One of the most important factors to getting a good job is to impress the recruiter as fast as possible. Crafting a professional resume and updating your Bossjob profile are some good ways to get started, however, if you really want to stand out from the crowd, having a personalized cover letter can be effective to showcase your value to the recruiters. Make sure you don’t make these mistakes and ruin your chance of getting an interview.
Here are the 3 cover mistakes and how you can fix them:
1. Too lengthy
You might have a lot to say but it’s best not to make your cover letter longer than a page. It’s normal for eager job seekers to show the recruiter or hiring manager everything they have done before and how they can contribute to the company, but it’s important to be considerate and understand that employers don’t have so much time to read such a length cover letter. Instead of telling them all the school activities you joined or what you enjoy doing with your spare time, focus on showing your passion for the position and highlighting a few key skills that set you apart from the rest. Make it the best “why should we hire you?” answer you can think of!
2. Full of typos and grammar errors
This is one of the worst mistakes you can make on your cover letter. How can you impress the hiring manager when you can’t even proofread for typos? This mistake not only shows a lack of attention, but also how little you care about your application. Write a few drafts before deciding on the best version, then check the content letter by letter to see if you misspelled any words. Even though it’s a tedious process, especially if you aren’t a native English speaker. But, it’ll be worth it.
If you don’t think you can proofread properly, ask your friends or family members for help. Don’t just skip it and assume that people won’t pay attention to it. They do!
3. Using a common template
There’s nothing wrong to take some templates as reference but don’t just copy and paste the whole thing and send it out. It’s important to personalize your cover letter to make it relevant and show the recruiter who you really are. Also, don’t repeat the content of your resume. Instead, focus on the things you can contribute to the company such as the relevant skills and work experience.
Don’t underestimate the importance of your opening sentence. Put some thoughts into crafting it. For example, if you first line reads: “I would like to apply for [position] at [company],” You can’t stand out from the crowd as it’s so basic. When a recruiter sees that, his or her reaction won’t be good but more like, “oh, just another cover letter.”
You want your cover letter to stand out for all the right reasons. So, before you click the send button, spend some time to make sure you’re giving your very best!
Find these tips useful? We have more career advice, workplace tips, and job search tips on our blog. Don’t forget to check them out!
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
