FREE How to Avoid Getting Your Cover Letters Trashed [ With Samples ]

Cover letters are basically a part of a job seeker’s bread and butter. A well-written cover letter is going to be a good means of evaluating whether the job seeker will be a good addition to the company or otherwise. Standing out among the rest is a challenge while crafting one is already a job in itself.

Cover letters are basically a part of a job seeker’s bread and butter. A well-written cover letter is going to be a good means of evaluating whether the job seeker will be a good addition to the company or otherwise. Standing out among the rest is a challenge while crafting one is already a job in itself.

You may have the skills and qualifications that would make you the candidate that the company is looking for. However, if you present yourself badly in your job application cover letter, all that effort of coming up with what you should write in your letter will go down the drain. A trashed cover letter is something you definitely do not want to end up with. The end of a good job opportunity should never be a part of your choice.

If you are looking to come up with a cover letter that will surely give other job applicants a run for their money and have employers scrambling to get to their telephones to call you, then stay tuned. We will give you a few secrets to writing a great cover letter and free sample cover letters that you can directly download from this website.

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8 Mistakes That Get Your Cover Letter Trashed

The very first thing recruiter will see in your job application profile will be you cover letter. It is your introduction and will serve as the first impression long before the recruiter decides to see you for an interview. So it will be a good idea to go over a few tips to writing a job-winning cover letter to help you be a standout candidate.

Aside from tips, you should also be aware of some common ways job applicants mess up their cover letters.

Making use of one cover letter for all applications.

It can be such a tedious task to already be preparing your application documents and sending them to prospective employers. But let us ask you a quick question:  Are you planning on sending one cover letter for all of your applications? If your answer is “YES,” then you better pump the breaks and hold the thought of sending those application documents.

How are you supposed to effectively sell yourself if you are not catering your letter properly to a specific audience? This is one of the reasons why you should customize your cover letter. A customized or targeted cover letter can actually help increase your chances of getting an invitation for an interview. You see, recruiters can see right through a generic cover letter. It gives an impression of laziness and that is an impression that you surely do not want to make.

Take it slow and take it one job application at a time. Make a cover letter template that is readily available for editing so you need not start from scratch for every cover job application you make.

Failing to follow instructions.

Did you go through the job listing properly and carefully? No? Then you are in big trouble. There are a lot of companies who give specific instructions about the job applications and what they would like to see on a cover letter. Make sure you do not miss to read anything on the job listing. Take note that one small mistake could be the death of a good career path. So always be cautious and read everything carefully.

Rewriting the content of your resume.

One of the jobs that a cover letter does is actually covering items you have not specified on your job resume. If you are regurgitating or repeating what you have written on your resume, then you better start pressing that Backspace key. Only include points that are relevant to the job vacancy and make sure you elaborate on this point. You do not need to repeat your resume because your resume will still be seen by the recruiter.

You do not know who to address the letter to.

Check out the job listing and see if they have posted contact details of the contact person in charge for the recruitment. If they did not, then you can check out the company’s website or you can give them a call to see who is going to be the main recipient of your letter. Should you have done everything and you still failed to get the name of the contact person, skip the salutation and make use of a subject line stating what the letter is all about.

Example:

Re: Application for Administrative Associate Position

Failing to proofread your letter.

Whatever cover letter for job application tips you read out there, it will surely tell you to always proofread your letters. No matter how confident you might be about writing your letter, you are only human and mistakes can happen to anyone. Make sure that you always check for typos and errors regarding grammar.

Your cover letter is like a novel.

A lot of job applicants actually ask, “How long should my resume be?” but fail to ask how long a cover letter should be. Keep in mind that cover letters are supposed to be just one page long. Any longer than that and you just might want to go over that letter one more time and see if what items need to be edited or omitted. Remember to enumerate and describe but do not get into too much detail.

Do not brag.

You might feel like you are really and truly the most qualified candidate in the workplace. However, you should always emulate a sense of humbleness and avoid sounding braggy. Just remember that your past experience plus a few recommendation letters are going to be the factors that recruiters will refer to see if you qualified or otherwise.

Not giving specific examples.

Giving concrete and legitimate examples regarding when certain attributes have been displayed are often overlooked by a lot of job applicants. Why do you need to give quantified examples? The examples actually give the employer a good sense and a good glimpse of how you will be as a potential employee in the workplace.

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Final Reminders about Cover Letters

• Do not just write an email stating you have attached a resume. If you are going to send your application as an email, remember to still write it in a manner that follows a email cover letter format.
• Customize. Customize. Customize. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all cover letter. This is why making use of generic cover letters are always going to be known by employers.
• Take all the time you need when it comes to explaining why you regard to yourself as a good candidate for the job vacancy. Always remember that you want to look good on your resume. Wanting to look good will always demand for a few moments of your time.
• Split the body of the letter into three parts:
  • Part 1 – Introduction that will mostly talk about the position you are applying for, how you got to know about the job vacancy, and the reason why you are qualified.
  • Part 2 – State your qualifications, experiences, and skills. Give examples of when relevant attributes have been displayed. You can make use of lists and bullets for this part.
  • Part 3 – Let them know how interested you are in becoming a part of the company. Let them know why you will fit well in the industry you applied for.
• Take note of job listing instructions. Such instructions can include the following:
  • To paste cover letter as email body or as an attachment.
  • To send cover letter document in PDF or in Word Document.
• If you are sending your cover letter as an email, you do not need to write the company letterhead.
• Ensure that your cover letters are following a proper business letter format.

 

Writing a standout cover letter is not an easy task. It also does not help that you are feeling very anxious applying for a job. However, you should not let that anxiety get to you. Instead, you should use it as a means of helping you strive better to come up with the best job application documents that will definitely make you as the best among the rest.

Do not hesitate to read this article one more time and you should also remember to check out our cover letter samples. You can get them free of charge on this very website. Best of luck on the job search!