avoid mistakes in writing cover letters
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All along their careers, employers read thousands of resumes. At a given moment it’s usual that the resumes tend to resemble one another. Because of this, your mission is to make your own special resume. And a perfect resume goes hand in hand with a perfect cover letter.
Even though a resume is a list of all your achievements, it cannot so well reflect aspects of your personality or the passion that you have for a certain job. A motivation letter is the perfect way through which the employer can find out a bunch of things about you: what you have to offer, your job abilities. It is a good technique in order for him to notice how you express yourself. More than that you can forget all about using a schematic approach and simply formulate your ideas in paragraphs.
A lot of candidates spend a great deal of time on their resume and less time on their cover letter. They attach to their resume a full of mistakes cover letter without acknowledging that the two hold the same amount of significance.
Try avoiding spelling mistakes and try using a text editing program which gives you the possibility to have an automatically language check (e.g. Microsoft Word). It is best that after you have finished, you read your document out loud in order to depict omitted mistakes. It is only after you have read the letter at least two times that you can attach it to your resume and sent it.
Here are some ways of solving mistakes frequently encountered in cover letters:
Do not forget to mention the name of the job
One of the first phrases of the cover letter, after greeting the person to whom it is destined, is the mentioning of the name of the job to which you wish to apply. If by any chance the ad containing the job has a certain code, you should also include the given number. It’s always best to also mention the source from where you got the information of the given job.
There are certain reasons for which you should mention all of these details: the employers need to somehow administrate their company’s job ads and they will not be able to guess which job is yours. At the same time, by mentioning these simple aspects you can win your employer as you will make his work easier; hence, he will be more open-minded when it comes to reading your resume.
The danger of Impersonal Cover letters
It is a big mistake to send the same cover letter to all the employers, changing only the name of the person to whom it is addressed. The basic idea of the cover letter is that it is personal. A letter is guaranteed success by the manner in which it uses the company’s characteristics. What you need to do is prove that you have some knowledge about the company’s accomplishments. Because of this you need to mention some recent events or company projects; you need to do some research about the company before addressing yourself to the employer. All of these will emphasize the fact that you are really interested in that certain company, in the job and in their team.
Do not repeat the ideas that you used in the resume
Most of the candidates fall into this trap. They practically want to include in the cover letter all the information that they give in the resume and they copy them from there. Besides being a waste of time, it will probably help you NOT get that certain job. The Cover letter needs to offer what the resume cannot, like your accomplishments and the contribution that you had at your last work place or your flexibility in managing difficult situations. The idea is that the employer already has your resume; hence the cover letter needs to bring something new.
What can you do for me?
Most of the candidates formulate their reasons for wanting a certain job as follows:
• “I need money”
• “The job seems rather interesting”
• “I have wished to work for this company ever since I was little”
• “I need experience in this domain”
• “A job at your company will help me a great deal as you are the best in your line of expertise”
Here’s the reality: companies are not that interested in your needs. They do not hire you in order to make your life easier or to make sure that you have an income- they hire you because they need you. This means that the cover letter should be focused much more on the company needs and on the manner in which you can contribute at the well being of that company.
To start off on the right foot, you need to check the job ad information, especially the company’s requests. Then, in the cover letter, try to discuss each and every one of these requests by mentioning at each of them what are the competencies that you posses and the manner in which they can help you manage their demands. By doing this, you will hopefully convince them that you are the perfect person for the job.
A last piece of advice would be to try to describe how you can contribute at the company’s accomplishments: you need to keep at the same time both a modest and a confident tone. You should emphasize your enthusiasm and your positive attitude. These are the steps that need to be followed in order for you to have a successful cover letter.
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avoid mistakes in writing cover letters
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