10 common cover letter mistakes
Your cover letter and resume are your chance to make a first impression on a hiring manager. The cover letter in particular is a great opportunity for you to highlight your strengths and—most importantly—explain how your skills can benefit the company. A good cover letter can lead the way to a follow-up call or even the opportunity for an interview. Here are some common cover letter mistakes that you want to avoid. It is very important to customize your cover letter for each job application you submit. You will want to familiarize yourself with the job ad, so that you can emphasize how your qualities are a good match for the job.
10 common cover letter mistakes that can hurt your career
Your cover letter shows employers how well you express yourself. It can also demonstrate that you are savvy in the ways of marketing yourself and selling your best qualifications.
A good cover letter will entice the recipient to review your resume. A bad cover letter, on the other hand, can nip your chances in the bud. Below are eight cover letter mistakes that contribute to bad cover letters. To ensure that your cover letter is effective, avoid these missteps! Even if the job ad you're replying to doesn't specifically state the need for a cover letter, send a cover letter. It's not about what the employer can do for you, but what you can do for the employer. This mistake is particularly common among inexperienced jobseekers.
In most cases, employers are in business to make a profit. They want to know what you can do for their bottom line, not what they can do to fulfill your career dreams.
Don't waste your first paragraph by writing a boring introduction. Tell the employer which position you are applying for and summarize the reasons you are qualified for the role, expanding on your qualifications in later paragraphs.
Write a letter that will make the employer want to get to know you better. Proofread your cover letter. Typos, misspellings, or incorrect grammar and punctuation can send your application right into the trash pile. Your letter reflects your ability to write and communicate, and your attention to detail. Be sure your document is letter-perfect before sending it out. Proofread your letter. Put it down and proof it again a few hours later with a fresh eye.
Cover letters are an opportunity to expand upon some of the key correlative bullet points listed in the Work Experience section of your resume. Which past job most relates to the one I'm applying for? Focus your cover letter on these -- go deep, and bring to life learnings that have room to be fleshed out in your cover letter. A good job post will let you know exactly what the hiring manager is looking for in a candidate, so tailor your letter to address these specific qualifications.
Do some research into the company and try to read between the lines to see if your experience lines up with these values in any way. For example, if you are applying for a job at a company the sells educational products that help children succeed in school, mention your time spent as a volunteer tutor.
Brevity is a skill, so do your best to keep your letter brief. It should never be more than one page, but a good rule of thumb is to keep your letter to four or five paragraphs of no more than three sentences apiece. Using bullet points to outline skills and experience that might be of interest to the employer is a good way to break up blocks of text and draw attention to specific items. Your cover letter is a marketing tool that should focus on the qualifications that will sell you to the employer.
Be sure to include your Unique Selling Proposition. Using clear, simple language, your Unique Selling Propositions should answer these questions:. What makes you unique? What makes you better than other candidates applying for the position? What can you offer that no other applicant can? Example 1: Weak statement: I believe my background provides me with unique qualifications. Strong statement: My background provides me with unique qualifications. Example 2: Weak statement: I feel very confident that I would be an asset.
Strong statement: I am confident that I would be an asset. Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Best of luck with writing your cover letter! At LiveCareer, we live and breathe the belief that we can help people transform their work lives, and so do our contributors. Our experts come from a variety of backgrounds but have one thing in common: they are authorities on the job market. It's not about you It's not about what the employer can do for you, but what you can do for the employer.
Avoid a boring or formulaic cover letter Don't waste your first paragraph by writing a boring introduction. Proofread your cover letter Proofread your cover letter. Keep it short but sweet Brevity is a skill, so do your best to keep your letter brief. Using clear, simple language, your Unique Selling Propositions should answer these questions: What makes you unique?
About the Author. About the Author LiveCareer Staff Writer At LiveCareer, we live and breathe the belief that we can help people transform their work lives, and so do our contributors.
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Writing too much. Addressing the.
A cover letter is the perfect opportunity to market yourself to a potential employer. You can use your cover letter to highlight your achievements and explain how your experience will be of benefit to the employer. Pitfall 1. Using a generic cover letter Even though it is time consuming, you should tailor every cover letter you write to the specific job application. Make sure you read the job ad carefully, and see what the employer is looking for.
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10 Common Cover Letter Mistakes
A cover letter is a powerful tool that can convince a recruiter to hire you. It is your time to express yourself. It can demonstrate your outstanding experience and abilities, your written communication skills and show that you are the best fit for the position. A professional, effective and modern-looking cover letter can entice any hiring manager to read your resume. Respectively, a bad cover letter will do quite the opposite.
10 Cover Letter Mistakes You Should Avoid
Have queries for this product, fill out this form, and we will get back to you within 24 hours. A perfect cover letter, which accompanies a job application, has the potential to increase your chances of getting noticed and eventually bagging a job. However, it is not very easy to write a flawless cover letter and there is a certain approach towards it. Often job seekers tend to ignore this job of perfecting the cover letter. It is true that it needs some efforts to get it right, but once you get there, it gets easier and every time you do it, you perform better. Many feel that cover letters a thing of the past. However, while many recruiters consider cover letter to be unimportant while evaluating potential candidates, others value it immensely. And since it is not possible to predict the type of recruiter receiving your application, it is best to include a cover letter with all your applications. However, while drafting a cover letter, make sure it helps your candidature.
Your cover letter shows employers how well you express yourself. It can also demonstrate that you are savvy in the ways of marketing yourself and selling your best qualifications.
Your cover letter is a major component of your application. In fact, it's one of the first things most employers notice when evaluating candidates. A poorly written or structured cover letter, on the other hand, can hold back your application.
Top 21 Resume & Cover Letter Mistakes to Avoid
Make sure you address it to the right person. They're not necessarily essential or required in every industry or for every role, but savvy job seekers always have one ready to go. Typos are a really easy way to land your application in the "no" pile. Or worse, they'll think you just don't know how to spell. Never rely on spell check. Ask a friend or family member to look it over before you submit the cover letter to the employer. Today, gatekeepers recruiters and hiring manager do not have the resources or time to read each candidate's resume and multi-page cover letter. Addressing the letter to the wrong person. There's absolutely no excuse for addressing your cover letter to the wrong person. If no name is provided, omit it completely and list your name and targeted position. Not tailoring the cover letter to the company or job you're applying to.
10 Common Mistakes While Writing Cover Letters
At least, most of them do, anyway. Done right, it will help you stand out from the competition, effectively helping you secure an interview for potentially the job of your dreams. A badly written one, on the other hand, can be the deal breaker that gets your application thrown in the bin. This is perhaps the biggest mistake of them all! It shows initiative and resourcefulness — both qualities employers look for in potential employees.
