Five Cover Letter Mistakes
Written
by Teena Rose, a certified and published resume writer with
Resume to Referral (http://www.resumebycprw.com)
and author to "Designs & Job-search Strategies for
College Grads" (published by Career Epublications).
Teena L.
Rose has been a certified résumé writer since
1996. She has assisted hundreds of clients reach career goals
through effective training, consulting, and through her effective
writing skills. Mrs. Rose maintains a current membership with
the Professional Association of Résumé Writer
(PARW) in addition to networking with area human resource personnel,
recruiters, and maintaining a strong presence in the community
through committees, volunteering, etc.
First, let’s
review the purpose of a cover letter. A cover letter "marries"
your résumé to the open position. Put yourself
in the position of a hiring manager.
If you received several résumés per day would you
want to review each one and attempt to match them up to the positions
open within your company? A cover letter can also address salary
issues, gaps in employment, and any other qualification discrepancies.
A cover
letter should almost always be used. The only exception is when
the résumé is hand-delivered to a hiring manager
after a previous discussion (phone or in-person). Although we
have seen conflicting data on whether it should be sent as an
attachment, etc., a formal cover letter should also accompany
the résumé when sent via e-mail.
We recommend
sending both your résumé and cover letter as an
attachment, to ensure the document is received in a professional
format.
Below is
a list of errors to avoid when sending a résumé
to a potential employer:
1) Sloppy
copy – margins, font, pica, and written material. This
is one of my biggest “pet peeves.” The first impression
given to any hiring agent is based upon the overall appearance
of the cover letter. The cover letter is the first item seen
before proceeding into the résumé. I can assure
you that if a cover letter arrives on that person’s desk
without consistent margins, font, pica, and with effective writing,
these documents have the potential to be “dead in the water”
before this person even thinks of turning the page.
2) Listing
unrelated skills and qualifications is probably the most common
mistake candidates make. A person can be highly skilled and
educated with high achievements which pertain to their current
position and/or title, however, once that person steps out of
this environment into another, this information becomes less
important, if not irrelevant.
3) No contact
name listed. By not listing a contact name, this shows lack
of detail, not to mention, allowing the document to float around
the office rather than sitting on the desk of the hiring agent.
4) Incorrect
address. Again, a lack of detail. Don’t go down this path.
5) Business
format. The lack of proper business format is another common
mistake. Utilize the same font, margins, and header to ensure
the cover letter matches the résumé as closely
as possible. Visit our website (www.résumébycprw.com)
for a free cover letter template after opting into our highly
informative newsletter.
By following
these simple do’s and don’ts, the art of creating
a cover letter should become quick and easy. Before sending
any documents, proofread, proofread, proofread!
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