10 Tips for Writing a Cover Letter

10 Tips for Writing a Cover Letter 10 Tips for Writing a Cover Letter Learning how to write a cover letter thatprovides insight about your experience, desire to work for a company, and personalitycan make a big difference in how many job interviews you get. A poorly written cover letter can make you come off as lazy, and a poorly optimized one can come across as a copy-and-paste job which turns hiring managers off. Here are 10 easy tips for writing a cover letter that boosts your chances of landing an interview.1. Avoid copying your resumeOne of the fruchtwein common mistakes job seekers make is to squander their cover letter by essentially converting their resume into paragraph form. This redundancy doesnt actually help the hiring manager decide whether you are right for the job, or convince them that you are passionate about getting the opportunity.Use your cover letter as an opportunity to tell hiring managers what your resume cant.2. Skip the generic salutationA lot of cover lett ers start with To Whom it May Concern. While this practice was once widely recommended, it has now become outdated. You can skip the salutation line and dive right in to the heart of your cover letter instead.The exception is that, ifyou know the hiring manager you are writing to, you should absolutely address it to them specifically.3. ResearchA good cover letter can become a great one if you pepper in some information based on what youve learned about the company. Get a sense of the companys culture and goals, and write your cover letter to reflect how you would be a great fit into.You can research a potential employerby visiting the companys website, talking to current or past employees, and looking at employer review sites such asGlassdoor.4. Get the opening rightDont waste the first sentence by stating which position youre applying for. Instead, open with a one-sentence pitch that will convince the hiring manager they should consider your cover letter and resume.Try a line such as, Im an experienced broadcaster with mora than a decade of experience in radio and television production.Grab theirattention, and make them want to continue reading.5. Keep it briefThree paragraphs should be enough to answer the important questions a hiring manager would want answered.Who are you?Why do you want to work here?Why are you the best person for the job?If you cant answer these questions in three paragraphs, consider recruiting a friend to help you trim the fat.6.Focus on the companys needsIts easy to get caught up in what a position would mean for you and your career. But a hiring manager isnt interested in why the job is perfect for you they want to know whether youd be a good fit, and how you could help their company.Sell yourself, and forgo the common mistake of explaining how the job would benefityou.7. Dont mention weaknessesHonesty is great, but a cover letter is bedrngnis a place to volunteer negative information about your qualifications. An interview will pro vide the hiring manager with the chance to find out about your weaknesses.Focus on your strengths, and avoid statements such as, Despite not having worked in salesYou can get a sense of what a hiring manager is looking for by throwing the text of the job description into a word cloud creator such asWordle, which will take the text and present it with frequently-used keywords appearing larger than the rest.Determine which keywords are most applicable to your experience, and work them into your cover letter. Try Jobscans resume analysis tool to make sure you have effectively incorporated the right keywords into your resume as well.8. Tell your storyHow do you associate with the company? Is there something interesting you can share that describes your relationship with the company to this point?If youre applying for a job at a tech company, you might take a sentence or two to describe your experience as a user or customer, a favorite feature, or a suggestion or insight.9. Customize the letter for the company and jobDont use the same cover letter for every application. Not only does doing so increase your chances ofsubmiting a letter with the wrong company name (which does happen, and which immediately removes you from consideration), it wastes your opportunity to introduce yourself in mora depth.Remember, this is your chance to prove that you are passionate about working for a given company. If youre sending out a form letter that offers no personal connection with the brand, the hiring manager will have a hard time seeing the connection, too. Take the time to write a tailored cover letter for each position.10. Inject personalityDont forget to be yourself in your cover letter.In most cases, the hiring manager will appreciate reading something written by a real human being instead of blandcorporate-speak.If you askedyour best friend to read your cover letter, would they hear your voice in the words? If so, then youre on the right track.For a detailed look athow to write a cover letter, check out the cover letter template available to Jobscan members.