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Cover Letter Questions
Writing a cover letter is no easy task. On top of that there is no one cover letter that is a good fir for everyone. Below are some common questions from job seekers on how to write a cover letter.How can I grab the reader's attention in my cover letter?
This is a very common cover letter question. A tactic to capture a potrential employer's attention is to illustrate that you understand the company's needs and can offer a benefit. If you are responding to a posted job opening or writing directly to a company with no personal contact information, try to make the first few sentences interesting enough that the reader wants to read your resume. In situations when you're writing a cover letter at the suggestion of a mutual business contact, use that contact's name in the beginning of the cover letter so the reader feels obligated to read your resume and possibly call you in for an interview.
Before we answer this cover
letter question you should first understand that you should make every
effort to identify the person you are writing your cover letter
to. If that is not possible or you don't want to spend the time
looking for the names, I recommend eliminating the salutation all
together. Try starting your cover letter with an "attention" or
"regarding" line. Here are some examples of what I mean.
What if I don't have the contact name of the person I am sending my
cover letter to?
Re: Marketing Management Opportunity
Attn: Human Resources
Re: Wall Street Journal Advertisement 10/15/07: Executive VP Sales
Re: Job
Code XYZ-241, "Product Manager"
Should I be more concerned with being short and ditrectly to the point our taking as much time needed to outline my qualifications inmy cover letter?
This can be a tough cover letter question to answer. You don't want to bore the reader of your cover letter. But you need to give them enough information that they'll get a good feel for your skills and be impressed enough to call you in for an interview. At the executive level, greater detail and more length of a cover letter is appropriate, just as in your resume. In all cases try to make the cover letter readable by breaking up the text into reasonable-length paragraphs and using bullet points or indents.
The ads advertisements classifieds asks for my salary requirements. What should I tell them?
In most cases you are better off saying nothing about salary in your cover letter. Companies asking for salary requirements are doing so only to screen out potential candidates. With a posted ad the company will be dealing with hundreds of job seekers. Salary is a simple benchmark. You will improve your chances of getting an interview if you don't immediately disqualify yourself on the basis of salary. Your goal is to generate interviews that lead to employment. Give yourself every opportunity to get in front of potentila employers. You can share your salary goals or current salary with an executive recruiter. If an ad says "resumes without salary information will not be considered," then you should comply.
Should I explain my reason for looking for a job?
There is not a black or white answer to this cover letter question. It is ultimately dependent on the situation. While it is not necessary or always valuable to share this information sometimes it makes sense to do so. In general, present positive information that will help get your hired for the open position you are trying to get an interview for. Never go negative in any way shape or form in your cover letter.
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