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7 Steps to a Great Cover Letter

Terry99 | Mar 15, 2010 |

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Most of the time we want to say more than just the straight facts that our resume presents to prospective employers. Submitting your resume along with a good cover letter can help get you into that door for an interview. Many employers will discard a resume without a cover letter, but don't make the mistake of writing up a generic cover letter and sending it to each employer; specific letters for each position will let them know that you are truly interested in their position, not just a position.

Follow the steps below to make sure that your cover letter gives you the good impression that you deserve, where you are applying for a corporate career or completing a Dollar General employment application looking for a part time job.

1. State the Obvious (to you)
Tell the reader what position you are applying for in a clear and short sentence. This is effective when you will have no face to face time with the reader anytime soon. For example: filling out a Circle K job application, with so many being looked at by reviewers, they need to remember your information for followup contact and will quickly forget it if they have to search for what you are applying for.

2. Introduce yourself
Briefly describe who you are. Are you a recent college graduate looking for a position with an investing company, or a highly organized individual looking for a position assisting a CEO?

3. Get the attention of the reader – quickly.
Make them want to read your actual resume by making them interested right away. You can do this by stating your strongest quality that will make you beneficial to the company, sharing information about the company that you are impressed with, or showing an understanding of company specific goals.

4. Make it about them.
Your resume is all about you, the cover letter should tell the reader how you will benefit them. State clearly how your skills and experience will be an asset to the position you are applying for and the company as a whole.

5. Allude to the strongest parts of your resume.
Briefly mention one or two of the points on your resume that have the most relevance to the job you are applying to. Don't be repetitive; you can share the information in a more conversational tone in your cover letter.

6. Share your next step.
Let them know that there is interested in setting up an interview and that you will be calling them to follow up. If the company has said that they will not take phone calls, or that they are planning on calling for interviews, it is probably best to let them know that you will be looking forward to a reply from them.

7. Don't forget your manners.
It takes a lot of time for someone to go through all of the resume's received for a job posting. Acknowledge their time and effort by thanking them. A little politeness can go a long way.

Writing a cover letter specific for each position you apply for may seem like redundant work, but it will pay off in the long run. You are setting yourself apart from most other applicants by showing that you are interested in each specific position, and that you are not too lazy to put in the work to let the employer know that.