Craft a Winning Cover Letter

Most candidates ask themselves whether they should provide a cover letter or not in the modern times of digital age. The answer is a firm and loud yes. Your resume offers a more direct and concise display of your talent and experience, but a cover letter lets you communicate your presence personally and in more words than one.

A cover letter enables you to show some of your personality while applying for the position to show that you are indeed interested in the opportunity.

Highlight those skills or experiences that you mentioned on your reséume in the customary way in your cover letter. Have you ever undertaken a complex project and completed it successfully? Talk about the results in figures and tell about the leadership skills in your resume and cover letter.

Through the research, you may appreciate the company culture and associated values, giving you the chance to demonstrate in the cover letter that your way of seeing things and working fittingly correspond with theirs.

// Picture yourself preparing for a professional marketing meeting with a company acknowledged for its great performance in social media campaigns. During the cover letter, the applicant should point out a concrete moment in his professional experience when he has taken a leadership role in implementing a creative social media campaign which has proved to be very successful. This not only demonstrates your marketing skills but also subtly highlights your innovative spirit, potentially aligning well with the company culture. //

Bonus Tip - While there are many cover letter templates available online, the best cover letters are crafted specifically for each position. Use a template as a starting point, but personalize it heavily with details about the company and your relevant skills and experiences.

Here are some resources that offer free cover letter templates and writing tips:

Indeed (Offers free templates and writing tips)

The Muse (Provides a variety of cover letter examples for different job types)

Live Career (Offers a comprehensive guide on writing a cover letter)

The use of a generic cover letter will waste the time and interest of the recipient. The truth is that knowing the facts of the company and its products or services you are applying to be a part of will result in you being truly distinctive and a stand out from the rest. Among the below are some resources that may come in handy while doing your research -

Research their website, social media, and current news materials to obtain the motives, values, and projects of the company. Which thing do they have every life would be incomplete without it. Let's look at the problems that they are dealing with.

Get LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook updates from the company that you are targeting to work for. The quality of news compared to the content they share is also worth noting. What discussions do their followers have?

Look for recent articles or press releases about the company in industry publications like The Wall Street Journal or Forbes.

Did the company earn any awards or is it counted among those businesses that have received some distinctions for their work? This can offer valuable insights into their accomplishments and priorities. Once you've become a company expert, carefully read the job description. Identify key skills, requirements, and responsibilities. Pay close attention to the keywords used and introduce them strategically throughout your cover letter.

// Let's say you're applying for a software developer position at a company known for building innovative mobile apps. Your research reveals they recently launched a new fitness app and are looking to expand their development team. In your cover letter, highlight your experience in mobile app development, mentioning specific technologies or frameworks relevant to their app stack. Mention a past project where you tackled a similar challenge, using relevant keywords from the job description. This not only showcases your technical skills but also subtly highlights your ability to contribute to their current development goals. //

With the goal clear in your mind, prepare yourself for the writing task. Let us zoom in on some effective techniques to make a captivating cover letter full of live content which highlights the candidate’s advantages mutually with a hiring manager -

Craft an Attention-Grabbing Hook -

• That very first sentence is the most important one since it determines whether the reader continues reading or not. A powerful beginning in the form of a catchy hook will undoubtedly make an impression, as hiring managers are in search of something extra.

• It would be more appropriate to simply express excitement about the opportunity rather than going into detail about a unique angle. Was the recent company news story that emerged particularly interesting? It may be similar to writing about your own experience with campaigns.

Ask a Thought-Provoking Question - 

• A Bold question creates an opportunity for you to share your existing knowledge about the target industry and catch their attention. Make sure that the question is relevant to the way the candidate works or exists in the company right now.

• Don't just list your responsibilities; showcase the impact you made! Use numbers and data to quantify your achievements and demonstrate the value you brought to previous roles. 

Action Verbs are Your Friends - 

• Replace passive verbs with strong action verbs that showcase your skills and initiative. 

• Passive - I was responsible for managing social media. 

• Active - I spearheaded the development of engaging social media campaigns.

Keep it Concise and Clear -

• Recruiters usually occupy their position for another. The target is to be one page of a cover letter made up of streamlined language and sentences. Try not to sound confusing and take a straight line to your point.

• Unlike - “I am writing to you to share the enthusiasm I have about the Marketing Associate position at [Company Name]. I have experience in social media marketing and content marketing.” 

• Try to express as follows - “Having been a big fan of [Company Name]’s creative online campaigns, it was sensational to find that there was a vacancy at their company for a Marketing Associate. By applying the social media skills that I gained in my previous position at [Previous Company], I pushed our follower base and grew it by 20% within one year.

A lot of companies implement Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to aid in the screening and filtering of the applications submitted. To increase the chances of getting noticed by these systems and finally by the hiring managers, it is, therefore, crucial, to make your cover letter search-engine friendly.

Keywords are Your Key

• Carefully read the job description and identify relevant keywords and skills. These could be technical terms, specific software programs, or industry buzzwords. 

• Once you've identified these keywords, incorporate them naturally throughout your cover letter. Don't stuff your letter with keywords, focus on showcasing your skills and experiences using the relevant language.

Formatting for Success

• Use an ordinary but comfortable-to-read font such as Arial or Times New Roman. It is wise to avoid flashy fonts or graphical elements that will probably be not scanned well by ATS.

• Care about a well-organized and nice structure. Your letter should include your name and address, the date, the recipient’s name, address, and salutation, the content paragraphs, the closing, and your signatory. 

• Bullet points can help highlight key skills or achievements, but use them sparingly. 

Proofreading is Essential

• Spelling mistakes and wired grammar construction may serve as red flags for either ATS or hiring managers.

• Carefully proofread your cover letter before finally submitting it. A spell check is helpful, but after reading it again, look out for any clumsy phrasing or mistakes.

• Even having the other person to proofread your cover letter can be beneficial. Certainly, they will catch even the errors that you overlook on your own.