When youre writing a cover letter, all of your deepest insecurities can surface.
You start to question your writing skills, your professional experience and, really, your entire life.
How do you introduce yourself?
Do you repeat whats on your resume?
How much should you talk about yourself?
How can you mirror your whole being on to this one page?
To tackle yours head on, you first need to understand its purpose.
What Is a Cover Letter?
All those questions swimming in your head?
Theyll settle down when you start to understand the purpose of your cover letter.
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Your cover letter then explains those skills with a little more flavor, color and personality.
It also proves you have the communication skills you need for the job.
But there are actually three types you might write during a job search.
And typically theyre all going to be followed by your resume.
But they all serve different aims.
You dont want to write a dissertation in an email, Stallings said.
Keep it personal, and be specific about what you want from the letter.
And this is the bang out were focusing on in this how-to guide.
Many of us are really good at that.
So, no, theres no singular universal answer as to thebestway to write a cover letter.
But theres no need to make it more difficult than it has to be.
You should also include these throughout your cover letter.
To keep it simple, Margolis suggests a three-paragraph You, Me, We approach.
However, your first paragraph should be aboutyou as in the recipient, the potential employer, the company.
But mention the specific role.
Next, state how you found out about the position.
Was it your connection?
Now, mention what excites you about the company.
Youll need to do some research on this part.
Is the company a leader in the marketplace?
Known for its innovative products?
Perhaps it was recently ranked on a Best Places to Work list.
Or maybe it won an award.
Then get more specific about the department and what its doing.
Bottom line: This part has to be tailored to the company and the position.
Paragraph 2: Me
Thats you now!
For this paragraph, Margolis suggests choosing two to three transferable skills.
Remember, those are the skills that can easily translate to your success in this new role.
Paragraph 3: We
Margolis says theres not a whole lot left to say in the paragraph.
Even two sentences, done right, can suffice.
This is where you tie it all together.
Talk about the next steps.
Mention meeting for an interview or attending the companys open house.
Then mention how youll follow up.
Will you call next week?
These, however, are four simple things Margolis encourages applicants to avoid.
Jargon and/or Acronyms
Just write it out.
Slang or Shortcuts
LOL.
Even if youre using it ironically.
I think its more professional to spell it out, said Rahaim.
Negative Comments
I think thats sad, said Rahaim.
Off the bat youre focusing on the fact that youve ever worked in the field.
Just leave it sunshine and roses.
This could be some combination of your first and last name.
Not[email protected].
Without verbal or physical cues, jokes can lack context and come off as weird nonsequieters.
When youre writing it and someones reading it theres no guarantee how someone will take it, said Rahaim.
However, Margolis suggests always asking yourself two questions before submitting your cover letter:
1.
If I were the recipient of this letter, would I want to read it?
Can I use the Three Cs to describe it?
The Three Cs areconcise,compellingand effectivelycommunicatingyour value.
Check, check and check?
Spend some time proofreading and revising.
Then, stop banging your head against the desk and overthinking it just send it!
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Former data journalist Alex Mahadevan (@AlexMahadevan) contributed to this post.
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