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| Cover Letter: Landing That Job You Want | November 24, 2006, 9:00 am | visits: 105 | wordcount: 589
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By Mario Churchill
Besides your resume, the most important thing you should consider when applying for a job is a cover letter. The cover letter is the first contact you will make in the company and this is where the person in charge of hiring or the human resource department will consider inviting you for an interview.
A cover letter is an important marketing tool where you will highlight your qualifications as a potential employee of a particular company you applied for. This is the first thing your employer will read before he or she even considers reading your resume. If your cover letter didn't impress the person in charge in human resources, don't expect him or her to even bother looking at your resume.
Writing a cover letter is perhaps the trickiest letter you will have to write as a jobseeker. It is very much different from a personal letter that you would write for your parents. So, it is recommended that you should first consider a few things before writing the cover letter and sending it to your potential employer.
Before you start writing a cover letter, you first need to know the company. You need to determine the company's job requirements and needs in a specific employee. Once you have determined this, you are now ready to write your cover letter.
In the cover letter's body, you should first mention the most important items first and should be supported by facts. Try putting yourself in the reader's position. This way you will have a better understanding on what the reader needs in a cover letter. Try letting your friends read your cover letter draft and ask their opinion about it.
After determining the needs, you have to mention your background training, work experience, your career highlights and other things that will catch the attention of the person reading it. You should put in data that is useful for your desired position in order to impress your potential employer.
Always remember that you will be the one who will be responsible whether the employer will invite you for an interview or not. Making a good cover letter will definitely catch your potential employer's attention. You should know that companies receive hundreds of letters from your fellow jobseekers. Because of this, you should never expect your potential employer to read a badly written cover letter just to figure out what you can do for their company.
Here are the things you should consider when writing a cover letter:
-Research the company that you are applying for and personalize the letter - By showing your potential employer that you knows about the company, you will be saying that you are interested in the company.
-Highlight your one or two of your accomplishments - This will show your potential employer why they should hire you instead of the other hundreds of candidates.
-Be polite and formal - Giving respect to your employer will ensure them that you are a team player.
- Use action verbs and active voice - This will give your potential employer the impression that you are really interested in the job and you have that sense of enthusiasm in working.
These are the things you should remember in order to write an effective cover letter. By following this, you will surely have a much greater chance getting that job you have always wanted.
About the Author: Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on cover letter or cover letters checkout his recommended websites.
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