Your Job Blog

Very few people pay attention to cover letters.  They think of it as a trivial thing that is sent along just as a formality. This however should not be the case as a cover letter is extremely important. If you write your cover letter properly it will really open up avenues for you and people will keep you in mind next time they are interviewing someone for a job.

A very well drafted cover letter is essential so that you get noticed among the thousands of applications that come in. Employees get hundreds of letters in response to a job opening and usually the ones without cover letters are ignored completely.  Here are a few pointers which will help you get yours just right:

Avoid using titles like Mrs. or Miss. using simply Ms. as a greeting.  Also do not use salutations such a Dear Sirs as it is generally frowned upon. When in doubt address the person with the full name such as Mr. John Doe.

Get to the point in your first paragraph itself. Don’t beat around the bush. State your purpose so that the employers realize why it is you whom they should recruit.  Your letter should be aggressive. You need to market yourself, to sell yourself so that they have no doubts when they come to picking the right person for the job.

In the next paragraph write about all your achievements, skills and qualifications. Avoid using words like ‘I’, ‘me’ and’ my’ because it looks very amateurish. If you have a high number of achievements list them in bullet format. Be sure to type them out because otherwise you could come off as lazy.

In the closing paragraph you need to ask to be given an interview. Provide a contact number and also salary requirements if any.  To show interest say that you will telephone within a week.

To sum up a cover letter is a great way to get you noticed.