How To Write Cover Letters That Will Grab The Recruiter’s Attention

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 10:26 am

Cover letters are a vitally important part of the job application process, and all too often job-hunters spend so much time worrying about their resume that they overlook their cover letter which is, in essence, another page of their resume.

Cover letters should always be tailored to the position you are applying for, they should not mimic what you have in your resume instead provide a short outline of why you want the job and what makes you the ideal candidate for the job.

You should begin your letter with a warm introduction announcing how you came across the posting and how it interests you. You should declare why you think you are a suitable applicant, and explain the reasons why you want the job. Explaining why you want the job is very important as it provides an opportunity for you to personalize your application.

Cover letters should be short, certainly never exceed one page. The best way for you to display why you are a suitable candidate for the job is to list the main requirements from the job specification and then highlight your experience in relation to them, see below for example:

The candidate must have excellent presentation skills.

I am a vastly experienced sales presenter who is regularly called upon to provide advice in Sales Monthly, the industry-leading magazine.

The candidate must have 5 years sales management experience.

I have been Team-Leader in our sales division for the last 6 years,over that period I have expanded the sales team from 11 to 26 employees and successfully led the sales team to achieve their annual sales-targets for the last 5 years.

A good cover letter should be short enough for the recruiter to easily digest, yet show enough information to make your resume become of extreme interest, so focus on your cover letter and get a head-start over other applicants.