Cover letters....Support your Resumes....

In our last post, we discussed the tips of writing a good resume. Towards the end we suggested that you can go one step ahead and place a cover letter along with it.

Well....as the name suggests Cover letter is a form of letter writing. Yes...this essentially is a letter written by you to your prospective employer, to bring your capabilities into their sight.

Now the question arises as to why a Cover Letter is required in spite of a resume in place. The very simple answer to this is lack of time with your employer. So before they read your Resume, here is one smaller filter called the Cover Letter.
The need to write a Cover Letter may vary with person and position. At times, a Cover letter may be meant to accompany your resume, while it may also be a letter to enquire of job openings and to show your interest to the recruiting manager of a firm.

What and How to Write......

As we already know now, we are dealing with writing a letter, so like all letters we need to follow a IBC approach,  i.e. Introduction-Body-Conclusion. Following are the points to ponder:

Introduction

1.       Before starting make sure you have enough knowledge of the company. A complete address of the company is must. Address the letter with proper company name. Your employer should feel your genuine interest in his firm.

2.       Since at most of the times, we won’t know who will read our letter. So for the salutation you can keep as simple as Dear Mr. Manager or Dear Mr. Recruitment Manger or better Dear Recruitment Team.

Body

1.       This part is a small introduction of your interest to join the company and can be written to answer the following queries of your employer:

a.       Where did you find about job openings?

b.      Where have you previously worked?

c.       Why would you like to join us?

d.      What experience do you hold?

e.      How your

2.       Make sure that you just introduce yourself and don’t put the whole thing out there. The idea is to make your employer curious to read your resume. If you mention everything in cover letter, the chances of your resume being read will diminish.

Conclusion

1.       Towards the end of the letter remind your employer of your enclosed resume. Mention when the proper time to call you is or how long will you be available (in case you are looking in some other companies as well).

2.       You would like to leave ball in their court saying you are waiting to hear from you.

3.       Thanks them for their time.

Once you are done don’t forget to review your letter. Check it thoroughly for grammar and spelling mistakes. Improper sentence formation or grammatical mistake may prove fatal.

Hope the above tips work out successfully for you. Mind that may be a little but cover letters do make a difference. For a sample cover letter check out here. For any queries feel free to comment.

Happy Job Hunting.....Keep visiting for more of such posts.