Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cover Letter Format: How to write it appropriately

By Jimmy Sweney

So are you a fresh graduate looking for your first internship? You are probably amused and excited about submitting your resume to companies with job openings. Before you do that, make sure that you are competitive enough against a large number of applicants. A way on how to stand out from the rest is through a good cover letter.

The purpose of cover letters is now forgotten, making it a useless piece of paper. The correct format is also disregarded and letters are created in an unprofessional manner. The main objective for writing a cover letter is to give your potential employers a brief description about you and what you can do for the company. Therefore make it good so that your impression will be good as well.

Having a well-written cover letter will help you stand out from the rest of the applicants. It is your identification because it describes you and the things that you can do. With your skills, abilities, traits, and objectives, your letter will truly get your interviewer's attention and set up a personal interview with you.

Start making your draft as early as possible. Since you are just writing a draft, just let the words and ideas flow. A day for a cover letter is not enough. It takes time for review and revisions.

It is recommended to make your letter as short as possible. Truthfully speaking, a letter that exceeds one page is not recommended. HR managers would often prefer a letter that is short and detailed than a long and pointless one. With the large number of applicants, HR managers don't have the luxury of time to read all long cover letters and conduct interview one-by-one.

Revising your draft will help you to clear the irrelevant things written in there. The body of your letter should include details such as the degree you earned in college, awards received, skills needed to accomplish the task and prior work experience.

You should write in your letter a request for interview. Remember that your goal is to get an interview to be hired for the position. Request an interview in a respectful way by being careful with your words. Don't sound too self-assured that you will get the position, as this could be intimidating. Usually, HR managers would prefer applicants who are humble yet full of potentials.

To make a good impression to your future employers, make sure that your letter is well-polished without any grammar corrections. You should also be good in marketing your self and express it through writing. Once you get the interview, it is now time to prove your self and show the interviewers why you're the perfect candidate for the position. - 16755

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