How to Write a Cover Letter; Basics with Examples

You found a great job ad and you actually meet the requirements, but you don’t have a well written cover letter. It is very likely for the hiring manager to ignore a resume without a brief about why he/she should call this person for an interview.

So, you write a note in hurry to fulfill the formality, but BANGG…. your resume still goes unnoticed!

You must know that a resume without a cover letter or with a badly written cover letter can actually push a great job away from you. So you must have an awesome cover letter (preferably customized) enclosed with your resume for each job ad that you respond to.

Yes, it is time taking affair and some resume writing companies may also offer cover letter writing services. But the truth is, you cannot use a template for all job ads.

Ideally, the cover letter should be customized for each job ad. So, even if you have a template in hand or got a cover letter written by someone, you can make it unique each time with few tweaks.

And, to make those tweaks in your cover letter, first thing is to know the basics of writing a cover letter, here it goes;

1- Be Specific

Mention the exact name of the advertised post. Employer should know which position you are actually applying for. This is important, especially when you are applying for a job in company that is actively hiring.

2- Personlize It

The main purpose cover letter is to make a personal connection, so even if there’s nothing much to edit in the cover letter template that you have, make sure to personalize it using company name whenever sending to a particular company.

3- Make it To the Point

Despite the fact that the hiring manager wants to know why you are the right person he should call for an interview, no one is interested in reading a long story. So stay to the point and do not repeat things.

Staying to the point will make sure your cover letter is precise.

4- Focus on Their Benefits More than Your Need of Getting a Job

Mentioning about your skills and achievements is a plus, but only when done rightly. Remember, your resume already has a long list of your qualifications and achievements.

So, do not just praise yourself but mention in the cover letter that how you can benefit the company, i.e. you can help improving the productivity or increasing revenues or discovering new markets and so on.

5- Keep a Balanced Approach

Maintain a balance between selling your services and organizational needs. The best way to do so is to do a quick online search to find what exactly the company does, the competition and market etc.

Having a brief information about the company can give you some ideas that you may use in the cover letter to attain attention.

The Bottom Line

Keeping the above mentioned points in mind you can create an attention grabbing cover letter for every job ad that you want to respond to. And, chances of getting noticed are of course higher!

Keep in mind to make it something that can urge the employer/recruiter to call you for one to one meeting!