How to Write a

Cover Letter?
Good Practices & Common Mistakes
 Secrets of Successful Cover Letter

Be unique Write what the employer wants!

Explain you have the skills!

Demonstrate motivation!

Use your own words!

Point what you want next

Good design / layout

 What is the Cover Letter?
 The Cover Letter (CL) is a way of:

 Introducing yourself to a potential employer

 Explaining why you are suitable for the position
 Employers look for individualized and
thoughtfully written cover letters
 You put time writing CL  you are serious
 This is a method of screening out applicants who
 Are not sufficiently interested in their position
 Who lack necessary basic skills
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 What is the Cover Letter? (2)
 A supplement to the resume that includes more detailed
information about yourself
 It highlights key points in your resume
 Expresses your interest in a position

 Shows off your qualifications to a prospective Employer

 Cover letters can be:
 The application letter or invited cover letter
 Responds to a known job opening
 The prospecting letter or uninvited cover letter
 Inquires about possible positions
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 Why We Need a Cover Letter?
 The cover letter is the best way to show how
motivated you are
 Also known as letter of motivation
 Why you want to start a career in this
particular company?
 Why at exactly this position?
 Why in this sphere?
 Why you have the skills?
 Etc.
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 Companies Requesting Cover Letters
 Some people thinkthat
nobody reads the cover letters
 Consider them a meaningless requirement
 Such people believe that strong CV and rich
experience is enough
 In some companies this could be true, but in the
best employers this is great mistake
 If a cover letter is requested
 Be sure it will be read
 At least at a glance
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 What We Gain from Cover Letter?
 In the most prestigious
and well-structured
companies the cover letter is very important
 The human resources (HR) team at the
company definitely reads it
 If the cover letter is impressive
 You will be immediately contacted
and invited to an interview
 Even if your experience is not great
 Impressive cover letter opens doors!

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 Cover Letters: Remember
 It is
always worth to send a well-prepared and
impressive cover letter
 Unique, especially written for exactly this
company and exactly this job position
 Never "reuse" your cover letters!

 A great cover letter for certain company and job

position is bad for another company / position

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 Cover Letters: Beware
 If you apply for a second time in given company
 Be sure to rewrite your cover letter
 Most good companies will disregard your
application when you reuse the cover letter
 The same cover letter means that
 Your motivation has not changed
 Your qualification is not changed
 They should reject you again

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 Recruiters Will Research You!
 Be sure that the HR professionalswill try to
find all the information about you they can
 They will search in Google about you
 They will try to find your Facebook profile
 They will try to find information about you from
current employees

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 The HR Will Research You
 The HR professionals never forget if you had
ever sent a bad job application
 They will find you, be sure!
 That’s why you should always carefully prepare
your job application before sending it
 Think a bit how to proceed the next
time when you apply for a job

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 Pre-Cover Letter Business
 If you have a company or employer in mind,
do some research regarding their policies and
principles
 Review websites, brochures, pamphlets and
any other pertinent materials you can find
about the company
 If you can, try to speak with current
employees; this will provide you with a unique
inside perspective
 Once you’ve done your research and you have
a good idea of what qualifications the
company is looking for, it’s time to separate
yourself from the rest of the pack
 Before you begin writing your letter, take
some time to brainstorm. Make a list of
reasons why you’re the ideal candidate
 A Few Things to Keep in Mind
 Do not over use “I”
Instead, place the focus on the employer and
use the word “you”
 Avoid writing more than one page; since you
are probably competing with other applicants,
employers just don’t have the time to read two
pages
 The point of the cover letter is to flesh out your
resume’s selling points not to repeat the same
things that appear in your resume
 Tips for Creating a Powerful Cover Letter
 Send an original letter
 Keep it short, specific, and to the point
 You CAN use several basic cover letter
templates, customized for the particular
position and company to which you are
applying
 State the job title

 Explain why you want this job

 NOT to “make money”
 Describe specific ways you will contribute

 Refer to, but don’t repeat, your resume

 Reflect your own self-confidence
 Keep the content professional
 Maintain a tone of warmth
State your follow-up plan
Proofread, revise, and edit…
…this is extremely important….
 How to Write a
Good Cover Letter?
 A Good Cover Letter
 A good cover letter:

 Shows that you apply exactly

for this company, not some other
 You are interested in this particular
company and this particular position
 Not just looking for some job
 Shows you have a clear idea of the position
 What your future responsibilities will be, etc.
 Your skills match the requirements
 You have great motivation for this job
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 What is a Good Cover Letter?
 Good cover letter writers first carefully read
 About the company
 About the offered position
 The detailed job description
 The requirements stated in the job offer
 Hint: write 1-2 sentences for each requirement
 Not directly following the job description
 Not exactly in the order as in the job offer
 Not exactly with the same words and phrases
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 Example Job Offer Requirement
 It is a bad idea to write:
I am very good in examining and analyzing the technical
documentation of competitors.

 How you prove this?

 What are your arguments?

 If you are not good in something
 Just skip writing about it
 You can’t say you are good at something
without any arguments
 How you know you are good in this
 Just describe it 20
 Who to Address in the Cover Letter?
 This is a common question
 It is best if you
can research who
will be reading your cover letter
 That way you can address him directly
 It is risky
 You can misspell the name,
If you don't know the exact person
 Write 'Mr./Mrs.', 'HR Manager', etc.
 Something more common
 Lying in Cover Letter
 Never lie!

 Example:
 If you lie in your CV or cover letter
 You will be caught at the interview
and you will get fired
 Write in the cover letter something
 Matching the requested requirements
 Supported by true, valid arguments

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 Validate Your Arguments
 You could prove that you match
certain requirements either
 By showing similar experience
 By saying you have read about this in the past
 By sharing that you have a friend who always
talks to you about this and have show it to you
 You explain you want to learn this, you had
read an article and watched a video tutorial
 Always use valid arguments and never lie
 If you say you are …, find supporting arguments
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 Don’t Make Mistakes!
Spelling, Punctuation and Formatting Mistakes
 Avoid Mistakes
 When writing your CV and cover letter, use a
spell checker
 Don’t make spelling mistakes, punctuation
mistakes, etc.
 MS Word / Google Docs / OpenOffice have very
good spell checkers
 Just use them!

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 Formatting Mistakes
 Format your CV and cover letter well
 At this point you can use templates
 Just type "sample cover letter"
in Google and you will find examples
 Be sure to use only the styles, layout and
formatting from the best examples you find
 Never use the text inside
 Some employers use an automated software
to check for template-based cover letters
 Be sure to write it entirely in your words
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Good and Bad
Cover Letters
Live Demo
 Cover Letter Format
 Your Contact Information
 The Date
 Employer’s Name, Position, and Address
 The Greeting/ Salutation
 Introductory Paragraph
 Body of the Letter
 Summary Paragraph
 Closing
 Your Name and Signature
 Enclosures
 Student Address
Stacy Lolkus
222 Harrison Dr
Date
Apartment 5
West Lafayette, IN 47906
765-450-7583
slo@purdue.edu

October 16, 2006

Employer Address
Salutation Jenny Lock
Uline — HR Recruiting Center
2105 S. Lakeside Drive
Waukegan, IL 60085

Dear Ms. Lockridge:

After speaking with Emily Richards about her past summer in the internship program, I am very interested in your
Human Resources Summer Internship position. I worked with employee benefits this past summer and became
very interested in the human resources aspect. I have obtained many leadership opportunities while working as
First Paragraph
Middle Paragraph a Business Writing Consultant Assistant Coordinator at Purdue’s Writing Lab that would be valuable in a career at
Uline.

As Business Writing Consultant Assistant Coordinator at Purdue’s Writing Lab, my primary role is to help train
new tutors for the Writing Lab. I work directly with the Business Writing Coordinator teaching classes and
participating in mock tutorials to allow students to obtain hands-on experience tutoring business documents. I
also organize educational workshops to refresh the skills of current Business Writing Consultants. My position as
a Boiler Gold Rush Team Leader also challenged me to use my enthusiastic personality to motivate incoming
Conclusion
freshmen to be involved in campus activities. As a Human Resources Intern at Uline, I could use all of these
leadership skills while learning more about recruiting and hiring practices.

Thank you for considering me for this position. I would love to discuss these and other qualifications with you. If
you have any questions, please call me at 765-450-7583 or e-mail me at slo@purdue.edu.

Sincerely

Stacy Lolkus
,
Stacy Lolkus

Enclosure: Résumé

Closing
 Model Covering Letter
Place
P

Date
From
Deepa,M
180,Kamaraj Nagar
Coimbatore – 2
To
The Advertiser
PO Box 1116
Times of India, Delhi.
Sir,
Sub: Application for the post of Junior Accountant
Ref: The Hindu dated 16.11.2005
This is with reference to your above advertisement in the Wednesday (Date)
edition of The Hindu for the post of Junior Accountant for which I would like to submit my
application.
As per your requirements, I am a graduate with a Commerce background and
with Accountancy as my specialty subject. For the past one year, I have been working as
assistant to a senior Accountant employed a reputed firm and gave gained a fair amount
of experience in the above mentioned field.
If you consider that my application is worth considering, I can be available for
interview at any time to suit your convenience, even at a short notice.
Thanking You,
Yours Sincerely,

(Deepa,M)
 INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
Limit paragraphs to two to five complete
sentences
Use appropriate vocabulary
 If this is a repeat contact type of letter:
 Give specific details of any previous correspondence
or conversation.
 State appreciation for past consideration.
 Supply your credentials.
 List a specific job title.
 Indicate your knowledge of the company.
 Mention the name of a contact.
 Beginning The Letter
 You should address the letter to a specific
person at the company you’re applying to.
 You can usually find a name in the company’s
publications or you can inquire by telephone
 Salutation
 If you are addressing the letter to a specific person,
start out with the formal salutation: Dear Mr. ------
If you don’t know the name use: Dear Hiring Manager
 Refrain from using the old standby’s: To whom it may
concern or Dear Sir or Madam
 Opening Paragraph
 The opening paragraph should accomplish a couple
of goals:
1. It should grab the reader’s attention
2. Discuss the position you are applying for
3. List your references or how you heard about the job
4. Highlight the main points you will focus on in the
letter
 BODY OF THE LETTER
 Elaborate on your resume
 Use real examples
 State applicable work/internship experiences
 List relevant coursework
 Stress your key assets as they relate to this specific job
 Highlight applicable skill sets
 technical skills
 writing ability
 proficiency in languages
 job-applicable personal interests
 Make reference to attachments
 SOME VARIATIONS

 You can use BULLET POINTS for emphasis

within a paragraph
 You can list qualificationsmentioned in the
job listing in BOLD print, then describe your
corresponding skills or experiences
 You can try a two-column approach

Employer’s Needs Your Skills

 Body Paragraph(s)
 The body paragraph should accomplish a couple of
goals:
1. Refer employees to certain points in your resume
2. Emphasize your strongest qualifications or top
selling points
3. Show how these qualifications will benefit the
company you’re applying for
4. You may provide examples of your achievements
that have benefited previous company
 Closing Paragraph
 Your closing paragraph should accomplish a couple
of goals
1. Ask for an interview
2. Set up a possible time and date
3. Try using an active ending; in other words, rather
than asking them to contact you, tell them you will
contact them in a few days
4. Be genuine and thank them for their time
 CLOSING
 Ask for an interview

 Indicate your next action

 Appropriate closing line, such as:

Sincerely,
Truly yours,
 Typed name

 Enclosure:

 cc: (indicates to whom a copy has been sent)

 Double and Triple Check Before Sending

 Check for spelling errors and typos—professionalism

is a must
 Don’t go over a page
 Always customize your cover letter. Don’t forget to
change your contact information
 Maintain a friendly and professional tone throughout
the letter
 Be sure to send both resume and cover letter to the
prospective employer.
 REVISE, EDIT,REWRITE
 Proofread the next day

 No errors are allowed

 Read the letter aloud

 Seek advice from qualified sources such as

career counselors, professors, business
associates, relatives, and friends
 THE FOLLOW-UP
 Encourage communication

 Request an email reply

 Suggest dates and times for an interview
 Follow up with a phone call (Be careful not to
annoy the recruiter)
 Request an application form- Deliver it
Personally
 Advise the employer when you will call to
schedule an interview
 Show Personal Initiative, not obnoxious
Pushiness
How to Write a Cover Letter?

Questions?
Thank You!