Six Cover Letter Tips For Job Applicants
Gotta say I’m feeling quite chuffed this morning … yesterday, I re-wrote a cover letter for a job application (not for me, but for someone seeking full-time work).
Today it was used for the first time … one email, one job application — 30 minutes later, the company called and offered an interview for 10am tomorrow!
Even in this economic climate, the good jobs are still there to be had if you apply proven copywriting skills to your application.
The comment back about this particular letter: of 160 applicants, it was “the best letter he’s ever seen”.
Always makes me feel good to help someone get a job they’re after — at least to get the attention of employers to get an interview. So far all the letters I’ve done for jobs have gotten an interview for the applicant — only about a dozen, but I’ve helped each of them stand out.
Of course though it’s their skills that I’m highlighting, to make the letter as relevant as possible to match the job… I’m simply making sure it gets the right attention.
Six tips for your own job cover letter:
- Personalise each cover letter. Use the name of the company and the person you’re writing to in your letter. This makes it look much more like you care about what you’re writing, not just some generic cover letter.
- Don’t be boring! If you can, avoid the “same old” style of letter writing that everyone else uses. Still be careful, and make sure it is business orientated. But use words that are more lively and active, not something that starts off like “I’m writing in response to the job application in XYZ newspaper for the ABC role.” You don’t also want to appear arrogant, eg avoid “Your job search is over, here I am!” .. but instead, something that shows you’re excited about the prospects of working for the company and you’re ready and able to be part of their team.
- Relevance: Be very specific about matching your skills to the duties they’ve outlined. Focus on the few main things they’re looking for and show how your skills suit the role
- Be clear in the language you use — if they want someone who has a “can-do” attitude, use those words in your cover letter (so long as it is congruent with your attitude!)
- Show how you’ll “solve their problem” — how your attitude and skills takes away any problems they’d potentially have in that role because of your skills and abilities (so they can get on with running their company)
- Before you send your letter — read it out loud and make sure it “flows” okay. If you stumble over any parts, re-write them so they’re clear.
Hopefully, that helps get you the attention of your future employer in the same way as it did for the letter I wrote yesterday!
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[...] Monday I posted six tips for writing cover letters when looking for a job, and there’s three more I’d like to [...]
Thank you so much!! I really needed these tips to go ahead and write a WOW cover letter…
:)