Write Winning Cover Letters

Write Winning Cover Letters

Source: Cover Letter Magic, by Wendy S. Enelow and Louise Kursmark.

A great cover letter can make a difference in whether you get noticed or passed over for a job. It is a great tool that:

Positions you above the competition.
Sells your qualifications and your successes.
Demonstrates your knowledge, experience, and expertise.
Creates excitement, enthusiasm, and action (an interview).

Ten cover-letter strategies

1. Make it easy for someone to understand "who" you are. Are you a sales representative, nurse, college professor, chemical engineer, restaurant manager, customer service agent or architect?

Be sure to clearly communicate that information at the beginning of your cover letter. Don't make someone read three paragraphs to find this critical information. No one is going to take the time and energy to figure it out.

2. Use a unique and professional format when writing and typing your cover letters. Make your letters visually attractive and distinctive. Tap into your inner self to see how creative and professional you can be in writing the text and designing the presentation.

3. Emphasize your most relevant qualifications. Use your cover letters to highlight your skills, experiences, qualifications, honors and credentials that are directly relevant to the company's needs and type of position and/or career path you are pursuing.

4. Shine a spotlight on your most relevant achievements. Be certain to highlight your career successes, results and accomplishments that will be most meaningful to the intended audience of each specific letter.

5. Include information that you know about the company or the position for which you are applying. If you know any particulars about the company to which you are writing (for example, core issues, challenges, market opportunities, services or management changes), be sure to address those items in your cover letter. Relate specifically how your experience can meet the company's needs and provide solutions to its challenges.

6. Explain why you want to work for this company in particular. Do you want to work for the company because of its reputation, financial standing, products, services, location or market potential? Everyone likes a good "pat on the back" for a job well done. Company management is no different. Tell them what they're doing right that caught your attention.

7. Be sure your cover letters are neat, clean and well presented. Remember, cover letters are business documents, not advertising materials. They should be attractive and relatively conservative, not "over-designed."

8. Double-check, triple-check, and then have someone else check your letter to be sure that it is error-free. Remember, people don't meet you; they meet a piece of paper. And that piece of paper — your cover letter — reflects the quality and caliber of the work you will do on their behalf. Even the smallest of errors is unacceptable.

9. Keep your cover letters short. Cover letters are not essays. We recommend a one-page letter in nearly all circumstances.

10. Always remind yourself why you are writing each cover letter, and be sure to ask for the interview. Remember, securing an interview is your primary objective for each letter you write.