Education & Reference / How to Write a Cover Letter
How to Write a Cover Letter
Many people do not like covering letters1. They do not read them themselves and this is why they think that writing them is a waste of time. But most specialists recommend writing a covering letter every time when you apply for a job or send someone documents or a parcel of goods. It gives you a chance to explain the point.
The most difficult task in writing a cover letter is to make potential employers, clients or companions pay attention to it and read it to the end. Our step-by-step guidance on making the letter will help you to use its full potential.
Structure of a Cover Letter
A cover letter should consist of the following elements:
Begin with a letterhead. As a rule, it includes your full name and contact data (address, e-mail, telephone number, etc).
Note the name and address of the recipient.
Write the date, which is usually right-aligned.
The recipient should be referred to by his proper title (Dr., Mr., etc). If you do not know who will read the letter, just write, "Dear Sir or Madam".
State the purpose of you cover letter in the first paragraph. Explain the recipient why you have written to him in a couple of sentence. Try to make yourself as clear as possible.
If you apply for some open position, mention your qualifications in the middle part of your letter. Let them realize that you know the history and background of the company, and explain why you suit them.
The final paragraph should motivate the reader to contact you. Make it no more than four sentences and thank for consideration.
Write a closing and add "Regards" or "Sincerely".
After several spaces put in your name and signature.
As a rule, a cover letter accompanies resume, some documents or goods. In such a case indicate that it contains an enclosure.
Then review the cover letter and spell-check it. Avoid misspellings, the passive tense and colloquial speech. Reading aloud helps to find mistakes and hear how the text reads.