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How to Make a Good Cover Letter for a Resume

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By hubwizard

If you really want to make your resume stand out, it is definitely beneficial to have a great cover letter with it as well. This way your resume doesn't get lost somewhere in the shuffle. Here is a look at some of the best tips to make a great cover letter for your resume.



Tip #1 - Focus on What Makes You Unique - The first thing to do when writing a cover letter is to focus on what makes you unique. Show within your letter what really makes you stand out from the competition. Focus on the qualities that you have that are exceptional and those that make you a great candidate for the job.

Tip #2 - Keep it Simple and Short - Your cover letter for the resume should be simple and short. You should never go over a page and it is best to keep it down to about half a page. Keep language simple, yet professional. It is not a good idea to get personal or to use jargon within the letter.

Tip #3 - Make it Look Good - The cover letter should look good to the eye as well. It needs to make a visual impression. Use stationary that is crisp and professional and keep the style like that of your resume. Keep it all in one font and make sure you don't use large blocks of text. A lot of white space will make it more readable.

Tip #4 - Grab Attention from the Start - Make sure you grab the attention of the reader from the start. Don't both with a boring introduction, but get right into why you are a great candidate for the job. You will only have a few seconds to capture the employers attention, so make sure you do it right away.

Tip #5 - Never Exaggerate - You should never exaggerate within your cover letter. If you exaggerate it will come back to haunt you and can cause credibility problems for you as well. Just stick to the facts within the letter.

Tip #6 - Include Contact Information - Always include contact information. Although it should be included on your resume as well, it is a great idea to include this information in the cover letter. You definitely want to make sure you can be contacted for an interview.

Tip #7 - Make it a Sales Letter - This cover letter should be a sales letter. This is your chance to sell what you can offer to the company. Show the benefits you can offer the company and how what you have to offer can help them solve problems. Basic sales techniques can go over quite well within a cover letter.

Tip #8 - Proofread Carefully - Proofread your cover letter carefully. They may not even look at your resume if there are glaring errors in the cover letter. If you don't trust yourself to find any errors, hire someone else to look over it to ensure there are no grammar and spelling problems that will hurt your chances of landing the job.


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Steve  says:
2 weeks ago

Great tips. Thanks for the information.

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