Best Cover Letter Format To Get Your Resume Read

Employers looking for a potential candidate often find themselves being flooded with resumes. Almost all of those are accompanied by cover letters. Someone will be interested in reading your resume only if the cover letter that accompanies the same is appealing enough. Thus, if you want to improve your stakes at bagging a job, the best thing to do would be to write a cover letter that is so good that the employers will waste no time in reaching out to you.

The only way to stand out would be to write something extraordinary while sticking to the norms that are expected of you. This article talks about 5 important tips that will help your cover letter get noticed and, in turn, pave the way for ensuring that your resume gets read by the concerned person.

1. The Opening Line

The very first line of any writing decides how much importance a reader will give it. Thus, while penning your cover letter, make sure that you start it off on the correct note. Try to mention the name of the person reading it in the salutation section. It will be worthwhile to invest your efforts in finding out the hiring manager's name.

That is because when they read your letter, they will feel that they have found something that was tailored specifically for them. Naturally, this will make them attach greater importance to your cover letter. Now whether you should use the manager's first or last name is left for your judgement.

If it is a start-up with a casual culture, it is advisable that you can go with the first name. On the other hand, if it is a well-established corporate firm, the use of the last name is encouraged.

2. The First Paragraph

Having gone past the salutation, the next challenge will be to hold the attention of the reader that you have grasped with so much effort. The trick here is to say all that you want with as few words as possible. Do not state the obvious. It will only make people think that you are just another prospective employee.

By writing only those points that are your real selling point in the context of the job that you are applying for, you will be saving your time as well as that of the recruiter. By valuing their time, you are ensuring that you and your resume will be given a higher weightage than that of others.

3. Keep Your Contact Details Professional

The first thing that people notice in your cover letter is the email address that you have mentioned. Make sure that you use an address that looks professional. All of us are guilty of having created embarrassing email addresses in our childhood days. Make sure that you do not use any of that in your cover letter. It will not just create a very bad first impression, but will also make them think that you are not really serious about the job.

Under no situation should you use your current work email either. Doing such a thing is considered to be highly unprofessional. Another thing that you must note is the fact that you must have the same contact details in your cover letter, resume and social media profiles. Any discrepancy in this regard is not encouraged.

4. Tell Them Why You Want To Join

Having already established that you are the most perfect candidate for the job, the next major thing that you need to convey is the reason why you would want to join the job. This is not a cliché point where you are expected to blow your prospective employer's trumpet. Here you need to talk about why you are looking forward to making the switch.

If this is a new job role that you are taking up, talk about how you have always been interested in the same and how you have prepared yourself for it. Convince them that you will find this job rewarding. You can do so by talking about an upcoming major project that the said organisation has taken up and how you are interested in it.

Give valid reasons about why you find it interesting. Switching to technical details will help at this point. However, make sure that you keep it short.

5. Make Your Offer

Once you have said all that you want to and have convinced your prospective employer about how you are the perfect candidate for the job, the next thing is actually the most decisive part. We are talking about the section wherein you make your offer of joining the company. How you project this section is what makes all the difference.

It is here that you have to make them see how your technical knowledge and experience in the field can help their organisation in meeting their goals. Make sure that the focus of this part is on what you have to offer to the firm and not on how badly you want the job. Doing so will make you come off as needy and that might undo all the good impression that you have established throughout the cover letter.

Another tip here is to avoid the usage of cliché phrases like, "Thank you for your consideration and time". This is usually the very last section of your cover letter and you need to pull this off in such a manner that will make the hiring manager excited to read your resume.