Five Big Mistakes People Make in Writing a Cover Letter
- By Marlyn Damerick
- Published 02/15/2010
- Career
- Unrated
You've heard that it's important to include a cover letter in your application package for your job search. But if you're not sure what it's for, you may think it's just another piece of paper to put into the envelope (or to write in the email with the resume attachment). But if you don't know what a great opportunity the cover letter is, you may make some of these five mistakes:
1. Not taking advantage of the opportunity to sell the interview.
The point of the cover letter is to sell the employer on giving you an interview. You want to make yourself stand out as a potential candidate. Don't waste the chance with a letter that runs "Dear Sir/Madam: Enclosed is my resume for the job of [position]. Thank you for your time." Use that page to show your personality, your enthusiasm for the job, your unique qualifications. You can't get hired without the interview. In a tough job market, you may have trouble getting the interview without an effective cover letter. Use it.
2. Not taking the time to find out about the company.
Do your best to find out about the company you're applying to work for. Check the internet. Call the receptionist. Make a trip to the library. At the very least, get the name and correct spelling of the manager who will be hiring. Almost every company has a web page, where you can find out what benefits they provide to their clients or customers. You may also be able to find a mission statement. Use the information and even the language to give your letter a tone that feels like a good fit for that company.
3. Restating your resume.
Don't just list the same information that is in your resume. If you want to pull out certain specific aspects of your resume to emphasize, that could be helpful. But make sure there's more to your letter and that your personality shines through.
4. Getting caught up in the jargon.
Jargon -- language that has meaning for a specific profession -- has a place in the world and even in a resume cover letter. Often people outside that community don't understand what you're saying. And even within the profession, a person who overuses the specialized language looks like someone who doesn't know how to talk to anybody not in the club. So if you use jargon in your cover letter, use generally understood terms correctly, and keep it to one or two per letter.
Another temptation in this regard is to fall into "job hunt" jargon. "I'm a results-oriented, self-starting, out-of-the-box thinker with good communication skills" comes across just as a series of words. They used to have meaning, but it's mostly bled out of them. If you're tempted to write a sentence like that, pick one or two of those terms and write a sentence stating specifically what you mean by it. What results have you produced? How have you communicated? That specific information will be more helpful and persuasive than all the cliches in the world.
5. Not including a call to action.
Your cover letter is really a sales letter, and and every sales letter needs a call to action -- a direct, specific statement of what you want the reader to do. "Please call me for an interview at [phone number]." "I will call you at [time and date] to arrange for an interview." "Let me buy you coffee on [date]." The specific action will differ from situation to situation, but it needs to be there and be definite.
A good cover letter will put you ahead of 90 percent of your competition. Make it the most it can be.
1. Not taking advantage of the opportunity to sell the interview.
The point of the cover letter is to sell the employer on giving you an interview. You want to make yourself stand out as a potential candidate. Don't waste the chance with a letter that runs "Dear Sir/Madam: Enclosed is my resume for the job of [position]. Thank you for your time." Use that page to show your personality, your enthusiasm for the job, your unique qualifications. You can't get hired without the interview. In a tough job market, you may have trouble getting the interview without an effective cover letter. Use it.
2. Not taking the time to find out about the company.
Do your best to find out about the company you're applying to work for. Check the internet. Call the receptionist. Make a trip to the library. At the very least, get the name and correct spelling of the manager who will be hiring. Almost every company has a web page, where you can find out what benefits they provide to their clients or customers. You may also be able to find a mission statement. Use the information and even the language to give your letter a tone that feels like a good fit for that company.
3. Restating your resume.
Don't just list the same information that is in your resume. If you want to pull out certain specific aspects of your resume to emphasize, that could be helpful. But make sure there's more to your letter and that your personality shines through.
4. Getting caught up in the jargon.
Jargon -- language that has meaning for a specific profession -- has a place in the world and even in a resume cover letter. Often people outside that community don't understand what you're saying. And even within the profession, a person who overuses the specialized language looks like someone who doesn't know how to talk to anybody not in the club. So if you use jargon in your cover letter, use generally understood terms correctly, and keep it to one or two per letter.
Another temptation in this regard is to fall into "job hunt" jargon. "I'm a results-oriented, self-starting, out-of-the-box thinker with good communication skills" comes across just as a series of words. They used to have meaning, but it's mostly bled out of them. If you're tempted to write a sentence like that, pick one or two of those terms and write a sentence stating specifically what you mean by it. What results have you produced? How have you communicated? That specific information will be more helpful and persuasive than all the cliches in the world.
5. Not including a call to action.
Your cover letter is really a sales letter, and and every sales letter needs a call to action -- a direct, specific statement of what you want the reader to do. "Please call me for an interview at [phone number]." "I will call you at [time and date] to arrange for an interview." "Let me buy you coffee on [date]." The specific action will differ from situation to situation, but it needs to be there and be definite.
A good cover letter will put you ahead of 90 percent of your competition. Make it the most it can be.
Marlyn Damerick
For more information about writing an effective cover letter, get the free report Top Ten Secrets of the World's Greatest Cover Letter.
View all articles by Marlyn Damerick