Summary:
[[Image:CoverLetter0.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo by bpsusf/[http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfbps/4607149956/ flickr]/CC]]
Your resume, no matter how thorough and well-written, can?t fully represent you as well as you can via narrative text. After all, it?s just a simple one or two page paper, and there?s no room for detailed explanation, so the tone of this crucial document is forever at the mercy of your prospective employer. What?s to separate you, the decidedly perfect candidate, from all of the other fish in the sea attempting to threaten your career destiny?
The answer is a well-written cover letter. A cover letter gives you, the applicant, an opportunity to write as you would speak professionally, and take slight creative license in expressing your validity as the newest employee of the company of your dreams. However, not just any off-the-cuff explanation will do ? there are some key strategies to making your cover letter really stand out.
==The Header==
Before tearing into your cover letter, spend some time on the header, and make sure it looks professional and neat. You want your header to include your contact information, the date, and then the employer?s name, in that order. If you can, address the cover letter to the particular person who will be reading it; if you?re unsure, the company name will suffice. Once you?ve got all of the important details down on paper, it?s time to begin the written speech that will earn you a job.
==Introduce Yourself==
Use the first paragraph of the cover letter to introduce yourself and explain why you?re writing in the first place. What interested you in the job? What are some of your professional interests? What position are you applying for specifically? It?s important to specialize your cover letter for one specific position instead of having a blanket one for all of your applications, because that shows the potential employer that you have taken the time to write a cover letter just for this position, and it also gives you an opportunity to talk about skills of yours related closely to the subject instead of just general skills. Don?t delve too much into your past, as you?ll have time to get to that in the next paragraph; just think of this section of the letter as a representation of yourself in the present.
==Talk About Your Background==
This paragraph is where you really get to dive into your previous experience, and convince the reader that you?re the one most qualified for the job. Indulge yourself a little, and talk your skills up; this section is for saying what your resume can?t but still complimenting the information on it, and let?s face it, you?ve worked hard for every skill you have. If the first paragraph is focused on the present, this one might as well represent the past. This is your entire life of work, right up to the point where you apply for your dream job.
==Discuss Your Goals==
Now that we?ve dealt with the past and present, the only thing left to do is imagine the future. Employers don?t want to know that you?ll only do a good job, they want to know that you have active goals that will take the company places in the long run, and improve the quality of whatever it is you and your co-workers will do. As this is your last paragraph, make sure and end it with a bang. Your ultimate goal is to end your cover letter in a way that will make the reader think about it again later on, and remember it apart from the stack of other cover letters by the plethora of other job hounds.
==Wrap It Up==
After you?ve said what you needed to say, cap the letter off with a succinct and sincere salutation. If it feels appropriate, make it known to the employer how you plan to follow up with the letter later on. End it respectfully, dot your i?s, and there you have it: a complete cover letter.
==General Tips==
Consider these tips while you?re writing your cover letter, and again once more before you send it:
* Your cover letter and resume are a dynamic duo. Make sure your cover letter touches on everything that could be elaborated on in the resume, but also let it take its own course. They will be read together, so be careful not to be redundant.
* Make sure your resume is just as cohesive as your cover letter. For tips on making a top-tier resume, check out Wired's instructional guide on How To [[Supercharge Your Resume]].
* Get a friend or co-worker to read over your resume. A second pair of eyes is always a good thing, and can often catch something you missed or suggest something you didn?t think of.
''Original article by Jack Donovan, Wired.com.''
Your resume, no matter how thorough and well-written, can?t fully represent you as well as you can via narrative text. After all, it?s just a simple one or two page paper, and there?s no room for detailed explanation, so the tone of this crucial document is forever at the mercy of your prospective employer. What?s to separate you, the decidedly perfect candidate, from all of the other fish in the sea attempting to threaten your career destiny?
The answer is a well-written cover letter. A cover letter gives you, the applicant, an opportunity to write as you would speak professionally, and take slight creative license in expressing your validity as the newest employee of the company of your dreams. However, not just any off-the-cuff explanation will do ? there are some key strategies to making your cover letter really stand out.
==The Header==
Before tearing into your cover letter, spend some time on the header, and make sure it looks professional and neat. You want your header to include your contact information, the date, and then the employer?s name, in that order. If you can, address the cover letter to the particular person who will be reading it; if you?re unsure, the company name will suffice. Once you?ve got all of the important details down on paper, it?s time to begin the written speech that will earn you a job.
==Introduce Yourself==
Use the first paragraph of the cover letter to introduce yourself and explain why you?re writing in the first place. What interested you in the job? What are some of your professional interests? What position are you applying for specifically? It?s important to specialize your cover letter for one specific position instead of having a blanket one for all of your applications, because that shows the potential employer that you have taken the time to write a cover letter just for this position, and it also gives you an opportunity to talk about skills of yours related closely to the subject instead of just general skills. Don?t delve too much into your past, as you?ll have time to get to that in the next paragraph; just think of this section of the letter as a representation of yourself in the present.
==Talk About Your Background==
This paragraph is where you really get to dive into your previous experience, and convince the reader that you?re the one most qualified for the job. Indulge yourself a little, and talk your skills up; this section is for saying what your resume can?t but still complimenting the information on it, and let?s face it, you?ve worked hard for every skill you have. If the first paragraph is focused on the present, this one might as well represent the past. This is your entire life of work, right up to the point where you apply for your dream job.
==Discuss Your Goals==
Now that we?ve dealt with the past and present, the only thing left to do is imagine the future. Employers don?t want to know that you?ll only do a good job, they want to know that you have active goals that will take the company places in the long run, and improve the quality of whatever it is you and your co-workers will do. As this is your last paragraph, make sure and end it with a bang. Your ultimate goal is to end your cover letter in a way that will make the reader think about it again later on, and remember it apart from the stack of other cover letters by the plethora of other job hounds.
==Wrap It Up==
After you?ve said what you needed to say, cap the letter off with a succinct and sincere salutation. If it feels appropriate, make it known to the employer how you plan to follow up with the letter later on. End it respectfully, dot your i?s, and there you have it: a complete cover letter.
==General Tips==
Consider these tips while you?re writing your cover letter, and again once more before you send it:
* Your cover letter and resume are a dynamic duo. Make sure your cover letter touches on everything that could be elaborated on in the resume, but also let it take its own course. They will be read together, so be careful not to be redundant.
* Make sure your resume is just as cohesive as your cover letter. For tips on making a top-tier resume, check out Wired's instructional guide on How To [[Supercharge Your Resume]].
* Get a friend or co-worker to read over your resume. A second pair of eyes is always a good thing, and can often catch something you missed or suggest something you didn?t think of.
''Original article by Jack Donovan, Wired.com.''
Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/Pda_4fVQO9Q/Craft_the_Perfect_Cover_Letter
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