The 5 “Musts” Your Professional Cover Letter Should Have. The ever-important cover letter. It’s what introduces not only you as a candidate, but also introduces your professional resume as well. It’s the first thing a potential employer sees. It should work along with your job resume and should immediately answer the question, “Why should you hire me?”
There are five critical elements that must be included in your cover letter to ensure it gets the attention it needs for potential employers to contact you for an interview.
1. Your cover letter must be addressed to the proper person. The first worst thing you can do is address your letter to “Human Resources” or worse, “To Whom it May Concern”. If you don’t know who to address it to, find out! Otherwise, you’ve wasted your time, the employer’s time and have guaranteed a short trip to the wastebasket.
2. Your first paragraph should include a short introduction, the reason for the letter and the position you’re seeking (“I’m interested in applying for the position of translator”) you’re seeking. Keep it short, precise and don’t waste words.
3. Your cover letter should briefly touch on what your resume includes. You’ll want to highlight any special skills: “I’ve recently completed extensive studies on Mandarin Chinese and am fluent in both the spoken language and its writing”. Don’t repeat your resume verbatim, but do include those most important skills, experience or requirements that make you an ideal candidate.
4. Finally, reference your enclosed resume, your appreciation for the company’s consideration and make one final mention of the position: “I’ve enclosed my resume and again, I appreciate any consideration for your currently available position of translator.” This brings your cover letter full circle, or “wraps it up” for the reader.
5. Include ways to contact you should the interviewer wish to discuss the position further and that you look forward to hearing from him/her. Sign your letter, enclose your resume and be sure to address the envelope to the same one you addressed the letter to or, if you’re emailing, be sure you have the correct email address. For those electronic submissions, be sure to adhere to any special instructions such as document format for attachments or if you’re requested to include a reference number in your email. Many companies have several open positions and by providing reference numbers, you eliminate the possibility of it being routed to the wrong internal department.
If you’re struggling with your resume layout or what information it should include, consider Grand Resume and its services. The website has an extensive library of checklists, sample resumes and general resume help.
By double checking your grammar usage, spelling and resume format as well as ensuring your professional cover letter is spot-on, you’re already at an advantage since nearly 48% of all resumes have some form of typographical error, misspellings or poor grammar usage. With the job market as competitive as it is, you owe it to yourself to provide a sterling introduction before you ever enter the building.
Following these 5 “musts” is an excellent way to start.
