How can you make your cover letter concise and to the point?

To make your cover letter concise and to the point: 1. Start with a clear and engaging opening sentence that grabs attention. 2. Focus on key achievements and qualifications relevant to the job, avoiding unnecessary details. 3. Use bullet points to highlight accomplishments and skills, making it easier for the reader to scan. 4. Keep paragraphs short and focused, emphasizing the most important information. 5. Use strong and active language, avoiding passive voice and unnecessary filler words. 6. Be selective with content, including only what is essential to convey your fit for the position. By following these tips, you can ensure your cover letter is concise, impactful, and effectively communicates your suitability for the position.

When I work with resume clients, I always give them two cover letter templates as a gift, but customized with the same header as on their resume, so they have a branded look. One cover letter is paragraph style and the other is T-style, which is my favorite. The T-style cover letter will allow you to tailor it to the job by putting exact verbiage bullet points on the left side of the T with the requirements right from the job description. On the right side of the T, you use your own verbiage as to how you match. You are basically handing yourself to the employer on a silver platter and writing with concise, skimmable, and scannable bullet points.

Would you ever dare use a fill in the blank love letter from Loveletters.com this Valentine's Day? Of course not. So if you wouldn't do it during dating or in your relationship, don't do it during job search. What do I mean? So many people take random cover letter templates, fill in a few blanks, and submit that with their resume. Rinse and repeat, and they wonder why the resume and cover that are not being read?: Employers can see from a mile away whether or not you've put effort and time into your cover letter and the resume. Want to stand out? It's as easy as 1, 2, 3 ... 1. Scan the job posting. 2. Pick 4 to 5 top qualifications 3. Match each one of those key qualifications It's that simple.

1. Start by addressing the hiring manager directly and succinctly stating your purpose. 2. Highlight key qualifications and experiences relevant to the job in a few impactful sentences. For example, if applying for a marketing role, emphasize your track record in increasing brand visibility and driving ROI. 3. Avoid redundancy and unnecessary details, every word should contribute to your candidacy. 4. Conclude with a strong call to action, expressing your enthusiasm for the opportunity. 5. By adhering to brevity and clarity, your cover letter becomes a powerful tool to capture the recruiter's attention swiftly.

Crafting a concise cover letter involves pinpointing key achievements and aligning them with the job's needs. I spotlight my specific skills and demonstrate their impact through quantifiable achievements. Keeping it brief, I aim for three impactful paragraphs, ensuring every word adds value. The goal is to captivate interest, convey enthusiasm, and showcase a direct match between my capabilities and the role's requirements. I also try to bring in some personal elements that they cannot find on my LinkedIn or resume to add more to my brand story.

Whether this is a referral or not, it is good to mention how you came to know about this opportunity, this helps them to monitor the success of their recruitment methods. If it is a referral, then you have someone who can vouch for you and maybe even big you up a little. Make sure you follow through on that and remember that someone in the business has vouched for you. Your behaviour from that point reflects on this person for good or for bad.

Craft a cover letter that's brief yet impactful: Focus on essentials, use powerful language, avoid repetition, be specific with examples, trim unnecessary words, stick to one page, customize for the role, and end with a strong conclusion.

The first paragraph needs to be a quick introduction to you and the value you are going to bring to the business. Instead of focusing solely on why you want the job, emphasise how the company will benefit from hiring you, linking your contributions to their values, which you can often find on their careers page or the role profile. The second paragraph needs to then explain why your top 2-3 skills align perfectly with this role. Provide concrete examples from your past experiences where you've applied these skills effectively and the positive outcomes of your actions. Conclude your letter with a note of gratitude and highlight the appropriate ways they can reach out to you.

In the cover letter, directly explain why you're applying. It could be the match to the job, the interest in the company, being referred, etc. Think in the context of the reader, what are they interested in? Who are you, what do you do, and what can you do? If it's generic, it's pointless for both you and the reader to complete it.

The cover letter is a great place ot mention details you would have liked to include in the CV had you more room or opportunity to do so. It is also another way to include keywords that you can't lay claim to in terms of skills or experience. For example, if you have used QuickBooks, but the business uses Xero, a quick line: 'I notice that you are using Xero. I have used QuickBooks for 2 years and would definitely be willing to undertake any learning to upskill' You've used the keyword in an honest way, good for ATS data scrapes and allows the reader to confirm that you have tailored your application.

There are no cover letter rules. Despite what your college counselor tells you, be authentic and break the rules. Stand out. If you're authentic, you'll attract the right company or manager.

Poor proofreading/editing can ruin a GREAT cover letter! Make sure you have the correct company/contact name and that it is spelled correctly. Use spellcheck, Grammarly, or other similar tools to make sure there are no typos, missing commas, or other mistakes. When tailoring your cover letter to a specific job, be sure to change it when applying to other positions. It might be helpful to have a couple of versions of your cover letter that highlight different areas of your experience and how it relates to a certain job.

CHECK, CHECK AND CHECK AGAIN!! Nothing is worse when you’re applying for multiple roles and you send the prospective employer the wrong cover letter, it shows lack of due care and attention.

Start by clearly stating your interest in the position and highlighting your most relevant achievements and skills. Tailor each paragraph to address specific job requirements, demonstrating how your experience aligns with the company's needs. Avoid unnecessary details or generic phrases, and instead, use concrete examples to showcase your qualifications. Keep paragraphs short for readability and maintain a professional tone throughout. Proofread carefully to ensure clarity and correctness before sending.

Communicate how your personal values resonate with the mission and values of the company to which you are applying. Include a section describing the Value You Offer, as well as Why I Want to Work With that particular company. EX: Why I Want to Work with Google I share Google’s commitment to significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible. I share Google’s core values to respect the user, respect the opportunity, and respect each other. These values govern how I will conduct myself in pursuit of Google’s mission. The Value I Offer Am a collaborative team member, never afraid to roll up my sleeves to do whatever is necessary to execute the day-to-day plan. And include a section: How Can I Help You? The point is: Hire Me.

The ending of the letter is really important, you want to include a call to action, but not too pushy. "I welcome the opportunity to discuss my application at greater length and look forward to hearing from you in due course". Your application may be speculative and there may not be anything available at the moment. That's fine, but never say: 'Please keep my application on file'. That almost sounds like you have given up from the start. You want the recruiter to contact you even if it is only to tell you that. You will have the opportunity to talk and that is 100% better than being 'on file' for an undetermined length of time.

Most people say writing a cover letter is really hard, but it doesn't have to be. One strategy to help get through the writing of one, is to set a timer. I recommend 15 minutes - then spend that time focusing on the first paragraph. After your timer goes off, evaluate your progress. Then, set it again for the next paragraph, and so on. This helps with productivity and minimizes the chances we go down a rabbit hole 'researching' in order to start writing our cover letter. This way, we actually put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and start moving to a final product. The best thing about writing is before it's final, you can delete and tweak!