Cover Letter 101: What's In A CV?
First...
If you're unfamiliar with cover letters, I find it's nice to have at least a basic understanding of them, which is especially important if you're preparing to draft you're first copy.
Thankfully, it's really simple. In fact, it's so simple, I'll give you the BizGenGirl Definition:
Cover Letter: An informal summary of your resume.
Just think of your CV as an add-on to your resume. It compliments and completes the formal process of evaluation and interviewing with potential employers. It's basically you're chance to plan out your first impression and to define some things from your resume that would've clouded up the resume, had you been more detailed there.
What's In A Cover Letter?
I know, I know. If you've already written out your resume, doing everything to keep it from being ten pages long, then you're probably wondering what more an employer would want to see in an extra page. I know I was like, "Isn't a resume enough?"
Still though, Cover Letter's are valuable to employers for many reasons (which I'll go over in another hub) and that means they need to be valuable to you to. And, they really aren't hard to create, especially if you've already written out your resume.
Your CV should contain:
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A brief greeting introduction to your experience and skills
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Brief details about any significant parts of your resume (such as specialties and degrees)
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A short persuasive speech (just a paragraph) of why the company/business should hire you (what can you offer them/do for them that others can't? Or that they need done?)
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A short explanation of why you want to work for the company