On the third 'Day of Kforce',
From our staffing company,
Three Cover Letter Clues.
A cover letter is your opportunity to pique the interest of hiring managers and provide an intro to your resume. You want to provide them with just enough information to turn the page. Jazmin Barnwell, a Kforce recruiter, has three pieces of advice when crafting your cover letter.
1. Don’t recreate your resume
Your cover letter should be just that, a letter, personalized to the hiring manager(s) and briefly synopsizing your resume. You do not want to include information on your cover letter that will be in your resume. This will be an opportunity for you to discuss your experience and career goals without getting into technical detail.
2. Keep it short and to the point
When writing a cover letter, it is crucial that you keep it short and to the point. You don’t want to overwhelm the reader by including too much information or being overly wordy. In fact, you may risk your prospective employer skipping your lengthy cover letter and moving on to your resume or, even worse, moving on to the next applicant altogether. Keep to a maximum of three paragraphs, this will be enough to state your intent, explain how you would be an added benefit to their company and close strongly by ensuring to follow up.
3. Close strong
Your third or last paragraph should be your grand finale. Conclude by enforcing how serious you are about moving to the next step in your career and let them know that you are open to phone/in-person interviews. Make sure to include why you think their company can benefit from your skills and experience. Lastly, don’t be afraid to take initiative and inform them beforehand that you will follow-up to your resume submittal.
Stay tuned for Day 4!
Previous Articles:
TWO Interview Follow-Up Tips
The ONE Thing Employers Want to See