Writing a Cover Letter – 6 Do’s and Do Not’s

In today’s competitive job market, your cover letter can be your best friend or your greatest enemy, depending on how well you engineer it. To make your job a little bit easier and make sure that your cover letter ends up being more of a buddy than a nemesis, I’ve built a list of the top 6 things to make sure you DO do or DON’T do.

1) This should be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised. DO write a cover letter. The vast majority of cover letter mistakes out there is that people don’t write them! A cover letter is just too powerful a tool to not use it, and when you consider how widespread that knowledge is becoming, it’s getting to where it’s almost a necessity to even be considered. If you don’t write a cover letter, you shouldn’t get your hopes up too high for getting that high-paying job.

2) Too many people just send out a cover letter/resume and sit around waiting for a response. DO be proactive when you’re on a jobhunting campaign. Do a lot of research into the company you’re applying to, know a lot about what it is they do and what you can do for them. Send your resume to the head honcho in charge of staff management, the guy or gal who has the authority to hire you straight away. Impress them with your stunning initiative and determination.

3) Perhaps the most key goal of a cover letter is to set up or pave the way for an interview. By all means, DO bring it up…and by that I don’t mean say “please contact me to make an appointment for an interview.” That’s not being proactive. YOU tell THEM when you plan on calling to make the appointment for an interview, and then do it! As in item #2, initiative and proactivity win the ball game.

4) DO NOT allow ANY spelling, structure, grammar, or word use mistakes even touch your cover letter. You want to appear professional, and “I hoep you are considr me four job” gems just aren’t going to promote that image of you. The employers have entirely too many resumes and cover letters to sort through to let that stuff fly. It doesn’t have to be that severe to knock you out of the running, either. A SINGLE incorrectly-spelled word could destroy your chances. If you must, get help. It’s too critical to risk it.

5) DO NOT allow your cover letter to become some droning reiteration of all the information in your resume. They have your resume, so they can see your job experiences and family situation right there. Sure, you can refer to past employment, but make sure you make there be a good reason for talking about it, such as how it’s contributed to you being a much more able and viable candidate for the position for which you wish to be considered.

6) Above all, DO NOT let yourself seem desperate. Desperation does not make them think “determination,” it just makes them think “loser.” It will not factor into their thought process that you being desperate makes you more driven to prove yourself…it’ll work against you, making them think of you more as annoying, needy, and just generally a hassle. Pity won’t help you…these are professionals who don’t have time for pity.

Now, there are other things to think about, but I genuinely believe that if you take heed of what I’ve talked about here today, you’ll have a lot better shot at getting the most out of your cover letter. If you could use some more information, you can go here to get some free cover letter examples. These can be really helpful when you’re trying to learn how to write a cover letter. Having a checklist is wonderful, but seeing the desired end result is even better. Take a look.