What Should a Good Cover Letter Include?

Anytime you are writing a cover letter, there are specific information that needs to be included: a contact section, a salutation, an introduction to the hiring manager, information on why you are qualified for the job, a closing, and your signature. The way the information is listed and the format depend on how you are sending your letter.

In this article, you will learn those things a great Cover Letter says; What to include in a great cover letter, What not to include in your cover letter, Some Questions to ask before sending your cover letter for that job application.

Some Questions People also ask Relating to What Should a Good Cover Letter Include

  • What are the 4 tips for a great cover letter?
  • What should a good cover letter include?
  • How do you write an effective cover letter?
  • What are the 4 parts of a cover letter?
  • What are 3 things that you should definitely not do on your cover letter?
  • What are the 3 types of cover letters?
  • What should not be included in a cover letter?
  • What do employers look for in a cover letter?

Examples of What to Say in a Cover Letter

A perfect cover letter for your resume is made of the following four parts:

  • Salutation: A professional greeting that addresses the hiring manager by name
  • Introduction: An attention-grabbing opening paragraph that introduces yourself, your intention to apply for the open role
  • Body paragraphs: At least two paragraphs describing your relevant professional experience, achievements, skills, and education
  • Closing paragraph: A cover letter ending that contains a call to action (CTA), asking the hiring manager to invite you in for an interview

What to include in a Good Cover Letter

Success lies within the effort you put in. Revisit your previous resume research and use it to inform and tailor your content to the job description you want to apply.

  • What does the company do, what are their products, who are their customers?
  • What markets do they serve, what challenges do they face, who are their competitors?
  • What does the role involve, what are the objectives, what skills do you need?

Concentrate on the following points:

  • Write to a named person. If necessary ring HR, ask who to address your application to.
  • Show some added value. Have you got an extra skill or experience not asked for, but which would be highly valuable?
  • Appeal to underlying needs. If you understand the hiring manager’s problems you can focus on presenting skills or experience that would help.
  • Show your personality. Be a focused business-like professional, but show genuine enthusiasm and a reason why you love this market, product or job.
  • Use key-words. If they want a widget manager and you say, “I’m a widget manager,” you’re halfway there already. Play to their highlighted desires in the job ad.
  • Include contact details. Don’t rely on your email address making it cleanly through an email trail.

What not to include in your cover letter

There are some things that should never be in your cover letter. Below are some of the things:

  • Typos or mistakes. Always spellcheck your cover letter before sending it out. Double-check everything in your cover letter.
  • Don’t repeat your resume. Present added value and hooks into your resume.
  • Avoid hyperbole and exaggeration. Don’t say, “I’m excellent at …”. Who says?
  • Don’t get off-track. Irrelevant words waste time and disappoint the reader.
  • Don’t beg. Emotional please show you as self-centered and are a turn-off.
  • Leave out your life-story. That’s in your resume, effectively.
  • Don’t mention your other job applications. It’s best not to mention other job applications.

Questions to ask before sending your cover letter

  • Have I clearly introduced myself and my professional experience within the first two sentences of the cover letter?
  • Is my cover letter format unique, and does my cover letter stand out?
  • Have I highlighted my most relevant qualifications and achievements?
  • Have I mentioned the information I found out about the company as well as the role I am applying for?
  • Have I highlighted why I want to work for this company?
  • Is my cover letter neat, clean, and well-presented?
  • Is my cover letter error-free?
  • Is my cover letter short and concise?
  • Do I ask for an interview in the cover letter?

You should also read this interesting article titled, How to Write a Perfect Cover Letter in 6 Steps.

by Scholars Hub

Scholars Hub is a site created for Scholars, to guide you write professional CV, professional Resume, Biodata, Common Interview Questions and Answers. Tlcpost.com is NOT awarding scholarships, is NOT an employment site, NOT recruiter or agency or third party, and tlcpost.com is NOT directly or indirectly involve in any stage of recruitment or employment. We don’t charge anything for any information shared in this site.

The aim of setting up this interesting site is to help Scholars/Students, mostly from developing countries, by sharing and giving you some guidelines to write professional CV, Professional Resume for Job application, including some Common Interview Questions and Answers.

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