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Hi there! Today I'm going to talk about how to write a cover letter. A lot of people are
familiar with how to go about writing a resume, but many people draw a total blank when it
comes to writing a cover letter. A cover letter is something you're less likely to have learned
how to do in school, and which might seem like it's superfluous on the surface. In reality
it's one of the most important elements of your job application.
Starting your cover letter is easy. You just take the contact information that you put
at the top of your resume and copy and paste it onto your blank cover letter document.
That way it's easy for the hiring manager to match up your cover letter with your resume
in case they get separated either electronically or after they've been printed out. You don't
need to put your name in large letter across the top of your cover letter like you would
in your resume. Just skip to the greeting.
If you know the name of the hiring manager, you should open with the date and then, Dear
Name, but if you don't know the name of the hiring manager, Dear Hiring Manager, will
suffice. Then you can go on to the body of your letter, which is not going to be very
long. About 1-3 paragraphs, tops. Any more than that and the cover letter will overwhelm
the hiring manager and she isn't going to read through it completely.
The first line of your letter should match your objective statement on your resume. You
should list the job that you want and say briefly why you want it. Let's say you were
applying for a job as a customer service agent at Company X. You'd write something like,
I am applying for a job as customer service agent at Company X where my skills in customer
service and problem solving can boost your customers' satisfaction and your company's
success.
This conveys your goal to the hiring manager so that he understands the rest of the letter.
This is where you can elaborate on why you want the job. That's something you don't get
to talk about in your resume. Hiring manager don't just want to know about your skillsóthough
you should point them toward your resume in your cover letter to read more about your
skillsóthey also want to know why you want the job, and why you are the best candidateósomeone
who cannot ever be replaced by another candidate who has the same set of skills. If you were
a hiring manager, who would you rather hire: the candidate who has a great set of skills
and doesn't explain why she wants the job, or the candidate who has a great set of skills
and explains in the cover letter why she is passionate about the job? This is your chance
to stand out as an individualóso be creative, be passionate, and make your cover letter
stand out with your enthusiasm!