Saturday, December 9, 2006

How To Write An Effective Cover Letter

How To Write An Effective Cover Letter by Mario R. Churchill


In the present age, competence is the main ingredient in any endeavor. More specifically, job hunting has become tougher because of the numerous numbers of people who would want to land the job. The trend is, the better the job sounds, the more qualified applicants are vying for it.

And if you are one of those who wanted to be considered for the job, you should basically know how to compose a solid resume and an effective cover letter. The first one presents your capabilities, educational background and job experiences that the company could be looking for. Where as, the latter one highlights your capabilities in detail or in general to give emphasis to your resume. Thus, the cover letter functions to give weight to your application, so that the employer will see your edge over the other applicants.

You might say that your abilities are enough to make you hired for a certain position. But haven't you thought that there are a bunch of you who are equally qualified? But you can't all be hired for just the one slot. The cover letter gives you the chance to elevate yourself among them. And if you could effectively write a cover letter that will grab the attention of your future employer, then you will be confident to land the job that you desire.

So how do you write an effective cover letter? If there are loads of companies that you prospect are looking for your qualifications, write a single cover letter in a general pattern. This one-page letter should contain the primary job experiences that are related to the position. In addition, this must also express your interest to the company and your eagerness to work in it. Cite some remarks that makes the company your choice. Next is list the names of the different companies where you plan to send your letter. And when you have identified these companies, make a research on each of these. A cover letter should be personalized for each company. The purpose of the general cover letter that you have written is to facilitate your composition of the personalized one. In composing the latter letter, you just have to edit some details and add the specific names or departments within the company that you need to mention.

If you have written the salient things of the cover letter, edit and reedit the contents until it is well polished. It's a total turn off in the part of the employer to find grammatical and technical flaws in this type of letter. Remember that you are advertising yourself to the recipient of the letter, therefore you have to come up with the best masterpiece to convince the employer that you deserve to be hired. After that, make sure that you print the cover letter on a quality paper so that it will be presentable enough when you submit it. It is placed on top of the resume. And finally, sign the letter legibly.

With bulky files of application letters submitted everyday, the employer could have gotten sleepy browsing over typical and boring letters. So don't submit your life history by reiterating your job qualifications and experiences in your resume and cover letters. Make an interesting cover letter that will mark an impression to your prospective boss.


About the Author
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on cover letter or cover letters checkout his recommended websites.

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