7 Features of a Good Cover Letter

Volumes have been written - and will be written - on the art (or science) of writing winning cover letters. And precisely because this subject is so vast (and, it seems, ever-growing), I thought I’d take a moment to condense it down to seven simple rules, or characteristics, of a good cover letter.

1. A good cover letter is proof-read and does not contain any typos. Nothing screams “unprofessional” more than writing than instead of then (and this is just one of the many things that the Word spellchecker will not catch). See this post for information on how to better proof-read your resume.
2. A good cover letter is broken up into 3-5 paragraphs. No one likes to read through a wall of text - definitely not the recruiter who probably had to look through a few dozens resumes just today.
3. A good cover letter stresses benefits, rather than features. No one cares whether you were the CEO of this and the managing director of that - what the HR really wants to hear is how you can contribute to the organization. To paraphrase an old saying, tell not what you have done for yourself, but what you can do for your employer.
4. A good cover letter is customized for the vacancy in question. Never make the mistake of writing up a generic letter and blasting it off to every single company that catches your fancy. Your cover letter must explain why you’re uniquely qualified for this particular job - and the only way to accomplish that is by customizing each letter of application you send out. It’s time-consuming, yes - but it’s well worth it.
5. A good cover letter is written in an easy-to-read typeface, usually Times New Roman, 12pt. No one likes to squint, zoom in or pull out a magnifying glass just to read your history of accomplishments.
6. A good cover letter is concise and usually does not exceed one page. If you really can’t fit all the relevant information within that limit, consider reducing the font size to 11pt - but if you still find yourself struggling, then it’s time to take a long hard look at your letter and see what parts of it you need to trim. Would you ever listen to a salesperson who needs hours for their sales pitch? Of course not - they have a few minutes to catch your attention, and if they fail, the sale is lost. Cover letters are no exception. Don’t expect the HR to read a ten-page essay - they won’t.
7. Above all, a good cover letter to the dog, about what matters to the dog, in the language of the dog. Use buzzwords (sparingly), conduct research on your prospective employer and demonstrate that you possess insider knowledge of the industry, know what the organization is going through and can offer concrete solutions to their current problems.

How to Proof-Read Your Cover Letter

Your cover letter is your foot in the door - it’s one of the two things that a recruiter will look at before deciding whether to invite you for an interview. But all too often, we spend too much time getting the content of our letter of application just right - and not enough making sure that those nasty typos don’t make it past the first revision. MS Word doesn’t know the difference between “then” and “than” - so the job of proof-reading the writing falls on your human shoulders.

Proof-reading your resume is a two-step process. First off, use Word’s spell-check feature to get rid of the most obvious typos and errors. This will catch the majority of little glitches and issues that make your resume look downright unprofessional and uncouth.

Once that’s done, print out the text and read it out loud. This is the easiest way to catch all the typos that Word doesn’t pick up. Better still, it gives you a sense of how well the text flows, whether some sentences are too long and whether the content is readable or not.

Another great proof-reading tip is to read your copy backwards. “When you read your copy forwards, your eye may skip ahead forward,” warns web copywriter Francis Lui. “By reading backwards, you can read all the words and catch any errors.”

However you choose to do it, make sure that your cover letter is proof-read extensively before you send off your application. There’s no better way to miss out on a job offer than to send in a letter of application riddled with typos and errors!

3 Quick Tips on Writing Cover Letters for Employment

Ah, yes, the cover letter - it’s one of the first things that recruiters look at when they get your application. And if you don’t write it the right way, it will also be the last.

A book is often judged by its cover, and a candidate by his cover letter - which is why in this article I’m going to show you five simple yet effective tips on writing better cover letters for employment.

1. Sell Yourself - I know you might not like the sound of it, but the purpose of your cover letter is no different from all those direct response letters you find in your inbox every morning. Your goal is to sell - to sell yourself, your skills, your knowledge and abilities to the prospective employer. If you can explain why you are an exceptional candidate and why they should hire you rather than all those guys lined up outside the office, then you’re already on the right track.
2. Align Your Content - a good cover letter is specifically tailored to the vacancy you’re applying for. In fact, I recommend not using a template altogether and writing a new cover letter for each vacancy from scratch. Remember, you need to demonstrate to the recruiter how and why you match the specific job requirements outlined in the job description/vacancy notice. In other words, if they’re looking for a candidate with excellent leadership skills, your cover letter should, at the very least, include a paragraph describing your leadership experience and detailing specific situations where you successfully acted as a leader.
3. Read It Out Loud - reading any piece of writing out loud not only helps you get a better feel for how well it flows and whether you need to revise the writing to make it more lucid and concise, but also allows you to catch spelling and grammar mistakes much better than simply glancing through it silently. Remember - MS Word doesn’t pick up errors such as “than” in place of “then” and similar!

So there you have it - three quick tips to on writing cover letters for employment. Use them, and you will quickly distinguish yourself from the competition who are still relying on generic letters lifted from the Internet!