If you’re searching for a job, nearly every employer is going to ask you for a cover letter to send with your resume. You may have the most perfect resume; however, it’s the cover letter that tells the employer something about you. A cover letter is meant to tell the employer how you’ll be able to contribute to the workplace or company. It’s not a biography, but in your cover letter you’ll be using the experience in your resume as a way to sell and showcase yourself to the employer.
The first thing to do is address the letter to the person whose doing the hiring for the job. Most if not all job position posting will state who is reviewing your resume. If they aren’t listed then address it as “to whom it may concern.” The first paragraph of your cover letter is where you briefly state why you are applying for that position. You can add a personal detail; like a strength or what you want to improve on while working there. This isn’t where you go into detail; view it as an introduction to the next paragraph, which is where you really showcase how you’re the candidate for the job.
The second paragraph is where you use what’s on your resume as a way to demonstrate in what ways your experience plays a role in being the perfect candidate for the job. Make sure your experience relates to the position, think about how your past job experience helped you gain traits that’d be great for the job you’re applying for. Be sure to mention any experiences that may be specific to the field the job position may be in. If you don’t have much job experience then mention your study experiences like events you organized in school, projects you’ve worked on, volunteer work or any internship completed while in school. This is going to be your longest and most detailed paragraph.
The last and third paragraph can be a single sentence where you express your gratitude for the person reviewing your application. A cover letter doesn’t need to be long; you should only mention things that are relevant to the job you’re applying for, the more concise it is the better.
