While organizing a résumé is typically challenging and requires meticulous work, many people highlight that the most difficult part of a job application is not preparing the curriculum vitae but writing a cover letter.
The brevity of cover letters, despite their brief nature, makes them daunting. It would be best to choose only the right words, say exactly what needs to be said, and nothing more.
Even if it only has a few words, a cover letter can be a short text differentiating between getting the job and not. That’s how important it is.
And yes, although in many cases it is a mere formality that goes unnoticed and is not even read by the recruiting department, it is better to be safe than sorry and send a perfect résumé and cover letter.
Do you want to learn how to do this? Well, keep reading.
Do You Need a Cover Letter?
Most of the time, the cover letter is the final step in the tedious job search process. This process is full of tension, both excellent and negative feelings: nervousness, excitement, and anxiety since it’s an important issue: getting a livelihood or not, or in other cases, getting the job of your dreams.
That is why it is understandable when you want to send your proposal and avoid this part amid so many emotions, seeing it as unnecessary or of minor importance.
However, once you have contacted the companies, built your résumé, gathered your best works for your portfolio, and everything that goes with it, it’s decisive that you write the, perhaps, most challenging part of the process: the cover letter.
Why? Simply because it is preferable to do everything you can to get the attention of the HR department or the CEO of the company you are applying for rather than letting something go by and later regretting not getting the job and wondering what if…
In a cover letter, you have the opportunity to address them in a more personal way. Thus, you can expose what is only yours and differentiate yourself from all other applicants. These things make the company see that you are just what they are looking for.
Remember that the market is vast, full of demand, and complete of great potentials that compete with each other, so it’s crucial that you take every chance you have to prove yourself and what makes you stand out from the crowd.
You must convince the company to hire you.
In our years of experience receiving and sending cover letters, we have gathered some tips that we consider helpful for those who struggle with writing and persuasion through words. This detail is of the utmost importance in any hiring process.
These are three simple tips, accessible to anyone, that will push you much closer to getting that vital job you want. Here we show them for you:
Structure Your Cover Letter
Considering that it is a format you will need every time you want to apply for a position in a new company, it never hurts to prepare a little in advance. You can experiment with different ways of writing the cover letter, find the one that suits you, your voice, and what you want to convey, and then organize that structure and use it later as a template until the writing flows more naturally.
For example, you could start with a structure like this:
- Header with personal data
- Formal greetings
- Introductory paragraph (a short presentation elaborating a little more about personal and academic data, as well as work experience)
- Development Paragraph (deepen your academic knowledge, extracurricular skills, and whatever learning you have; offer a more detailed view of yourself and what you have to offer)
- Concluding paragraph (bring the thread of the dialogue to an end, talking about your current situation and why you would like to be part of the company, as well as the reasons why you would benefit them)
- Professional signature
Research First
Once you have an idea of how you will structure the letter, you need to know all the information that you can use in your favor to understand how to address the company, what you can offer them, and what characteristics you are aligned with the objectives of this business and vice versa.
All kinds of information are valid and essential, and you should always research the company where you want to work. This will be beneficial when writing your résumé and in the interview once you move on to that stage of the hiring process.
After you have researched and read their website, social networks, and any information sources about the company, you will be able to better understand their work culture and thus know how to speak to them in their language.
Smart companies look for employees who share their values and objectives. This ensures a better work environment and a work culture in which everyone wins.
Prove Your Worth
We all have strengths and weaknesses, and although you always have to be honest about things that are not exactly your strength, it’s not a secret for anyone that, from the outset, what you should mainly do is demonstrate everything you have to offer, the number of skills you have, both soft and hard, your enthusiasm for learning, your ease in doing it, and even your interests.
The company needs to know what you can contribute, how good a decision it would be to welcome you to their team, and your job to leave them speechless, making it impossible for them not to hire you.
Cover Letter Sample
Finally, as promised in the title, we will show you how your cover letter would look by applying these tips and printing your essence. It might look something like this:
Jane Doe
jan.edoe@email.com
Las Vegas, NV
(555) 800-4000
Dear Hiring Manager,
I’m excited to apply for the Community Manager position at Cherrie’s Fashion I found on Indeed. I understand you’re currently adding several new products to your market, and I believe my skills in video and animation provide a significant advantage for creating a successful brand.
As the Community Manager at Colors Audiovisual Agency, I was also the head of the department and contributed to almost every creative choice it was made. Before that, I worked in (insert previous work experiences).
Achieving digital marketing and social media goals is always a priority, and I always work according to the company’s best interests. I look forward to increasing the audience’s engagement with the brand as well as the public relationships of the company.
My portfolio is equipped with my previous work and evidence of the engagement growth of my previous clients. Thank you for your time and attention. I’m looking forward to learning more details about the position and the fashion business.
Sincerely,
Doe Jane.
We hope this article has been helpful to you. If you want more tips to help you along the job-hunting process, make sure to check out our YouTube channel. We have videos with advice ranging from the early stages of writing your résumé to the final steps of a job interview.
See more articles by Andrea Corona.
