Tips for writing a cover letter:

Your cover letters enjoys of the same value that your resume. While the resume is a fact sheet, the cover letter is your sales pitches to a particular company. In fact, your cover letters allow you to orient your background to prospective employers' needs since you'll be writing an individual cover letter for each job application you send out. In short, your cover letters enable you to augment upon and emphasize specific aspects of your resume, with relation to the requirements of the particular position you want. As a consequence, ponder what the specific organization needs and address your letter to those needs. Many recruiters can detect form letters and don't take them as seriously as letters adapted to their specific company, so write a prudently adapted letter rather than a generic one that you send to every company to get your foot in the door for an interview. 1. Make it personal Why does it matter? Because addressing your cover letter to a named individual will produce a quicker connection with the reader than a generic salutation. Besides, if you can illustrate your knowledge of the company or its products, your cover letter will incite the reader's interest and stand head and shoulders above the rest. Decide what makes you unique It is convenient to differentiate among what you have to provide your employer and what your competitors can provide. Doing a list will help you calculate your personal point of difference, which will help not only in terms of knowing your own value, but will give your cover letter that competitive edge. Think about specifics A regular recruitment complaint from employers is jobseekers not addressing selection criteria - so it pays to get it right. Make a list of the selection criteria then use bullet points and the SAO (Situation - Action - Outcome) technique to present where and when you gained similar experience (Situation), what you did and how you did it (Action), and what the result of your actions were (Outcome.) Flaunt your achievements Every potential employer expects to hear about your achievements, but presenting the ones that best represent your relevant experience or transferable skills is critical. How to choose? Make a list of key achievements and only use the ones that relate best to the selection criteria and prove your abilities. Think about the layout Next to the content of your cover letter, its layout is probably the most important decision you'll make. There are a lot of things to consider, and it pays to use bullet-points for ease of reading, but one of the most important layout considerations is that your cover letter spans no more than one page in total. Dont be afraid to follow things up So you presented your job application on time, the application closing date passed a week ago, and you yet haven't heard a response? Don't be timid to reiterate your complete interest in the job with a follow-up phone call to your potential employer. Asking if your cover letter or resume was received and gently re-stating your suitability for the job can augment your chances of being interviewed.

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Here you can appreciate of an interesting and basic checklist for use in evaluating cover letters you have written, before they are completed and mailed. It provides a basic list of "do's" and "don'ts" that can be used as a last minute check to ensure maximum cover-letter effectiveness and impact.

COVER LETTER "DO'S"

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Maintain all cover letters to a single page, no exceptions! Be brief and concrete. Exclude any unnecessary words that add nothing to clarity or meaning. Proofread for poor grammar, spelling, and typos; they can be deadly! Always address letters to a specific individual, never to a general function. Unless responding to an ad where instructions suggest the opposite, always send letters directly to functional managers rather than the human resources or employment department. Even where ads specify you are to send your response to human resources, do the necessary research and send a second copy directly to the manager of your target function. Maintain job descriptions brief and pithy. Focus your letter on relevant results and achievements, not just job responsibilities. Highlight significant accomplishments with bullet points; make sure they are seen! Include compensation requirements, but only if you are certain they won't screen you out from an otherwise attractive opportunity. Include geographical preferences or restrictions, but not if they are likely to screen you out from an otherwise highly desirable opportunity. Except when using the resume letter, be sure to include a well-written resume as an attachment to the cover letter. Stick to standard business letter formats; avoid the creative or exotic. U se only normally recommended type styles. Make effective use of "white space", making your letter easy to read. Use standard business paper, 20- or 24-pound bond, either white or buff in color.

COVER LETTER "DON'TS"

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Never use a cover letter that is more than a single page in length. Don't be verbose and ramble on-and-on. Don't use redundant words that add little or no meaning to the core message. Avoid allowing poor grammar, bad spelling, or typos to eliminate your employment chances. Never address correspondence to a general function; always use a specific person's name. Never send your cover letter to human resources or the employment function (unless required by an employment ad). When sending your response to an ad, don't send it only to the human resources department. Always send a second copy directly to the management of the hiring function. Avoid lengthy job descriptions in the cover letter. These can be boring and waste important space that can otherwise be used to market your value and key accomplishments. Don't focus your cover letter on job responsibilities; instead focus the reader's attention on your key achievements and accomplishments (that is, your value). Don't hide key accomplishments down in the bowels of the letter's text. Instead, highlight them using bullets and appropriate spacing to make them stand out. Avoid highlighting mundane achievements. Don't overcrowd text, making your cover letter difficult to read. Don't include compensation requirements if this may possibly screen you out from a highly desirable opportunity in which you have a strong interest. Keep your options open! Avoid including restrictive language that suggests you are geographically inflexible, especially when applying for that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you've always wanted. You can always say no later. Unless using the resume letter, don't send just a cover letter. Always include a well-written resume as an attachment. Don't use strange or uncommon letter formatting; use conventional business formatting only.

17. Avoid using fancy or decorative type styles. Stick to conventional business styles only. 18. Don't use unusually lightweight or heavyweight papers; stick to either 20- or 24-pound bond (no exotic colors). Before mailing, faxing, or e-mailing each cover letter you prepare, completes the following checklist to be sure that you have met all the rules for cover letter writing. If you cannot answer "yes" to all of the questions, go back and edit your letter as necessary before mailing it. The only questions for which a "no" answer is acceptable are questions #5 and #6, which relate specifically to the company to which you are writing.

Cover letter checklist

1. Do I convey an immediate understanding of who I am within the first two sentences of my cover letter? 2. Is my cover letter format unique, and does my letter stand out? 3. Have I highlighted my most relevant qualifications? 4. Have I highlighted my most relevant achievements? 5. Have I included information I know about the company or the specific position for which I am applying? 6. Have I highlighted why I want to work for this company? 7. Is my letter neat, clean, and well-presented without being over-designed? 8. Is my letter error-free? 9. Did I have someone else proof my letter? 10. Is my cover letter short and succinct, preferably no longer than one page? 11. Do I ask for an interview in the letter?

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