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Do not forget to use a good introduction.
The first sentence of your cover letter should be something that can grab the reader’s attention. Keep in mind that your employer can be reading hundreds of resumes and cover letters each day. Thus, if you can’t grab his attention through your letter’s first sentence, then he may not be able to give your letter and your resume a closer look.
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Less is more, even with cover letters.
Most employers do not want to read long and boring cover letters and resumes. Therefore, you should make sure that your cover letter has plenty of white spaces after finishing it. Make your cover letter sweet, short, and focused so that you can be called for an interview soon.
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Let your employer know what you can do for him.
Do not forget the fact that an employer is looking for someone to hire, in order for that employee to provide something to the company. In other words, you should let him know how the company can benefit in hiring you, so that you can have the chance of being hired. Do your research, and indicate what skills and talents you have that the company can benefit from, so that you would improve your chances.
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Choose your words properly.
When it comes to writing your cover letter, there is no need to make use of technical words. Use simple words, since employers do not have time to do research on what certain words may mean. By choosing words and sentences that are easy to understand, your employer would greatly appreciate it, which can make him check your letter and resume further.
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Ask for action.
It is best to let your potential employer know what action you want him to take after reading your cover letter. For example, it is not a bad idea to indicate that you are looking forward for an interview within the week. By doing this, you can remind the employer that it is the action that he needs to take, if he feels that he should give you a chance.
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The referral cover letter.
You may wonder what a referral cover letter is. It is actually a type of cover letter that you can use, especially if you know someone who is a partner or a colleague of your potential employer. In this type of cover letter, you would be indicating the name of the person on the first few sentences of the letter. This is one way to grab the employer’s attention, as well as improve your chances against your competition.
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Sleep well before writing your cover letter.
Always remember that your cover letter is one of the factors that can determine your chances in landing on the job that you really want. With that, you need to ensure that you have the right mindset in writing it. One of the ways that can help you achieve that is to get some sleep just before writing it. Thus, if you are writing it at night, then get a 15 minute nap first, so that you can feel refreshed afterwards.
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Be patient.
There may be times when writing a cover letter for a specific job vacancy is tough. You need to be patient with it, so that you won’t end up throwing lots of papers into the garbage bin. If you are getting overwhelmed, take a deep breath and close your eyes, before pursuing it again.
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Let your friend read it.
Having a friend or a close family member read your cover letter is not a bad idea. By doing this, you can ensure that your cover letter sounds really good. Aside from that, the reader can also give you some tips in improving it, if it really needs to be modified.
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Check out cover letter samples.
There are lots of cover letter samples that you can read through the internet these days. Prior to starting on your own letter, it is a good idea to check out these samples first. When you check them, it would give you a better idea on how to get started on it. Aside from that, it can also provide you guidance in following the right format for it.
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Do not submit a generic cover letter.
Always remember that employers are used to reading thousands of cover letters. In other words, in most cases, they would immediately notice it if the cover letter they are reading is one of the mass produced copies. Generic cover letters usually do not give that much impression on the employers. Thus, you need to make sure that you write an original cover letter for every job position that you are applying for, so that you can have a better chance of being employed.
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Do not forget to indicate your contact information.
It is necessary to include your contact information on your cover letter, since it would be the only way for the employer to call you for an interview. You need to make sure that you also indicate an alternate number, in case the primary one is not available. Aside from that, you should also ensure that the numbers you have provided are directed towards you and not through other people or answering machines.
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Make sure that your cover letter is easy to read.
Enhancing your cover letter’s reader-friendliness is necessary, so that your potential employer would be able to read it well. To achieve that, you can actually make use of bullets and other special formatting techniques. Aside from making it reader-friendly, you should also make it as short as possible.
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Sign your cover letter with your name.
One of the worst things that you can do in coming up with a cover letter is submitting it without your name and signature. Signing the cover letter is one of the ways that you can show that you are truthful and committed to the statements that you have mentioned. When it comes to signing the letter though, make sure that you sign it boldly, since it indicates confidence.
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Make sure that the tone of the letter is just right.
It is important that your cover letter has a tone that indicates your self-confidence. However, you should not overdo it, since it can also sound arrogant. To check if it has the right tone, you should try to read it again and again, and imagine that you are not the one who has written it. Aside from that, you should also ask your honest friend to read it for you.
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Make your letter interesting.
If you are the employer, one of the things that may stop you from reading a cover letter is if its boring. Thus, you should make sure that yours is not boring, and it should be interesting. Focus on interesting statements and enthusiastic words, so that your employer would want to read it from top to bottom.
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Be aware of the common mistakes of generic cover letters.
When you have a generic form of a cover letter, in most cases, you only need to edit certain details to it, such as the date, the name that you are addressing it to, and such. However, this is actually one of the things that can make you commit a mistake in submitting it. If you forget to change these details, then you cannot expect your potential employer to call you for an interview. Thus, you should refrain from using these types of cover letters, so that you can prevent such mistakes to happen.
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A cover letter that is a response for an advertisement.
If you are writing a cover letter in response for a job advertisement, then you should make sure that you are mindful of the requirements of the position. This way, you can indicate your skills, talents, and experiences on your cover letter, which satisfy the requirements. When you do this, it would become easier for the reader to tell if you are qualified or not.
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Do not forget about your transferable skills.
Transferable skills are those that you have learned or acquired in different activities in your life. Some examples of these activities would be parenting, jobs, projects, classes, sports, and many more. When you talk about them in your cover letter, it can improve your chances of getting hired, since they are transferable and can be applied in whatever types of jobs you want to do.
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Keep your cover letter conversational.
When you keep your cover letter as conversational as possible, you are showing some personality to the reader. Thus, it would lessen the chances that he would skip reading it entirely. Aside from that, it would also convince him that you know how to build rapport, even when you have not met yet.