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Before we head into how to write a cover letter that is guaranteed to make you look like the professional you are, let us first understand what a cover letter is and what purpose it serves.
A cover letter is a document that contains one’s work history, professional skills, and personal interests written when applying for a job.
The purpose of a cover letter is to support your resume. The cover letter serves to expand on the content of your resume and in so doing, showcase your personality and why you’d be most suitable for the job you’re applying for.
Attaching a well-written cover letter to your resume helps to make your application stand out among others, and makes a good impression on employers.
Now, let’s quickly dive in on how to write a cover letter, with examples as well.
Firstly, you will need a cover letter header. The cover letter header contains your contact information, the date on which you’re writing the letter and the address of the company.
Here’s a typical example of a cover letter header:
Underneath the cover letter is where your contact information comes from. The contact details include:
Once you have these detail down, the next thing is the company’s details. You are to write this under your contact information, aligned to the left. The contact information includes:
The purpose of a cover letter is to reach and impress the hiring manager. Using their name in your cover letter salutation increases your chances of living a lasting good first impression because it shows them you were diligent enough to find their name.
Sometimes you can get confused about the position of the hiring manager. Is it Mr, Mrs or Miss? In situations like this, it is advised to leave it out and proceed to use their name.
Something like: “Dear Abdullahi Muhammad” is quite okay.
In situations where you do not know the name of the person whom you are addressing, you can simply go ahead and address the relevant department. For example, “Dear Finance Department”.
Greetings like “Dear sir or Ma’am” is old school but still acceptable, but remember, this is a guide on how to write the best cover letter to improve your chances of landing that job.
Start as you mean to go on”. If you start strongly, your chances improve significantly. So, make sure you have a proper opening paragraph set in place. A well put-together opening paragraph consists of the following points:
When you utilize these for points without skipping any of them, it sends out a message to your employer that you’re a serious candidate and that you mean business.
Here is an example of a proper opening paragraph:
Do not be afraid of making your opening more colourful by talking about some of your unique qualities and/or past career highlights.
The body of the paragraph is where you try to convince your employer why you’re a perfect fit for the job. A couple of pointers here will assist you in doing that.
You must bear in mind that the body paragraph for those with work experience looks a lot different from the body paragraph for those without work experience. That is because the points to be discussed in these two scenarios are different.
Points to Talk About If You Have Work Experience
Here’s a brief example:
I’ve been praised by management for consistently and successfully executing administrative tasks that improved company efficiency by 20%. In 2020, I was awarded Employee of the Year for my efforts. With my skill set, I’d be a strong asset at XYZ company and significantly contribute to the team’s success.
Points to Talk About If You Have No Work Experience:
Here’s an example:
I recently graduated summa cum laude (3.7 GPA) with a BSc in Accounting from the University of Mount Allison. During my final two years there, I served as treasurer for the Student-body Committee, managing a $20,000 budget, developing financial management policies, and providing accurate monetary reports. I’m excited to bring a significant amount of real-world experience to your highly reputable firm and quickly prove my worth.
When writing your closing Paragraph, be mannerly, confident, and continue portraying yourself as the best candidate suited for the job. It’s important to write your final paragraph strategically.
It should look like this:
Sign off like a pro using any of the following salutations:
Select any of the salutations, drop down two spaces then write your full name. You may add a scanned copy of your signature under your full name if you so choose.
Before sending your cover letter, be sure to review it more than once to cross out some errors here and there.
A professional cover letter is normally 200–350 words, single-spaced on an A4 paper. Type with either Arial font or Calibri using 10.5 to 12 font sizes.
Additionally, your margins should be between 1″ and 0.5″ on each side to make sure it’s easy to read. And all of the content should be left-aligned except for your own contact details, which can be centred.
Here is a cover letter Format checklist:
Check out the following cover letter samples to help you craft a good cover letter today.
Be sure to check out Northpad for more useful tips that will help you stay ahead in the game!
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