How to write a cover letter?
Mayank Sharma
- 5 Min To Read
- January 14, 2021
It’s said that one should not judge a book by its cover, but that’s what most of us do. So, we should expect the same from our recruiter. Therefore, it’s a good idea for us to cover all the bases.
If you are looking for a job, then it will be prudent to prepare a cover letter along with resume. It will make you stand out from the crowd. In many online job application forms you will find an option to upload a cover letter.
In some cases, a cover letter may be the difference between you getting an interview call or not. In this digital world, it’s probably the very first impression you are going to make on your potential employer.
However, if you have never prepared or even seen a cover letter, then it might seem like a daunting task. Don’t worry!
In this article we will lay down some basic tips to be kept in mind while zotting down the content of the cover letter, as well as provide you some templates and resources to enable you to make it visually appealing.
But first of all, let’s cover the basics.
Table of Contents- What is a Cover Letter?
- Writing a Cover Letter
What is a Cover Letter?
A cover letter is a one-page document that covers a resume. That is, it encapsulates the resume. Here you are supposed to introduce yourself and summarize your professional background.
It must reflect the soul and theme of your resume. But you should not repeat the same things in your cover letter and resume. A cover letter should supplement the resume and not just summarize it.
The main purpose it serves is to impress the HR manager enough to make him read your resume.
Though there are a few different kinds of cover letters you can write. But the most common cover letter is the one a job aspirant writes while applying for a position about which he knows, i.e., when the Job Description (J.D.) is known to him/her.
So, now we know what a cover letter means. Let’s move on and have a look at a few points we should keep in mind while writing a cover letter.
Writing a Cover Letter
Job aspirants and especially freshers often ponder over the question – “How to write a Cover Letter?”
This is what we are going to learn now.
Structure of a Cover Letter
It should be 200 to 400 words long. Just like a small descriptive answer we used to write in school and college, even here we will follow the tried and tested format.
Header – Will have your name and contact details. Also, you will put in the designation and address of the HR manager.
Greet the hiring manager.
Introduction – Grab the attention of the manager in the first paragraph itself by enlisting your 2-3 top achievements.
Body – Write 2-3 small paragraphs explaining why you are the right candidate for the post, as well as the company.
Conclusion – Write a formal closing.
Make sure that the contents of your cover letter are factual. Broad generalizations and vague statements are not as effective.
Use right words in Cover Letter
Make sure to include right kind of keywords in your cover letter. If the words in your cover letter matches or are related with the job description then the chances of you getting shortlisted increases exponentially.
For example, if the post is of Academic Head, then using words like Content Management, Academic Writer etc. in your cover letter makes sense.
Give your Cover Letter a personal touch
You can induct in your cover letter the name of the post, the name of the company you are seeking job in and the name of the corresponding HR or manager. Just imagine when someone calls you by your name (e.g. Dear Aanya ma’am), rather than a generic ‘Hi’ or ‘Dear Sir/Ma’am’.
Though it’s a tough ask to customize your cover letter for each post you apply, but this little extra effort on your part may work wonders.
Presentation of the Cover Letter
The last but not the least, the cover letter should be visually appealing. Make sure that its format is as per industry standards.
The text should be in the right area and proper formatted, the font should be easily readable and the overall look and feel should be professional.
Presentation is as important as the content of your cover letter, no matter you are sending a hard copy or a soft copy.
Here are some online tools available that may help you design your cover letter:
Get Ideas from other Cover letters
There are a plenty of templates and sample cover letters available on the internet. You can choose a template you like and also get ideas of the content and writing style one is supposed to use.
But make sure to customize it, at least the content part. A cover letter should reflect your personality, skills and goals. It should complement your resume to the hilt.
You can see some good quality cover letter examples here:
Winding up
So, these were some of the points you should keep in mind while creating your cover letter. If you will put in some effort, time and heart while writing your cover letter, it will definitely stand out from others.
We hope this article was useful. But do let us know in the comment section if you have some other tips up your sleeves that can help others.
Best of luck with your job hunting!