How to write an Effective Cover Letter
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Many people debate, whether recruiters read cover letters or not? It is difficult to answer as many recruiters read and many don’t. The best bet is to attach a cover letter as an “attachment” and copy paste the text of cover letter in a mail/ section if possible. In case you are applying by sending an email then it is a good idea to write the cover letter as email and attach it as well. Once your application email is checked there are high chances the employer will look and read the text in the mail.
You may have come across many tips on writing an effective cover letter across web. There is tons of advice on how to write a cover letter from different recruitment agencies and bloggers.
Here are some of our view points on writing an effective cover letter.
In-depth Research
It is very important to understand the company, their mission, values and even their business model even before you start writing the cover letter. Spend time researching about the company and understand the role you are applying for. Focus on the requirements of employer and read the job advertisement twice. In case the job advertisement is not clear, it is a good idea to google the job tittle and search for the job description to have a better understanding of the role. A quick 15 minutes over web will help you understand the role and the company better and you will be able to write what employers are wanting to hear.
Customization
The last thing you want to do is send one standard cover letter with all the applications. It is very important to understand that you are writing a letter to back-up your resume for a specific position in a particular company. The cover letter should be completely customized to the role you are applying for.
Reason to work and how can you add value?
You need to mention about your understanding of the company and role in your cover letter. You need to be very clear in stating your reason to work for the company and what knowledge, skills and experience you can bring in and add value to the current role. You need to write what employers want to hear rather than repeating your resume in the cover letter.
At last, please read your cover letter again or get a friend to proof read it so that the letter is grammatically correct and error free. If your cover letter is grammatically incorrect and full of errors then there are high chances your application will be rejected.