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Don't start off your job search with one (or more)
strikes against you by committing any of these
common cover letter blunders. Each is easy to avoid,
but they can sink your chances of an interview if
you include them in your letter.
1. Sending Your Letter
to the Wrong Person, Location, or Department
Do
you really want your letter to land you a job at the
company you're sending it to? Then take the time to
verify that you have the proper name, title and
address for the hiring manager or other
decision-maker who should receive it.
Unless you're absolutely sure you already have the
most up- to-date contact information, take a few
minutes to call and ask. Otherwise, you may as well
not bother sending your letter - it most likely
won't reach the intended recipient. And if it does,
he or she won't be impressed that you didn't bother
to take this simple step.
2. Irritating Your
Potential Employer with a Pushy, Arrogant or
Conceited Tone to Your Letter
Are
you truly God's gift to humanity? If not, chances
are you ought to come across with a bit of humility,
not braggadocio. Save the "I am too good for you not
to hire me" stuff for when you're bragging to your
friends about the great job you just landed. (Even
they probably won't be impressed - and they already
like you!) Instead, let your accomplishments and
skills speak for themselves.
3. Typos,
Misspellings, Punctuation or Grammatical Errors
There's no excuse for leaving any of these mistakes
in a cover letter (or a resume for that matter). If
such matters truly aren't your strong suite, ask a
friend to look your letter over for you. Blatant
errors like these are just one more reason for a
hiring manager to shunt your resume and cover letter
aside, never to be seen again. Why? Because they'll
think you are too lazy, too uncaring or too
unskilled to be a good fit at their company.
4. Writing Rambling,
Unfocused Sentences and Paragraphs
Few
hiring managers want to think they're reading a
newly discovered missing page from James Joyce's
Ulysses. Especially when all they really want to
understand is why they should read the enclosed
resume. Tightly written sentences and three or four
short paragraphs that communicate the answer to that
question will help ensure your resume gets read, not
tossed.
5. Writing Long
Letters, Even If Well Focused and Well Written
Here's a good rule to live by: Don't go over one
page. It's a cover letter, not your autobiography.
Capture your reader's attention quickly and impress
him or her with your well written main points. Then
let your resume do the rest of the talking. Until
the interview of course.
6. Writing a Letter
that Is All About You, and Not About What You Can Do
for Your Prospective Employer
Do
you listen to WIFM? Sure you do. That's What's In it
For Me, the little radio station in our heads that
everyone listens to, including the person who
receives your letter. Your potential employer wants
to know what you can do for him or her, not the
other way around. Make sure your letter highlights
why you will be able to help their company sell more
widgets, design better satellites or otherwise make
its future brighter.
7. Using Odd Layouts,
Too Many Fonts, Colors and Other Attention Getting
Devices
With rare exceptions, attention getters like overly
busy layouts, exotic multi-color designs and odd
sized paper have no place in a cover letter or
resume. Save it for the decorations at the next
office party.
Follow these common sense suggestions and you'll
write a cover letter that is bound to make you stand
out and land you an interview.
Copyright 2005 by Vincent Czaplyski, all rights
reserved.
Copywriter and consultant Vincent Czaplyski is
founder of
www.impressive-resumes.com, your online source
for professionally written "industrial strength"
resumes and cover letters guaranteed to land you an
interview.
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