Cover Letter Tips to Get You Noticed

John Krautzel
Posted by in Career Advice •


While it's tempting to believe that your resume is all that matters for getting a job interview, hiring managers really do read your cover letter. In fact, your cover letter can be a key element to separate you from the rest of the applicants. Here are some tips on how to write a cover letter that gets you noticed.

Grab Attention in the First Line

Open with your accomplishments or your connection to the company. Your first sentence is key in grabbing a hiring manager's attention, so don't waste it. If you were referred by someone within the company, mention it here. If you have a personal story to tell regarding your relationship with the company, start it immediately. Never start a cover letter by providing your name and the position you're applying for.

Don't Copy Your Resume

Your cover letter is an introduction to your resume and in fact is likely to be attached to your resume throughout the hiring process, so don't waste space repeating items from your resume in your cover letter. Instead use your cover letter to introduce yourself as a person and to make a human connection to the reader.

Promote Yourself

Forget what your mom told you about how it's rude to brag. Now is the time to boast about your accomplishments. Tell sentence-long stories about your experiences that illustrate how you're the perfect fit for the position for which you're applying. Be unashamed about promoting yourself in your cover letter. It should go without saying that this is not the time to discuss your weaknesses.

Target Your Letter

Because there are no generic jobs, you should never send a generic cover letter. Rewrite your cover letter for each job you apply for, tweaking it to highlight the ways in which you are an ideal candidate.

Keep the Letter Brief

A cover letter is an introduction, not an essay. Get to the point immediately, and sign off as soon as you can. You're not trying to tell your whole life story or to get the employer to hire you based on your cover letter. You're only trying to get your foot in the door for an interview. Keep your letter to a maximum of three paragraphs, with plenty of white space on the page.

Give a last glance at every cover letter you write to make sure nothing sounds as if you cut and pasted it from your resume or from another cover letter. Every sentence of your cover letter should be aimed at getting you noticed and at persuading the hiring manager to call you in for an interview. Start strong, promote yourself well and end strong, and you can expect the phone to start ringing.

 

Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 
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  • Yolande Wright
    Yolande Wright •

    Thank you. I am just now returning to the workforce after a 10 year absence. Your advice will definitely be put to good use.

  • christopher akens
    christopher akens •

    I'm in your best interest for success

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @David - you are absolutely right. If you have someone else write up your resume and/or cover letter for a position and the wording is not your own, the interviewer is going to see through that quickly! And then - interview over. It's always best to write your own material - to let the company see who you are. After all, if you can't write up a resume/cover letter on your own, how will you handle the new position?

  • David Grant
    David Grant •

    Good point above , but advice, what you write on your cover letter , resume be yourself ,what your looking for in a career .what you have done, what you want to do It's easy to write on a piece of paper and if your not writing about yourself and trying to sell it to a company and they like what they READ , question is when you look at a interviewer in the eye and your cover letter/resume is not yourself you will never land your dream job or any job you will set there in front of a hiring manager feeling like a peanut brain , Be yourself, honest, where you can see yourself going and what you can offer a company's vision.

  • Jacob Parsons
    Jacob Parsons •

    Thank you!

  • Cecilia M.
    Cecilia M. •

    Totally agree, John. This is sales and most of us aren't taught how to sell ourselves into a job, but that is indeed what you are doing. As you said, "Go in strong, end strong, keep it short and to the point."

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    Thanks for all of the comments. Writing a cover letter seems to be hard for all of us. We struggle with what to say. Using these tips should really help - keep it straightforward and brief but let your personality shine through!

  • SINGH B.
    SINGH B. •

    thanks lot from paris

  • Julia B.
    Julia B. •

    Thank you.

  • Raymond H.
    Raymond H. •

    Thank you!

  • biju e.
    biju e. •

    Thank you

  • biju e.
    biju e. •

    ok

  • Francisco S.
    Francisco S. •

    Thank you !!

  • RACHEL BERNET
    RACHEL BERNET •

    Thank you! This is very helpful.

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