
A cover letter is simply, as the name suggests, a letter that goes over your resume and is used as a more personal way channel to address an HR Manager or Employer. A Cover Letter in essence is an easy enough concept to grasp, it’s a letter you send along with your resume explaining your motivation for applying for a job. However, in the world of resume writing where writers have spent years learning and developing techniques for the perfect resume and cover letter writing to get the best results Cover Letters carry a lot of weight in the success of clients.
In this article, we will go over some of the Dos and Don’ts of Cover Letter writing that any applicant might want to integrate into their own Cover Letter writing style for the best outcome. Additionally, we will be exploring what is the exact reasoning behind these practices. We will also be touching on the use of the MyResumeLift Cover Letter Builder and the use of Cover Letter Templates.
Dos
- Do suggest improvements
Many potential employees might feel intimidated by the prospect of employment. After all, this is your career we’re talking about and therefore they are inclined to just nod along with the employers and would try and match their contentment with the job as it is. This may all be good and okay but studies show that a Cover Letter that addresses issues within the company and their potential solutions tend to fair better. This is because even though it’s fine to be an individual that can take care of business, employers would rather like someone who can improve the current standing of the business.
- Emphasize your skills
Even though it’s not recommended to brag about one’s ability it’s okay to show off a bit. Do not hesitate to demonstrate your skill and expertise. Think about it who would an employer prefer, someone who can do the bare minimum or someone who is so beyond the level of ‘bare minimum’ that acquiring them would be the equivalent of attaining an asset?
- Conduct a background search on the company
Almost anyone in a particular field can tell you what goes on in the day-to-day of a certain job but very few take interest in the company as a whole. Therefore, before typing up your cover letter research the company, find out about its work culture, atmosphere, and overall dealings and see if they align with you and your workflow, and mention it in your cover letter.
- Keywords are Key Words
Most HR Managers aren’t going to be reading through multiple lengthy resumes all day long and tend to scan through them, picking up on keywords that can be the work experience, skills, etc that they are looking for, or to be more exact are looking for an employee that possesses the aforementioned skills, work experience, etc. This is why it’s advisable to go through the job description section of the job listing and pick put said Keywords and incorporate them into your cover letter.
- Get a second opinion
Let’s face it we’re all human and one thing humans do great makes mistakes. One of the best ways to limit your mistakes is to have someone read through your cover letter before sending in your resume and get their opinion and critique and make adjustments accordingly.
- Use Tools
As a resume writer I can tell you that when you need to create multiple Cover Letters all day, it can get very exhausting very quickly, especially when creating each one from scratch. This is why it is recommended to use all the tools at your disposal. One such tool is Cover Letter Templates. Cover Letter templates are cover letter skeletons that have all the basic elements of a cover letter already built into them and all one needs to do is come up with the content. Cover Letter templates are especially useful when you plan on applying for more than one job at a time and need to create a targeted cover letter for each of them.
Don’ts
- Ask not what the company can do for you…
This is a rookie mistake for resume writers who tend to over-extend their expectations in their cover letters. This practice is just off-putting and makes the entire thing very appealing.
- Don’t dwell on the past
Don’t fill up your Cover Letter with long paragraphs about what you used to do on a day-to-day basis. Instead, give your Cover letter life by talking about what you plan on doing in the future.
- No one wants their dirty laundry out in public
If the company has had some mishaps in the past do not mention this information. Businesses want to forget about their mishaps and it’s best if you do too.
- Too much of a good thing…
Even though the use of keywords is encouraged the usage of them can leave your cover letter looking horrifying. Overusing keywords can lead to your cover letter becoming a semantic, syntactic, and grammatical mess. So don’t do it.
- Never run with your first draft
When you’re done with your cover letter. No matter how sure you are that you got it right, it’s always a good idea to give it another read-through. You would be surprised by how much you got wrong.
- Your resume is not your cover Letter
This one is quite self-explanatory. Do not use up space on your cover letter to cover the same things as in your resume. Instead, stick to the most impressive of your accomplishments and accolades. This is the first thing the HR manager or Employer will read so might as well give them something interesting.
For more articles like this and more visit MyResumeLift. Use the MyResumeLift Cover Letter Builder to get yourself an excellent Cover Letter in a matter of minutes. The MyResumeLift Cover Letter Builder uses a smart algorithm that after determining the user’s personality and work experience guides them in making their perfect Cover Letter quickly and effectively. The MyResumeLift Cover Letter Builder also contains many carefully designed Cover Letter Templates that are all ATS approved to give the users the freedom to choose what their Cover Letter will look like. At MyResumeLift not only can you build your Resume but you can also create targeted Cover Letters using charter internet the MyResumeLift Cover Letter Builder with Cover LetterTemplates that match your resume.