CoverletterformatandcontentadvicetipsWonderingwhetheryourcoverletteristhebestitcanbe?Makesureyoucananswer“yes”tothequestionsonthischecklist.CoverletterformatandcontentadvicetipsManyjobseekersstrugglewiththeircoverletters,butwritingagoodcoverletterisaskillthatcanbelearnedandperfected.Thetimeandeffortwillpayoff,becauseawell-writtencoverlettercanincreaseyouroddsofgettinganinterview.Ifyou’rewonderingwhetheryourcoverletteristhebestitcanbe,makesureyoucananswer“yes”tothequestionsonthischecklist:Introduction·Doesyourcoverletterhaveastrongopeningparagraph,communicatingyourjobtargetandkeystrengthswithinthefirstfewlinesoftext?·Doesyourcoverletterconformtoastandardbusinessletterformat?(Seeourcoverlettersamples.)·Isyourcoverletteraddressedtoaspecificindividual,ifthenameisavailable?Thebody·Doesthebodyofyourcoverletterexpresshowyouwouldbenefittheemployerifyouwerehired?·Doyouavoidstartingeverysentencewith“I”or“my”soyoucanfocusmoreontheemployer’srequirementsandnotyourown?·Doyoudemonstrateyourexpertisebyusingindustry-specificlanguage?·Doyouincludeexamplesofyouraccomplishmentssoemployerscanseeyouhaveaproventrackrecord?·Isthecontentengagingandrelevanttohiringmanagers’needs?·Isthecoverlettersuccinct,containingjustenoughinformationtoenticethereadertoreviewyourresume?·Didyouincludeallinformationthatwasrequested,suchasajobreferencenumber,employmentavailabilitydateandsalaryrequirements?·Isthecontentunique?Didyouavoidcopyingtextfromyourresumeverbatim?·Doesyourcoverlettersoundgenuine?Doesitreflectyourpersonalityandmakeyouseemlikeableandapproachable?·Didyouproofreadyourcoverlettertoensurethatit’sfreeofspelling,grammar,syntaxandformattingerrors?·Doesthewritingstyleanddesigncoordinatewiththeresume,suchasbyusingthesamefontandlayoutstyle?Closingparagraph·Didyouprovideaneasywayforemployerstocontactyou,suchasadirectphonelineandemailaddress?·Doesyourcoverletterendwithacalltoaction,confidentlyrequestinganinterview?·Didyouremembertosignyourletterifyou’remailingahardcopy?Formoreadviceonwritingajobapplicationcoverletter,checkoutthesearticles:·CoverLettersThatSell:Aprimeronwritingcoverlettersthateffectivelymarketyourstrongestcredentials.·10CoverLetterDon’ts:Commoncoverlettermistakestoavoid.·CoverLetterEtiquette:Getbasicetiquetteonhowtousethecoverlettertomakeagreatfirstimpression.
