 Your Cover Letter is literally the first impression you make when you apply for a job. Regardless of whether you submit it in physical form or electronically, your Cover Letter acts as an introduction to you and why you are applying for the job. For that reason you need do the following 3 things. 1. Don’t use a generic cover letter. If you are currently looking for a job and using the same cover letter for all your applications, stop right now. A stock standard cover letter means generic phrases and nothing specific to the company or role you are applying for. You could be including a whole lot of information that isn’t even relevant to the job, indicating that you are uninformed, uninterested and ultimately lazy. Cover Letters are about selling yourself as an asset to the business, how you will bring value to the organisation and what particular skills will benefit the business. 2.Cover Letter: Not Share and Tell Perhaps you’ve had problems with money recently, or you’ve just had a messy break up and want to leave everything behind, or maybe you’ve just had it up to here with Michelle from Accounts who is making your life a living hell and you need to get out. Well, ok we get it, sometimes life is hard. However, it doesn’t mean you need to share this information onto your cover letter. As a general rule, it’s not ok to discuss your personal life, or write about irrelevant details on what is supposed to be a professional document. There’s no point as it definitely will not improve your chances of being employed. Other topics such as reasons for leaving your current job, overly forced and detailed justifications for long career breaks or bad mouthing your employer fall into the ‘do NOT mention’ group. 3. Being Desperate Enthusiasm is great. Desperation, not so much. Your application alone is enough to tell your employer that you are interested in the job, there is no need to go overboard with unnecessary fluff and eagerness. Even worse is begging for the job Think of it in economic terms. You’re the product and employers are the market. If it appears demand is low for you then, employers are going to assume that they should not hire you either. Instead, you should be excited about the prospect of working for the business, not dependent on it. Employers want to see positivity and ideas. Worth Mentioning: PROOFREAD YOUR COVER LETTER, don’t overuse clichés, don’t lie about your skills, experience or ability and don’t discuss how much you expect to get paid. |
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