How to win that job with an Effective Cover Letter - Professional ...

So, you?re done drafting your resume for the 100th time, edited and asked everyone you know to proofread your resume for you, making sure that you?ve finally nailed a winning resume to land you that dream job you?ve always wanted. Are you forgetting something else? Think again.

In their rush to get their resumes perfected, many people forget that they should spend as much time honing and polishing the accompanying cover letter as they did when they wrote their resume. Hiring managers or companies receive dozens of job applications daily and if your cover letter does not catch their attention in the first few seconds of their glance, chances are they won?t even bother to take a look at your resume.

What makes a good cover letter?

A good cover letter should be able to catch the reader?s attention right away. It should not be a copy of what?s written in your resume; instead it should build up the information of what?s written there with a personal touch. It conveys to the reader in clear and simple language why they should hire you. A good cover letter will tell them that you are the perfect person for the job.

Dos and Don?ts

- Do your research on the company and make sure that you know the correct name, address, and phone number. If you don?t know who to address your letter to, call up the company and ask for names. If this is not possible, direct your letter to the manager of the specific department you wish to apply to, for example Marketing Manager or Personnel Manager.

- Don?t start your letter with a ?Dear Sir/Ma?am? or ?To Whom it may concern?. That will only show laziness on your part.

- Do tailor make your cover letter for the company you are applying to.

- Don?t copy and paste phrases they?ve used on their job posting, doing this will only reflect badly on you.

- Do make it short and straight to the point. Employers/companies have short attention spans or some simply don?t have the time to read through long cover letters.

- Don?t say you?ll be a perfect member of the team unless you can prove it by mentioning achievements you?ve had in the past that?s related to the job you?re applying to.

- Do use a lot of action words like ?accomplished?, ?delivered?, ?enhanced?, ?managed? etc.

- Don?t state the obvious and say ?attached is my resume?- they already know that.

- Do edit and proofread as many times as you can.

The Cover Letter

The First Paragraph should lay out the specific job you are applying to and explain why you are the best candidate for the job.

The Second Paragraph should be a brief summary of your career, custom made to fit the job you are applying to.

The third Paragraph should be about your accomplishments in bullet form. Once again, these should be related to the job you?re applying to.

In your last paragraph, you should mention when you?ll be in touch or that you are available for an interview at their convenience.

?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------
Author: Alice Bethport is a gifted writer with great experience that she gained while being a freelancer. Her current project is - resume cover letter ? a website gathering many kinds of cover letters examples.

Source: http://wordshavepower.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-win-that-job-with-effective.html

mardi gras fun. hepatitis c symptoms david bradley david foster wallace pinterest attwireless