If you are searching for a job with no fruits, reconsider writing your cover letter in a way that captures the attention of the hiring manager. An impressive cover letter is the only thing you need to secure a job interview with potential employers and non-profit recruiters. It is thus important to pay attention even to those things that may seem small since they are the ones that may determine if you are going to get the job or not. It is quite evident that the better the cover letter, the more chances you will have to win the hiring manager’s heart. If you are looking for a way to come up with an impressive cover letter, use these tips:
(1) Keep It Short
Mostly, hiring managers have a heap of documents awaiting their perusal, meaning they have less than a minute to go through your cover letter. Therefore, make sure your cover letter fits into one page with words not exceeding five hundred. A multi-page cover letter gives a bad impression about yourself, and the manager may conclude you aren’t the right candidate.
(2) Keep it Simple and Appealing
However, smart your handwriting might be or captivating your story is; an unpleasant cover letter has zero chance of getting any attention. To make it easy to read and attractive, consider the following:
(a) Font: The process of selecting the type of font depends on your professional industry and how formal the company requires the letters to be. For example, if your industry is formal, you can go for Times New Roman, Cambria, Georgia, Garamond, and Didot. As for the casual industry, use Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, and Lato. The font size should be at 12 points or above.
(b) Margins: The margins should be between 1-1.5. If your letter is long, use a margin of one, but if short, you can use 1.5.
For uniformity, font styles, sizes, and colors should be the same for your cover letter and curriculum vitae hence giving your application a professional look.
(3) Write Customized Cover Letters for Each Organization
Different companies have different problems they want to resolve through the hiring process. It is thus important to address each company’s specific problems uniquely, even if you apply for the same position. Your letter should show how conversant you are with the firm’s goals and how your presence will help achieve them.
(4) Quantify Your Accomplishments
In the achievements section, include numbers to show the extent to which you contributed to achieving the company’s goals in your current or previous position. For instance, if you are a cost accountant, include numbers to show how you helped the company cut its operating costs. Instead of saying that during your tenure in office, the costs came down; you can say that the cost came down by 15%.
