Land More Job Interviews By Improving Your Cover Letter

If I had a dollar for every cover letter I’ve written, then I wouldn’t need to write cover letters anymore. It is known that having a great cover letter is essential if you are trying to land a job in 2017. But with a million different opinions on the internet about what belongs in a cover letter, it can be difficult to know what to write. The good news for you is that you’re reading this article, by the end of it you will know exactly what belongs in a cover letter and how to make yours stand out.

Your Cover Letter Is Your Elevator Pitch

Keep the cover letter light and use it as a chance to show your personality. This doesn’t mean including an anecdote about your best keg stand, it means you should show who you are. If your dream is to become an investment banker someday, then show it! Employers want to see that you have goals and aspirations because. What this means to them is that if you’re hired, you will work hard. Don’t be scared that mentioning long-term goals will ruin your chances, this will only happen if your goals don’t align with their goals. And if that’s the case, then the job isn’t right for you anyways.

My strategy has always been relatively simple. Three paragraphs. Follow this guide below to land more job interviews in 2017.

Show That You Know The Company

The first paragraph should highlight information about the position and company that stick out to you. Do you find it interesting that the company volunteers every year for a certain organization? Well mention that you know this and it’s important to you. This will mean a great deal to employers and it will give you grounds for a discussion outside of work. Personal conversations (if done right) will almost always sky-rocket your chance of a second interview.

Highlight Your Skills & Achievements That Relate To The Position

This one can be slightly tricky unless you know what you’re doing. The main point I will hammer in your head is that telling someone something will not influence them effectively. You must show them through the use of anecdotes. Consider this, imagine that a stranger is telling you about how smart their dog is. Assuming you have never met the dog and don’t know this person, you will probably not care. But what if this stranger was telling you a story about the time their dog tipped the pizza delivery guy? The stranger didn’t tell me that his dog is smart, he showed it to me. You must avoid shoving your opinions on others, instead you should let them come to that conclusion.

Highlight The Reasons This Position Belongs To You

Avoid sounding cocky when you use this technique. The goal here is to sound like you are already prepared for the position. A prepared job applicant is a huge ‘turn-on’ for human resources. Would you rather receive a puppy that pees everywhere or a puppy that is already potty-trained? Don’t worry, I know you aren’t a puppy. And hopefully you don’t pee everywhere. Anyways there is always the ‘cover letter writing service‘ route. If you want to land more job interviews then you need to follow this advice. Well good luck on your job application process. Feel free to comment with more tips and advice for our readers