How to Write a Cover Letter

Cover letter is a one-page of writing used for applying for a job. It is normally enclosed with CV or Resume.  A cover letter is one of the key sources your perspective employers used to get to know you. It mostly serves as the first step for them to evaluate your qualification. The purpose is mainly to explain your perspective employer why you are the best candidate or why you are qualified for the position. Through the cover letter, you aim to get an interview opportunity. Therefore, learning how to write an effective cover letter is crucial because you have to know how to sell yourself in your letter. This article will show you how to write a cover letter in the following three steps: gathering information, organizing information and writing a draft.

Step1: Gathering Information

Before starting to write your cover letter, it is important to do some research about the company or the organization you are applying first. You should learn some basic information about them such as their address, founding year of the organization/company, what types of the company/organization it is, their core values, their products, services and so on. Basically, you need to know the company or organization well enough to be able to persuade how your skills and accomplishments meet their requirements and their demand. Therefore, go back to the application announcement and carefully read the job requirements and think how you can be fit for the position and then start to brainstorm your idea.

Step2: Organizing Information

After you gather all the information, you ought to select the information useful for your application.  You may cross check and reflect how your characteristic, strengths, experience are fit with the position. Then, you can brainstorm these ideas and get ready to draft or write your cover letter.

Step3: Writing a Draft

All cover letters are specifically designed for one-time use. That means you cannot reuse the same cover letter you have previously written for your new job application. You can edit your old cover letter only if the requirements in annoucements are similar and has information you still find relevant.  If so, you can go ahead and use the previous written cover letter as your draft for your new job application. However, if you are new and never write any cover letters, then you may want to start writing your first draft now. The format of an effective cover letter consists of heading, salutation, introduction, body and conclusion.

3.1 Heading

Since it is a letter, the heading must be written in letter format. Make sure that you provide your contact number, email address, home address and date. Check how to write a letter here. Be sure that you write the name of company or organization, their address,  the manager’s name or head of recruitment team correctly. A small mistake in your letter head shows your unprofessional behavior and carelessness and indeed affects your application as a whole.

3.2 Salutation

For greeting at the start of your letter, salutation is an expression of greeting to show courtesy and respect to someoone. It can be Sir, Madam, Miss, Mr. and so on. When writing a cover letter, it is good to mention a specific person for greeting. However, If you cannot identify name of specific person in charge, it is totally fine to write “Dear Sir/ Madam” or “Dear Human Resource Manager” or “Head of Recruitment Team”.

3.3 Introduction

For more effective cover letter, you should incoporate AIDA strategy ( attention, interest, desire and action). The first paragraph should be your introduction. Usually, you tell the company or organization the purpose of your cover letter, specifically the position you are applying. You should mention how you learn the annoucement and a sentence showing your commitment or a sentence that makes them want to continue to read. It can your relevant background to grab readers’ attention.  Your introduction should be concise and short. Usually, three or four sentences are just enough.

3.4 Body

The body should consist of two paragraphs. One paragraph describes the reasons why you are interested in the position you are applying. You can also write how the company or organization is align with your future plan and how it can improve your personal growth. In this part, you also show readers how much you know about them including their core values, goals, services or products.

The next paragraph tell them how you are qualified for the position. This paragraph is the most important part as it plays bigger roles in determining the decision of the readers. You talk about your relevant experience and educational background that help add value to your application. To build desire, you should choose the most relevant experience or qualification of yours and explain how it meets the requirement of the job. You do not have to state every experience you have. Only the right person with the right qualification can pass to the interview stage. Thus, choose wisely and be the right person!

If you are a fresh graduate or do not have much working experience, your educational background is your selling point. Point it out if you have involved different school or community’s activities. Involving with extracurriculum activities increases your positive image. If possible, try to link your experience to some positive attitudes such as your responsiblities, teamwork, hardwork, perseverance and so on. The more specific the information is, the better.

3.5 Conclusion

You call for action in your last paragraph. That means you request for an interview. Thus, make sure it is convenient for them to contact you. You have to provide your email address or phone number to make their response easy. Last but not least, remind them that you are the right person they are looking for. Therefore, meeting you in person is worth their time. End your letter with the phrase like ” I look forwards to hearing from you”. Then, close your letter with sincerely yours or faithfully yours.

Step4: Proofread or Ask for Help

It is a good idea to proodread and check if there is any spelling mistake or typo. If you are not sure whether your cover letter is convincing, you ought to ask someone for help. You could ask someone with more experience to check your letter and ask them for some constructive feedback. It is okay to keep editing it as long as you still have time. Remember that your purpose is to get to the interview stage. Thus, it is okay to sell yourself better than who you really are because it is the point of selling.