1. Personalization
A good cover letter is addressed to the person who has the power to hire you. It’s okay if you don’t know the name of the person who will be reviewing your application, just search on LinkedIn for clues. If you’re not sure how to find this information, just ask the company.
2. Attention-grabbing
The first sentence of your cover letter should immediately grab their attention and set you apart from the rest of the applicants.
3. Brevity and Relevancy
A good cover letter is short and succinct, it shouldn’t be longer than one page in length. This letter is your first impression and you should make it count by including relevant information that shows why you’re the best person for the job.
4. Simple structure
The structure of your letter should be simple, easy to follow, and there shouldn’t be any grammatical or spelling errors. Make sure you include all of the key elements listed above.
5. Good Templates
If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at some good cover letter examples, they should give you some ideas on how to format your own.
Mistakes To Avoid
1. Being too formal or informal
Keep your language simple, professional, and relevant to the job description. Your letter should be conversational and friendly, but it shouldn’t sound too informal.
2. Not selling yourself
A good cover letter should sell your skills and abilities, tell them why you’re a good fit, and what you bring to the table.
3. Bad formatting
Don’t use all caps or too many different fonts. Make everything easy to read! Including bullet points can make your cover letter clearer and more concise.
4. Typos and wrong words
You should ask someone else to proofread your cover letter before you send it out, a single typo could cost you the job.
5. Generic cover letter
Don’t send a generic cover letter that can be sent to anyone, make sure you customize it for the role and the company.
Key takeaways
A good cover letter should get your point across, be concise, personalized, simple, relevant to the role, and free of any major mistakes. Include all of the key elements listed above, have someone proofread your letter before you send it, and be sure that you’re addressing the right person.
If you have a good cover letter, it will help convince the person on the other end that you’re a viable candidate for the job.
