Before Writing Your Cover Letter
What is the purpose of the cover letter? A cover letter clearly communicates that you have the skills experience and interest to apply for the job that is posted. It demonstrates your ability to communicate using business language and solid well formed sentences. It also allows the recruiter to get a sense of your skills and experiences that are related specifically to those listed in the posting. A poorly written cover letter will most definitely halt your candidate C, as the recruiter will probably not review your resume.
A common mistake often made by inexperienced job seekers is the use of a "general" cover letter. A general cover letter is one that is not specific to a position, specific to a company or contact person that may be listed, and does not clearly articulate your skills, experience, an aptitude for a position. It is recommended that you create a two column table on one side of the table list all the desired qualifications and detailed job descriptions that are listed in posting. Then, pulling from your resume and or your job experience, list the things that you have done and have experience in in the column on the right next to the listing.
For example, if one of the desired qualifications is the ability to write business correspondence, then you would list that in the first column. In the second column next to that item you would write a sentence or two indicating your competence in that area, i.e., "wrote daily correspondence to customers inquiring about products." This is a great place for you to see where some of those transitional skills that may or may not be specifically associated with the job that you had will help meet the requirements of the position.
Sample Cover Letters
Remember, each and every cover letter should be tailored to the specific job that you're applying for utilizing the steps that have been outlined above. Yes, there will be some redundant information that you can reuse, but the most of the information will need to be custom written. This can be refered to as a "template". Each time you you rewrite the template specific to each job, save that file as a separate cover letter. You may find in the future that you will be applying for similar jobs which means you will have less details to edit.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Write A Template Cover Letter
Now that you are clear on the importance of a well-constructed, well thought out cover letter, find a job opportunity that you are interested in and write a cover letter. This cover letter will be part of you portfolio that will be used when meeting with the job developer , who will determine areas of your job search that you can improve.
A common mistake often made by inexperienced job seekers is the use of a "general" cover letter. A general cover letter is one that is not specific to a position, specific to a company or contact person that may be listed, and does not clearly articulate your skills, experience, an aptitude for a position. It is recommended that you create a two column table on one side of the table list all the desired qualifications and detailed job descriptions that are listed in posting. Then, pulling from your resume and or your job experience, list the things that you have done and have experience in in the column on the right next to the listing.
For example, if one of the desired qualifications is the ability to write business correspondence, then you would list that in the first column. In the second column next to that item you would write a sentence or two indicating your competence in that area, i.e., "wrote daily correspondence to customers inquiring about products." This is a great place for you to see where some of those transitional skills that may or may not be specifically associated with the job that you had will help meet the requirements of the position.
Sample Cover Letters
Remember, each and every cover letter should be tailored to the specific job that you're applying for utilizing the steps that have been outlined above. Yes, there will be some redundant information that you can reuse, but the most of the information will need to be custom written. This can be refered to as a "template". Each time you you rewrite the template specific to each job, save that file as a separate cover letter. You may find in the future that you will be applying for similar jobs which means you will have less details to edit.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Write A Template Cover Letter
Now that you are clear on the importance of a well-constructed, well thought out cover letter, find a job opportunity that you are interested in and write a cover letter. This cover letter will be part of you portfolio that will be used when meeting with the job developer , who will determine areas of your job search that you can improve.