Cover Letter Tips, Advice & Suggestions with Examples

A cover letter is not just a piece of information that you provide with your resume. It's your first chance to make a lasting impression on a potential employer. No matter how professionally your resume is written, it may not make you an interview candidate unless the employer sees it. Whether an employer will read your resume highly depends on the cover letter. Most employers decide whether to view a candidate's resume solely based on the cover letter. It means you have the power to influence their decision with a well-crafted cover letter.

A well-written and informative cover letter can do more than grab the recruiter's attention. It can raise his curiosity, stimulate immediate interest in your resume, and ultimately, land you an interview. Conversely, a poorly written cover letter can distract an employer from viewing your resume. Whether a cover letter will work as a booster or blocker in your job-hunting campaign depends on how it is prepared and presented. Think of a cover letter as a presentation layer in which your resume is wrapped. No matter how good a resume is, it will not be viewed if packaging and presentation are not good.

Let's understand it with an example.

Bob went to a cosmetic shop to purchase perfume. There, he saw a lot of varieties of perfumes from several companies. He selected some attractive perfumes and read the descriptions available on their packages.

Based on their descriptions, he finalized the perfume that matched his requirements.

The recruitment process also works similarly. Let us assume Bob is the recruiter. As a recruiter, he posted a job vacancy on a job site. The next day, he received hundreds of emails with resumes. He selected some emails based on the visual appearance of the cover letter and read them. Based on the information provided in the cover letter, he downloaded the resumes that matched his requirements. From the downloaded resumes, he finalized the candidates for an interview.

Have you noticed any similarities between both scenarios?

In both cases, the first selection was based on the presentation.

A good presentation can sell a bad thing, and vice versa. A bad presentation can block a good thing from selling. This simple and universal sales department principle also applies to the HR department. Our resume is just like a product that will attract the customer (employers) only if wrapped with an attractive cover letter.

So, how can we make a cover letter impressive and attractive?

We can make a cover letter impressive and attractive by improving its visual appearance.

Visual appearance is the game-changer

A popular report says a recruiter usually spends an average of 6 seconds on each cover letter. You may wonder how a person can read an average one-page cover letter in just 6 seconds. He does not read the entire cover letter. He only performs a quick scan to decide whether to read the cover letter or pick the next one from the pile. Let's understand this approach with an example from our daily life.

How do we read the newspaper? Do we read it entirely?

No, instead of reading the entire newspaper, we only read the news, which interests us.

And how long does it take to find interesting news on each newspaper page?

Most of us can easily select it in less than 5 seconds.

Which factor helps recruiters and us find interesting news and cover letters?

The visual appearance of the cover letter and news helps recruiters and us find and select the appropriate cover letter and news.

In a newspaper, several techniques are used to grab the reader's attention on a piece of specific news or section. With a bit of customization, these techniques can also be used to improve the visual appearance of a cover letter.

Here are some specific tips to enhance the visual appeal of your cover letter.

• Always align text to the left.
• Keep lines length approximately 5 inches.
• Use short paragraphs. Long paragraphs overwhelm the eyes.
• Use indent sections for the key points.
• To highlight a word or a phrase, use upper case letters.
• If a number arrives anywhere in a sentence except at the start of the line, use it in the numeral format, such as 10, 20, 24, etc. But if the line starts with a number, use it in text format such as Ten, Twenty, Twenty-four, etc.
• Try to keep your cover letter on one page. But if a second page is necessary, end the first page in the middle of a sentence to encourage the reader to view the next page.

While formatting, make sure you do not use any program or platform-specific formatting. The following section will discuss the standard and universal formatting tips and the disadvantages of using the program or platform-specific formatting.

Formatting cover letter

Formatting a cover letter with rich text tools or using the default setting of a word processor or email account while creating a cover letter may negatively impact the recruiter's curiosity about your cover letter. Unless your recruiter uses the same email client program or word processor when reading the cover letter you used to create the cover letter, formatting will not work as expected. Let us understand through an example.

The following figure shows how a candidate formatted his cover letter in his email client program with rich text tools.

The following figure shows how this cover letter appeared in the recruiter's email program.

Have you noticed the differences between both cover letters?

Formatting done by the candidate is either altered or replaced by some unusual characters. After alteration and replacement, this cover letter is looking unprofessional and confusing. For example, bold, Italic, and underlined text formatting was altered and replaced by the asterisk signs, confusing the reader and making the appearance of this cover letter completely unprofessional.

The following figure shows the same cover letter formatted with generic formatting.

The following figure shows how this cover letter appeared in the recruiter's email program.

With generic formatting, a cover letter looks professional and presents its contents.

Cover letter formatting tips

• Always use simple plain text format instead of Rich Text or HTML format.
• Always use the most common font types, such as Sans Serif, Arial, Verdana, etc.
• Always use a consistent and standard font size, such as 10, 12, or 14px.
• Always align text to the left.
• Do not use the centre or justify alignment.
• Do not format text with bold, italic, underline, small dashes, long dashes, Subscript, Superscript, or any other unique formatting tool.
• Use an asterisk (*), plus (+), and greater than (>) signs to list the items in the list.
• Use the space bar for indent instead of the tab key.
• Always specify the format in which the attached resume is prepared.

Use a personalized cover letter

Usually, candidates create a standard cover letter and use it with every application by replacing the recipient's name. Do not use this approach. It shows that you are only interested in getting the job, regardless of which company you get it from. In the current economy, while each job vacancy attracts several job seekers, recruiters usually prefer candidates specifically interested in their job and company. Recruiters use the cover letter to judge the candidate's seriousness about his career and their company.

Tips to personalize the cover letter

• If you know the recruiter's name, use it in greetings instead of using the words 'sir' or' madam'.
• Avoid using standard lines such as "I want to work for your company". These lines are meaningless for a recruiter.
• Briefly explain why you are the perfect match for the advertised job.
• Mention the advertised job and the company name in the cover letter.

Highlight your speciality in the cover letter

Highlight the advantage that your recruiter may gain by hiring you instead of someone else. If you have any special skill or quality that may set you apart from other candidates, describe that in a summarized impressive statement such as "extensive experience of network troubleshooting", "solid track record of delivering the result in time", or "won the salesperson of the year award three times in a row", etc.

Be careful when selecting a speciality from your resume. Your resume will provide all the information to your interviewer when he needs it. Select only the skills and qualities you think can give you an advantage over others. Don't regurgitate the resume in summarized form. Let the resume do its job.

Be creative with the opening lines in the cover letter.

Usually, candidates use a standard and common opening line such as "In response to your ad in Time Ascent Newspaper, I have enclosed my resume for your consideration".

Well… there is nothing wrong with this type of opening. But at the same time, there is nothing new in it. To stand out from your job competitors, you have to be creative. Choose some unique and descriptive openings for your cover letter. Let's understand it with an example.

An opening with a standard outline

Dear Sir,
In response to your ad in the Time Ascent newspaper, I have enclosed my resume. I have just completed my MCA and am willing to work in your company. I also have part-time working experience in web programming.

Same opening with the creative outline

Dear Ashok,
You are looking for an MCA fresher to work in a developer team. I am an MCA graduate with experience. My resume, which is enclosed with this mail, details my background and experience.

Both openings convey the same message but in a different style. The first opening uses a standard outline, while the second opening uses a creative outline. The second opening makes your cover letter different from your competitors and immediately grabs the reader's attention.

Use a cover letter that reflects your personality.

Some candidates prefer to use the services of a professional resume writer to create a cover letter and resume. Taking help from a professional writer is a good choice if you cannot express your idea effectively. An experienced writer can express your ideas better. The only downside of this approach is that, usually, professional writers create a letter that reflects your personality in their tone using stuffy, complex, and stilted language. If a professional writer writes your cover letter and resume, recheck them and ask yourself the following questions: -

• Are you comfortable with the wording used?
• Can you communicate in the same level of language?
• Do you have all abilities and specialities written in the cover letter and resume?

Your cover letter and resume should reflect your personality, not the personality of the professional who created them. After all, you will face the interview based on the cover letter and resume.

Focus on the requirements of your prospective employer

The most common mistake a candidate makes in his cover letter and resume is that he focuses only on himself. For example, lines starting with the following phrases can be found in every second or third cover letter and resume.

• I want a job….
• I am a …..
• My job objective is….
• I want to work in……

Your cover letter and resume explain everything you want from your prospective job and company, but what about the company's requirements?

An employer usually does not care what a candidate wants. He only cares about what his business wants. If you do not fit his business requirements, you will never get an interview call from him.

Always highlight your objective, summary, experience, and qualification from the employer's perspective. Use the words and phrases that explain how your skills, strengths, experiences, qualifications, and talents can benefit the company, organization, firm, department, supervisor, or team you will work with.

Few more tips

Never hide any truth from your recruiter. Misleading and lying in the cover letter and resume are neither accepted by the interviewer nor tolerated by the company, even if you get hired.

It is common practice to refer to a company or an organization by its initial or business name. Don't use this approach in the cover letter and resume. Use the complete and correct name of the company. You may check the company's website for the proper name.

Do not use poor salutations like "To whom it may concern". Use the salutation, which states that a cover letter has been sent to a specific person or department for a particular reason.

Check the spelling and grammar of the cover letter and resume at least three times before mailing them.

Do not lose the heart

Do not lose your heart if you haven't received a single interview or a few interview calls, even if you have sent several resumes with cover letters. Getting a job in the current market condition is the most challenging task. Be experiential with your cover letter and resume. Try another one if the cover letter you used does not work well. It may take some time longer than your expectations. Motivate yourself to be positive.

Conclusion

This tutorial outlined essential tips and tricks to make an eye-catching cover letter. Using these simple guidelines, you can easily create a professional cover letter.