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Career Feature

Tips to Increase Your Cover Letter's Strength

 Dated: 08-18-2012

Résumés and cover letters go together in an interview just like bread and butter. But, even though all job hunters realize the importance of a well-organized résumé, many don't appreciate the power of a solid cover letter.

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Apart from making strong the key skills and experience, a cover letter also exhibits your wish to work for the employer and the specific ways in which your skills can advantage the firm.

More importantly, it assists in differentiating you from the lot of job searchers and provides inducement to contact you for an interview.




Here's how you can create a good cover letter:

1. Know your stuff

Prior to beginning with writing, inquire as much as you can from the potential employer. Do visit the firm's Web site and scrutinize the industry publications to get acquainted yourself with the current news about the company, like quarterly earnings, and to learn about their future strategy, like extension into new markets.

2. Personalize it

Don't ever start a cover letter with "Dear Sir or Madam" or "To Whom it May Concern." Instead, remember that the correspondence with general salutations mostly indicate to the potential employers that you don't have the inventiveness to position the appropriate contact. If a job listing does not contain the name of the hiring manager, you can call the company's receptionist and give details of the position that you are applying for get the information you require.

3. Begin strong

A good cover letter starts with a powerful starting paragraph. Your target is to in brief explain how you came to know about the position and why you're attracted to it. Don't include attractive introductions like "Teamwork is my middle name" or "I am smart as a whip". A "catchy" beginning can show affected, dishonest and offers small value to the piece.

4. Offer a temptation

The body of the letter should inflate upon -- not simply replicate -- the main points in your résumé. Emphasize those skills and experiences that stand most pertinent to the job opening and give real examples of how you can be an advantage to the company. Communicate how your attention to feature and ability to acclimatize quickly to new environments' let's you to discharge first-rate client service.

5. Be bold

Apart from expressing thankfulness for the hiring manager's time and interest, close your letter by demarcating your subsequent steps. Be practical by mentioning when you will contact him or her to do a tag on. This is a great way to strengthen your eagerness for the job. However, do also remember to include a phone number or e-mail address where you can be reached to allow the firm to reach you first.

6. Getting forward of yourself

Please note that centering on issues like expected salary and title can sound arrogant and premature. So, do wait till you have made available a meeting and turn better aware with the hiring manager to discuss such topics.

7. Double-check your write-up

Research time and again conveys that one or two typographical errors are all that is needed to cease a hiring manager from contacting you back. So, apart from using your computer's spell-check functions, also ask friends and family to double-check your write-up.

8. Keep the format uniform

If you submit your application via e-mail, do arrange the file as a plain text document to make it universally compatible. For this, it is important to remove all formatting enhancements, like underline or boldface, and swap bullets with asterisks or dashes. Not doing so, may make your recipient receive a strange pack of alphabets. Do also remember to paste the cover letter into the body of an e-mail to save hiring managers the task of damaged or illegible attachments.

Lastly, realize that submitting a considerate and well-written cover letter can assist you surpass your competition and get you a step closer to an interview.



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