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Cover Letters–Your First Impression

 

The purpose of the cover letter and resume package is to motivate the employer to take action and invite you for an interview.  Many times it represents your first impression.   

Purpose

The Purpose of a Cover Letter
Employers report that an impressive cover letter is often more important than the resume when making a decision whether to interview a candidate, so it can be a mistake to focus too much attention on the resume and ignore the potential value of a well-written letter. 

Always customize your cover letter.  Sending out a general cover letter and resume to hundreds of employers is rarely successful.  The most important aspect of a cover letter is employer focus.  Present the employer with indications of your personality and style along with your skills and abilities.


Highlight your qualifications for the specific position you seek, clearly stating your interests and qualifications relative to the employer’s needs.


Your letter should be just a few paragraphs that are relevant to the position and only one page in length.

Development of a Great Cover Letter

A cover letter is an advertisement for you and your skills.  Utilize action verbs throughout the cover letter when relaying your work experiences.  Your letter should accomplish the following:

Information to Include

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Helpful Tips for Your Cover Letter

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  • Limit the amount of I's and my's that are used--10 I's in one letter is plenty.
     

  • Leave out extraneous words and wordy phrases, such as "in order to" and "for the purpose of"
     

  • Avoid using confusing and complex sentence structure (HINT:  Read your letter aloud to identify awkwardness, then correct it).
     

  • Make sure your paragraphs and sentences are not excessively long. 
     

  • Leave out weak or overused words.
     

  • Don't use font sizes smaller than 10 point and larger than 12 point.
     

  • Abstain from using nondescript phrases such as "I was a computer lab assistant." Instead, say:  "I provided technical assistance.". 
     

  • Don't say "job"–Interchange the words "position" and "opening".
     

  • Avoid saying "I feel" or "I believe"–Be confident in yourself.
     

  • Refer to the name of the business at least once in the letter–twice is also acceptable if used in the closing paragraph.
     

  • Use some of the action words located on the pages in your folder to make it more exciting.
     

  • ALWAYS SPELL CHECK AND PROOFREAD–Many employers file resumes and letters of applications with errors on them in FILE 13 right away.
     

  • Margins–2” Top and 1” everywhere else, unless the letter needs adjusted.
     

  • Single space paragraphs, but double space between paragraphs and DON’T indent paragraphs.
     

  • Always reference your enclosure (Enclosure for a resume or application form or both, etc.)

Development
Helpful Tips
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