Your cover letter can be more important than your resume — if you really want the job (and if not, don’t apply), then write a good cover letter just for that job.
Show your personality. Prove why you’re a good candidate.
Here’s a great source to get you started: How to Write a Cover Letter in 8 Simple Steps
Here are the elements your letter needs:
Things NOT to do:
- Don’t start with “I”
- Don’t say “I saw your job listing” or “I saw your job opening” or anything like that. That’s obvious — you’re applying, so obviously you’ve seen the job listing. Use your words more sparingly — get right to proving you’re right for a specific job (you DO have to indicate which job you’re applying for — most companies will have many open positions, so you’ve got to be clear about which one you’re interested in!)
- Don’t address the letter “Dear Sir” or “Dear Sirs”
- Don’t use exclamation points, especially if any part of your job involves writing!!!!
- Don’t misspell anything.
- Don’t be boring. People want to work with interesting people, so your cover letter needs to prove that you are interesting.
Jacquie Lamer 