FREE 3+ Common Ways Job Applicants Mess Up Their Cover Letters in PDF

Your cover letter samples for job are the first means of introduction you have with a potential employer despite not having met them yet. It should start and end in a strong manner despite being brief. It should definitely be informative yet is able to strike the curiosity of the hiring manager. The curiosity part adds more to the effect of being able to present an excellently written cover letter and can even increase the chances of getting shortlisted for an interview.

However, whether you are confident with writing your letter or otherwise, there will be times where you might be messing up your cover letter. That is definitely something you want to avoid. Here are a few things to review before you start typing away.

Cover Letter Magic Trade Secrets of Professional Resume

This document will give you secrets and tips on how you can come up with a professional cover letter.

What Factors Mess Up a Cover Letter?

• Repeating your resume. Rule number one with cover letters: If you are just turning your resume into an essay, start over! Your job resume is already a shortened version of the qualifications you possess. Repeating it on your cover letter will just give the hiring manager a headache. Instead of doing this, explain how your skills will contribute to the overall welfare of the company.
• Talking about yourself too much. It is okay to talk about yourself. After all, you want to sell yourself to the company in order to get hired, right? However, you might end up talking more about what you want instead of what it is that you can offer the company. Just remember to always relate the things about yourself to what it is the company needs. Tell them what it is you have done and how this will benefit them.
• No concrete examples of claims. Too much bragging without any kind of proof is just a big NO when it comes to cover letters. The qualifications that you have should be backed up by factual examples. Remember, the employer is the one who assesses who is the perfect person for the vacant position. Without examples, they would not be able to have a clear picture of what it is that you can do for them.
• Talking bad about former employers and competitors. Your cover letter is not an avenue for you to talk bad about your experience in your previous company or bash the competitors of the company you are applying for. Your employers may not have the same sentiments as you. This is the reason why it’s best to keep your cover letters as neutral as possible.
• Using jargon. Keep in mind that your cover letters are considered to be formal and professional letters. Simple and direct language is preferred for these letters. Jargon and slang should be avoided at all times.
• Too long. Your cover letter is not meant to be a five-page essay. The best and most compelling cover letters are about one-page long and are relatively short.
• Not customized to the company or position. You should not send one cover letter for all of your job applications. Always customize your cover letters for each of the job applications you are going to send. Take your time in composing your cover letter.
• Forgetting to highlight your strengths. Your cover letter should always highlight what your top qualifications are. It should never be short on this as this is one of the main reasons why you are writing your cover letter. Your letter should let the employers know what it is that makes you a strong candidate and why you deserve to be called for an interview.
• Poor formatting. If you are unsure about how to format your cover letter, make sure you refer to a lot of professional cover letter templates and study how cover letters are drafted. An incorrectly formatted cover letter can actually hurt your chances of getting an interview.
• “Why should we hire you?” This is the main question that your cover letter should answer. Should there be a part of your letter missing to answer this question, think about re-writing your letter. You want to ensure that your cover letter answers this to increase your chances of getting invited for an interview.

Sample Guides to Writing an Excellent Cover Letter

Now that you know what are the common factors that messes up a cover letter, you can now start applying these to your letter-writing task. To give you more ideas about cover letters and their contents, check out the guides we have prepared just for you!

This is a perfect guide to writing your cover letters. It will give you reasons why you should customize your cover letter and a few samples. It also includes a couple more tips for writing other letters that might be useful for your job application needs.

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How to Write a Great Cover Letter

This cover letter guide will give you a good overview of how to write effective letters for job searching. It will help you show your employer that you are an employee of value.