Are you looking for answers to “What is a cover letter?”, ” How to write a simple cover letter?” or What should be in a well-written cover letter? then you are in the right place.
Knowing how to write a very good cover letter is very important if you look forward to applying for a job for several reasons.
A Cover letter, also known as a Motivation Letter, Statement of Motivation, or Letter of Introduction is one of the most important one-page documents capable of determining our fate in most recruitment processes.
The purpose of a good cover letter gives a summary of your professional life which lures recruiters to take a look or a second look at your CV.
Reasons Why You Need A Good Cover Letter
- A good cover letter positively affects your CV open rate. This gives you a higher chance of being a call for an interview.
- There is always a story you might not be able to tell in person. Having a good cover letter enables you to summarize the career history recruiters would want to hear without unnecessarily having to look at your CV.
- A good cover letter allows you to tell the recruiter how you believe you are a good man for the job.
8 Features a Good Cover Letter Should Have
There are so many officials and approved ways or formats of writing a cover letter. But you should note that a cover letter is no different from the official letter I believe we were thought to write in school.
A cover letter should have the following features:
- Applicants’ address, ( either at the upper right corner of our letter or in a letterhead format)
- Date
- It should be address addressed to a receiving personality (either the Director of the company you are applying for, the Hiring Officer, or the HR, if no name was stated in the job circular as the receiving personality)
- The above should be followed by the address of the company you are applying for. The full name of the company and the recruiting branch should be stated if there is no known address.
- Dear (First Name of Hiring Manager). If a name is not known, use Sir/Madam
- Job Title (this does not apply to all cover letters) the title of or cover letter should state your intentions for reaching out to the said company or applying for the job in question
- The body: The Body of a good cover letter should have at least four and a most five paragraphs with each paragraph spelled out.
- First Paragraph: The Objective of the letter. this includes introducing yourself, your credentials, and exhibitable qualities that can add value to the institution if given the job.
- Second Paragraph: This should focus on your higher academic attainments and work experiences. These experiences should be relevant to the job you are applying for
- Third Paragraph: This section should focus on your knowledge about the company. At least you should take time to learn about the company something you can use to your advantage.
- Fourth Paragraph: This section should focus on some skillset or competencies you might have acquired that will come as an additional help to the company you are applying to. (This can be in teams of IT or other related skill sets you think the company might need)
- Fifth and Last Paragraph: this section should focus on your conclusion. You should state your availability to meet for further discussion. in this section, you should also make known all the relevant documents you used in applying for the said position and if possible your email address and phone number should also be spelled out in this section.
- Close your letter
Yours Sincerely,
Signed:
Name:
Email:
Phone number:
LinkedIn profile URL: (if you have any)
Conclusion
As the name Cover may suggest, it is the very first page read by most recruiters and it as well determines your fate as an applicant applying for a job. We hope the above step-by-step guide gives you a vivid picture of what recruiters are looking for and what you must include in your letter to land a good job.
