The cover letter is your electronic look in the eye and handshake announcing you to a prospective employer, marketing you as the best candidate for the job.
Your cover letter must get the recruiter or hiring manager to be interested enough in you to read your résumé. Recruiters look over hundreds of cover letters each and this is no easy task. Now, let’s review the steps of writing a cover letter that will help you stand out from the crowd.
How To Prepare to Write the Best Conventional Cover Letter
RESEARCH. RESEARCH. RESEARCH.
Company Needs
Research the company you are applying to by going to their website, looking at their profile or conducting a web search on the company name to understand exactly what the company is looking for.
Company Contacts
By addressing your cover letter to the specific decision-maker, it shows your attention to detail and interest in the position since you have taken the time to find out who’s hiring for the job opportunity. This means you should find out the contact information for the employer by:
* Searching on the Internet for “XYZ High-Tech Corporation” and “HR manager”
* Calling the company’s main telephone line and asking for the name of the person who is hiring for the position that interests you
* Asking any friends who work for the company whom you should contact concerning the position
If you cannot find the appropriate contact, you should still send the cover letter to “Dear Hiring Manager.” However, this generic approach should be taken only as a last resort.
START AFRESH
A good cover letter will require considerable time and effort to create and it must be tailored to the specific company and job opportunity. Remember, any job opening you find represents, in business terms, either a problem a company needs to solve or an opportunity they want to seize. Your cover letter must address why you are the person who will solve this problem and/or address this opportunity.
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