Cover Letter Advice

Cover Letter Advice to Land the Interview

You will find a cover letter advice really helpful if you have applied several times and never got past the first shortlist process. The cover letter is probably what most applicants ignore. Little do they realize that this is the first thing which any employer is going to look for. A poorly written cover letter reduces your chances of being called for an interview, let alone bagging the job. So what should you do?

You see, there was a time when job applicants can just walk-in and apply. Today, the information highway has made it possible for people to submit their applications and this result to hundreds, or even thousands, of resumes that a hiring manager has to peruse. If your cover letter does not make the cut, you will not even get past the first part of the selection process. With hundreds of equally qualified applicants, how can you make a difference and get to the interview stage? Let us read on and find out how…

Personalize

One common mistake seen in cover letters is that people always use “To whom it may concern.” This is downright generic and does not appeal to the reader because you are addressing your letter in a random fashion. You need to be specific and write a name in there. Understandably, you may not know who to address it to especially when the job advertisement did not specify any name. What you need to do in this case is to address it to “The Hiring Manager.”

Brag

A great cover letter advice you should take is to brag about your achievements in the letter’s body. Too often, cover letters are very short and people who write them do not attempt to sell themselves. This is essentially your opportunity to write whatever it is that you want to tell your future employer. In the cover letter body, you can describe your work attitude and your achievements. Focus on your key accomplishments form which the employer will benefit. Summarize the story of your success and let the reader know how you stand out from the rest of the other applicants. As a general tip, you must use bullet points in enumerating your accomplishments. It gives the illusion that you have done a lot.

Cut

The next cover letter advice we will give you is to shorten your cover letter. This means you have to write a short and meaningful letter, not a novel. Keep the cover letter to a maximum of four paragraphs and one page. Long-winding cover letters are rarely read. Doing this would require you to improve your vocabulary. You need to be able to convey your thoughts in one sentence that you would have normally written in one paragraph.

What this does to the reader is it gives an impression that you are very smart who can convey meaning without beating around the bush. It is equally impressive with someone doing a presentation with a marvelous ability to speak and relate to his audience. Admittedly, this can be difficult to do. What you can do is to let the letter rest for a while and do something else. Once the letter is out of your mind, go back and read and trim it. Each time you do this, you will be reading the letter from a different perspective and you should be able to cut it to just the perfect length.

Converse

Many times, cover letters are so formal. One cover letter advice that will surely work is that you do not have to be so business-like when writing your cover letter but at least; do not be rude, arrogant, or pompous. You need to be able to communicate and let the reader understand your personality. The letter should sound like how you are as a real person. A cover letter advice to add in this area is not to repeat what you have already written in your resume. Repeating what you have already said on your resume shows that you are lazy and not creative.

These are only four tips on our cover letter advice or strategies and yet these are powerful moves that can change the direction of your application. Once you are done writing your cover letter, check these things again and make sure that you meet these essential requirements. At first, it may seem weird or unusual but these are guaranteed to give you positive results on your application. Always be positive and expect that your cover letter will lead the employer to reading your resume, be impressed, and call you for an interview.