Personal Advancement
Sell yourself from the first pageCover letter logisticsQ: I always got jobs through word of mouth with just my resume. I now realize the importance of a cover letter, but don't know how to go about writing one. Most of my letter-writing experience is e-mail between friends and I'm sure a different style is needed if I'm trying to get a job. What should I do? JOHANNA KRISTOLAITIS |
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 [ 2007-05-30 ] |
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A: Congratulations on realizing the importance of a cover letter; you may be surprised how often cover letters are overlooked entirely. Unfortunately, when cover letters are included, they are often poorly written or too informal; kudos to you again for recognizing that your usual, casual communication style won't cut it in this context.
Remember that a cover letter is a business document and you should follow a standard business format, beginning with the date. On the left-hand side of the page, list the name and address of the company, so that if you were to use a windowed envelope it would appear in the window. You may want to put in bold text "Attention:" followed by the name and position of the person receiving your letter and/or "Re:" followed by the title of the job in question. Alternatively, you could go right into "Dear (insert hiring person's name here)" and proceed with the body of your letter.
This brings up another important point: always address a cover letter to someone at the organization, never to the organization itself. If you don't know who will be receiving your application package, call the company and request that information. Aim to get the person's position and title (Mr, Ms, Mrs) as well as their name. If you don't receive all the information, leave it at the name, and assume Ms for women. If you can't get the name, use "Dear Sir/Madam."
Remember to keep your cover letter short, never more than one page. Keep the organization in mind and tailor your wording to what they want, using phrases similar to the job posting (similar, not verbatim: the thesaurus is your friend). Get several people to proof-read the letter to avoid any errors.
Open the letter with something like "I wish to submit my resume in application for job X." This is the place to drop names, if you know someone respected at the organization; however, be sure they consent and that it will actually benefit you. Your personal employment objective can also be included here; if this is on your resume, find a creative way to rephrase it.
For your second paragraph, find one to three examples from your work or personal history that will best show how you possess the desired traits, and elaborate. For example, if they need someone with leadership skills and you were the captain of a sports team, you can mention that.
In your final paragraph, sum up why you want to work there, mentioning anything relevant from your research into the organization (if you haven't done any, start now). End by thanking them for considering you and inviting them to contact you.
Johanna Kristolaitis is a writer with the DiversityCanada Foundation. Visit http://DiversityCanada.com for more career tips and job postings.
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