Most job hunters are not aware that the cover letters are pulling in hot job interviews for them instead of their CVs. A well prepared letter can increase your chance in landing job interviews by 300%.
If you’re wandering how to write an effective letter that will rise above competition, here are some helpful “do’s and don’ts” tips.
First, the Do’s….
- Research the employer’s homepage to read their latest news, contact persons, company profile, products and services.
- Learn more about the position you’re interested before writing.
- Make use of the opening paragraph to promote your qualifications. Quote the position you’re applying.
- Reply to the job advert and requirements precisely.
- Explain how you can bring value to the employer, and link it to your qualifications.
- Send original copy with signature and preferably in blue ink.
- Request for an interview, and state that you will call the employer to follow up for a meeting.
- Use simple language and sentence.
- Write within one page in a white A4 paper.
- Include your email address and mobile phone number so that the recruiting personnel can contact you at his or her convenient.
Now, the Don’ts….
- Don’t just send out a CV to an employer without a sales letter.
- Don’t send your letter to general recipients such as “The Human Resource Manager”. Address it to a name you found from the homepage. You can also call the HR department to identify the person in charge for hiring.
- Avoid sending your job search documents with grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. All your papers represent your reporting and communication skills. Get a friend to proofread them for you.
- Don’t include unnecessary particulars in your missive, and avoid stuffing your page with texts. You need to have sufficient white space for ease of reading.
- Never send generic cover letter to a few companies. Customize them to suit the requirement of different jobs and organizations.
- Don’t use fancy character and color paper. Write in a white and professional format so that the reader can scan through your background and qualification easily.