do for him and not your autobiography.
Keep the resume cover letter brief and to the point. You should include your qualifications that show that you are qualified for the job advertised and also show that you are interested to work for the company if given a chance.
Be sure to include the job you are applying for, how you came to know about the job, your academic qualifications and work experience. You should also address the letter to a specific person rather than a generic name. This is the biggest problem with following cover letter examples online. Also, be sure that the info on your cover letter also matches your professional resume.
Tip #2: Avoid Mistakes
Your letter and professional resume should both be free of typos and grammar errors. A typo or printing error will be interpreted as carelessness and no employer is willing to work with people who are careless. You therefore should take your time to proof your letter time and again until you are sure that it free of mistakes. This is especially important when you are filling out an online employment application.
Tip #3: Keep the cover letter short
When writing a resume cover letter, you should keep in mind that the employer has over 50 letters to go through. This means that the employer can avoid long letters and you can lose your chance of employment if you send a letter that is more than one page long. Let the employer learn about your hobbies and other things from your resume which you will be sending with the cover letter.
Tip #4: Choose a Good Layout
A good cover letter has a layout which is catchy and easy to read. Make sure the resume cover letter the reader can get everything at a glance so he can move to the next letter. Avoid using colors and weird fonts since the employer may interpret this as not being serious and is going to discard the letter. Find a good sample cover letter and follow it as an example.
Tip #5: Do Not Include Negatives
You should not tell the employer why you lost your previous job in the cover letter. This is also not the place to explain why you missed work so many times since you can do all this during the interview.
You should also not include past salary in the letter since this can cost you the job. This is also true for a professional resume. However, if the employer has specifically stated that you give the salary in the resume cover letter you were earning in your previous job you should avoid giving the exact amount. Instead, give a range between the lowest and highest amount you have ever earned.
A professional resume should be accompanied by an impressive resume cover letter. Cover letter writing does not come easy to everyone, but the above tips should help. The letter should be brief and short to save the reader’s time. Include only things which relate to the job you are applying for and leave others to the resume.
