Best Practices in Writing a Cover Letter
The cover letter is a document that allows a job applicants to introduce themselves to s potential employer. There is no universally accepted format for cover letters and the document can be a mixture of professional data and personality. Granted, this is a document with a particular purpose and people cannot write a cover letter in the same way they would write a casual letter to a friend or family member. With that in mind, here are a few thoughts on the best practices for writing a cover letter.HighlightsThe cover letter is a complement to the professional resume in that it allows the applicant to highlight some of their more marketable skills and accomplishments. The word highlight is key because applicants do not necessarily want to cover every aspect of their resume in a cover letter. Otherwise, the documents would probably be too long and the employer could lose interest. Therefore, the job seeker should pick a few things that they feel are most impressive about themselves such as degrees, prior jobs, or special skills.AccomplishmentsAnother area that applicants can address in a cover letter is the category of prior accomplishments. Prior accomplishments can include a variety of things, but the goal of the job seeker is to convey to the organization that they have done things in the past that might be considered impressive. In other words, the applicant should show that they have done certain things as opposed to promising that they would do certain things if given a particular job.Job descriptionThe job seeker can also attempt to match their skills and experiences with the job description. This is an area in the cover letter that hopefully will allow job seekers to argue for their vocational worth in a more narrative format. Again, the job seeker will be talking about prior experience but they will be doing this in a way that makes it relevant to the jobs they are seeking.A little bit of energyFinally, a cover letter may be an opportunity to show a little bit of an individual's personality. In other words, it may be a way to display some passion for the job or for the prospect of working for a particular organization. Granted, the cover letter should not dissolve into an overly dramatic or emotionally charged document that strays from professional language. However, people can attempt to show some excitement so that the company can see that the individual writing the letter does genuinely want the job.
