Writing Your Cover Letter One Step At A Time
If you’re having troubles on creating your own cover letter to send out along with your resume, here is a brief walk through on how to create a basic yet effective cover letter.
Start out by typing your whole name. It is important to keep your presentation look and stay professional. Be sure to use your legal name and do not abbreviate or use your nickname. For the next two lines, use this space to enter your complete and current address. Now on the fourth line, input your complete telephone number. Be sure to include the area code just in case you are going to be sending out your resume to a company located miles away from where you currently are.
After your name, address and contact number, leave a space and then enter the date for today. Write it in a month-day-year format and do not abbreviate the month as you type it out. Leave another space and then type in the complete name of the person whom you are addressing your cover letter to. Be sure to include either a Mr. or Ms. Right before their name. Below their name should be their proper title. Next, enter the complete name of their company followed by its complete address.
Here is an example:
John Smith
1691 Crystal Caverns
Vancouver, Canada 98765
(123) 123-4567
December 23, 2009
Ms. Jane Doe
IT Managing Director
Ironwood Technologies Incorporated
55-B Long Drive Avenue
New York, New York 12345
After the heading, next would be the salutation. Kick off with either a Mr. or Ms. followed by their last name and then a colon. If you cannot determine the name of whom you should be addressing the letter to, use their job title. Also keep in mind that you should never use Miss or Mrs. when trying to address your contact person.
For the first paragraph of your letter’s body, get directly to the point and state why you had sent them the letter. Next, explain how you found out about the job vacancy. If you were referred by someone, be sure to include this as well.
For the second paragraph, tell them about your work related skills and experience and explain to them why you are the best candidate for the job. If you are a fresh graduate and without or less hands on work experience, use your strong educational background and show them how your acquired knowledge and skills would make a big contribution to their company.
For the third and last paragraph, thank your reader for their time. Also, be assumptive and add a statement that would show your interest and eagerness to work under their company by saying that you are looking forward to an interview with them anytime soon or something similar. Be sure to include your current contact number or even your personal mobile number so that they could contact you as soon as possible.
To end your letter, choose a closing word like Respectfully, Yours truly or Sincerely and end it with a comma. You can also choose your own closing if you like.
Once done writing, be sure to proofread your work to rid your document of errors. Once done, enclose it along with your resume and have it delivered personally, via traditional snail mail, e-mail or through the use of resume distribution services.
