How To Write A Cover Letter?

by Stephanie Blye

1. General cover letter building rules:

• the cover letter should be well organized and formatted; it shouldn't be longer than one page;
• the cover letter should be concise, coherent,straight to the point, containing not more than 4-5 paragraphs;
• the cover letter starts with the name of the company you want to apply in;
• the cover letter is addressed to the Human Resources Department or the person responsible with the recruiting of candidates (Hiring Manager)

2. Cover letter content:

• your name and your contact information - visible (characters in bold or a larger font);
• your interest in a specific position/post/domain, which must be mentioned explicitly at the beginning of the cover letter; the way in which you have found out about this position being available. Don't try to be evasive in order to aim at more than one positions in the same company. Be extremely specific!
• the argumentation of your intention to apply for the respective job/position;
• the motivation of your interest in the respective position (enumerate some of your personal qualities, skills and abilities as well as some of your most important relevant professional achievements and accomplishments in the chosen domain). Use only positive statements, no negative ones! Use action verbs (to intend to, to be able to, to want, to be willing to, to coordinate, to organize etc), avoid redundant phrases and clichees.
• mention your availability for a prospective interview opportunity;
• sign the cover letter.

3. Be responsible and personal!

• mention your situation or any problem in a clear and concise way, proving you understand the needs of the other one;
• even if "Dear Sir/Dear Madam" is a good cover letter start, you should try to be a little bit more personal and use the name of the person which deals with the candidates' recruiting. This will prove you are really interested and are comfortable no matter the situation.
• by no means are you to use a template or a copy or another cover letter, which you will fill in with your own personal data!

4. Be concise and straight to the point!

Try to use a little words as possible when you explain your situation and intentions in a cover letter. Use a simple language in order to reduce the risk of being misunderstood. Follow these steps:

• make a list of the things you want to communicate the recruiter trough your cover letter; no strict order necessary;
• use arguments and examples;
• think about the relevance of each problem you state;
• leave anything irrelevant aside;
• re-arrange the info in a logical order;
• check the cover letter for spelling and grammatical errors.