Are you repeating your CV in your Cover Letter? Do you end up using the same cover letter for various job positions?

I regret to inform you that these habits may not lead you to your — dream job. But, don’t be disappointed already. If you use the below tips to frame your next cover letter, you will grab the attention of the person reading it and they might just call you for the first interview.

Just remember — Your CV focusses on your competences and your Cover Letter should focus on your motivation for the job. Every cover letter should be personalized and written from the scratch for every company.

Here are some important tips to write an impressive Cover Letter;

1.      Before you start writing your cover letter — define your values, your skills, and what you seek for in a company. Once you’ve analyzed your own expectations, then — read the job advertisement thoroughly.

Try to find common values and skills between you and the company.

Now that companies are more and more transparent about their vision and their style of working. It’s important that you are informed about them too. Where can you gather this information about the company?

Companies already mention their vision and their philosophies within their job ad. In case there isn’t one in yours, then go through the company’s website and social media profiles. Don’t forget to look up the company and see what others are saying about it. It is always a good idea to visit the company’s website irrespective of the above reason. The social media profiles also provide a window to their work culture.

The above information will provide you a deep insight and help you find a common ground between you and the company. It will also help you visualize yourself on the job. Being in this mindset is extremely important, as this will help you write a personalized cover letter and the reader will be thoroughly impressed by your knowledge about the company.

2.   The first statement of the Cover Letter is important and is responsible for the decision — for reading the rest of the document.

Be creative in your approach and use the information you have learned about the company to start your letter. The first statement helps you stand out or grab the attention of the reader.

If you’ve done your homework right, you will know what you have to say- you could be humorous, intriguing, straight impressive, or build a connection.

We will go deeper on this subject in a future Workshop or a personalized consultation session.

3.  Showcase relevant experiences

Once you know the job ad thoroughly, you should rephrase most of your experiences in connection with what the company or job requires. Think from the perspective of the hiring person, make sure you use most of the keywords mentioned in the job ad. Try to match the tone of the company, the way they write. For example, if a company uses a formal approach then your letter should be very formal too and vice versa.  Connect the dots and try to mention only the relevant experiences in your Cover letter. If you have some impressive experiences or achievements which may not be completely relevant for the job, it’s okay to mention them too, but try to maximize them to just 2 and not more.

4. Stay true to yourself

If you have the kind of personality that is confident, then portray it in the letter. On the contrary, if you have a humble personality then that should reflect in the letter too. You cannot control who is reading your Cover letter, maybe he may not appreciate your confidence and maybe he might, therefore you focus on staying true to yourself.

 5. Give the evaluator a chance to visualize you in the job position

Talk about how your colleagues perceive you or what type of dynamic you could bring to a team. Try to give real examples of situations where you took charge, use an ‘active’ approach to showcase your experiences. This means; write about the result of an experience rather than your participation in it. Don’t mention all your skills, just the ones relevant to the job and the company. Your cover letter is not a novel!

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6. Some mistakes you should NOT make in a Cover Letter

  • Do not misspell the name of the person you are addressing the letter to.
  • Do not misspell the name of the company or the job position. Make sure you mentioned the right job position. If you think your skills match two of the job positions, then mention both of them and let the evaluator decide, which one would fit you the best.
  • If the cover letter is not in your first language, it is okay to have some grammatical errors in it, this portrays your motivation for the job. Unless your job requires good communication skills, then grammatical errors are not acceptable too.

 

After you have written your draft, go through it a couple of times. Edit it several times until you have the final, most relevant, and summarised information about you in this cover letter.

 

Need personalized help in writing a Cover Letter, don’t hesitate to contact us.

If you have any further questions on this topic, feel free to email us 

 

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