Breaking Down the Cover Letter - By Jacqueline Dsouza

The Cover Letter….

COVER LETTER FORMAT:

Applicant/Job Seekers Information:

Your name:
Apartment Number, Building/ Street Name,
City, State Zip code
Email address
Home Phone and Mobile number:

Company Contact Information:
Contact Name
Contact Title/Designation
Contacts department
Contact Company phone number:

Date:
Dear Ms. /Mr. Contact name,

The First paragraph tells why you are contacting the person; it talks about where you heard about the job. It also states your introduction and who you are. Next it mentions how sincere you are and about the extensive research you have done on the company. The goal is to demonstrate the worthiness of your application and probing them to read further into the Covering Letter and you resume.

The second paragraph talks more about yourself and how you are the ideal match for the job and also summarizing why YOU are what they are looking for… Also if you have any gaps or anything that needs clarification in your resume, you could use this space to clarify just that. Finally thank the reader for taking the time out to read your Resume.

Once that is done say your good bye’s and include that you look forward to receiving a positive response. Also give them a time (ideally a week’s time) when you would be getting in touch with them.

Yours sincerely,

(You Sign Here)

The Covering letter broken up for you:

Date: Placement of the date either to the left or the right is left to your discretion. Ideally it is better to mention the date, Month in letters (i.e.:  Jan, Feb, Mar) and the year in yyyy format.

Name and Address: The name and address mentioned on the covering letter should match the name and address on the resume. There has to be uniformity on the information you include in both your coving letter and the resume. If you are listing only your mobile number makes sure it is the number the reader can call you on.

Name and Address of the Contact: You should have the correct information of the contact so that the covering letter and the resume reach the right person. Sometimes if you are responding to an advertisement in a newspaper, it is not possible to have all the above information. In such cases, you may look up the information on the company on the internet. Then call the company and check with the receptionist if you can get a name of the concerned person in the HR department in charge of recruitments. During this conversation be very polite and ask for a contact name, say thank you and hang up. Chances are you may be given a name, if not you can just address it to the HR Manager/ Head of HR.

The First paragraph: The first paragraph on your Covering letter should be telling the reader why you are getting in touch with them and how you came to know of the opening in the organization. The first line has to be quite catchy and should prompt the reader to read further. Then you should include how you admire the company and indicate how you respect the company’s accomplishments and its standing in the market. Follow it up with who you are and why you think you are best suited for the position.

The Middle Paragraph: This paragraph allows you to be more elaborate in explaining how you could add value to the job position and what skills you would bring to the job. If you have any prior experiences and would like to elaborate about your unparalleled performance, you could use this space to do that.

The Final Paragraph: The Final paragraph has to be the shortest paragraph in the covering letter. Say a thank-you for the time they took to go through your covering letter. Tell them you look forward to hearing from them and also how you can be reached.

Hope this helps you put together that simple yet effective Covering letter. Until then…Happy reading….

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