How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter

By Alice Feathers, M.A. TESOL, Professional Editor and Writer

Advertise your unique qualifications
that no one else can offer by writing an effective cover letter!

Make yourself stand out
from all the other job seekers, so your potential employer will move on to the next step—reading your resume!

Get your foot in the door
and secure that all-important job interview by following the tips below and writing the perfect cover letter!

To mail or not to mail, that is the question!
Be the exception, not the rule! Most employers get bombarded with a ton of email cover letters with attached resumes. If you really want to stand out, mail your prospective boss a cover letter and resume by snail mail—three days to the pile on his desk will be better than a forgotten folder in his hard drive!

Use a font that is will attract the reader's eye!
Studies have shown that serif fonts such as Georgia or Times New Roman are easier to read in hard copy than a sans serif font such as Arial. The serif font uses small horizontal lines and flourishes that carry the eye along and make the text easier to read than the rigid vertical lines of a sans serif font.

Address the potential employer personally!
Find out the name of the person who is accepting resumes for the job you want. Create a more favorable impression by using his or her own name in your cover letter, rather than using an impersonal greeting such as 'To Whom It May Concern.' When addressing a woman, it is safer to use 'Ms.' rather than 'Miss' or 'Mrs.' When addressing a man, use 'Mr.' with no nicknames. Use a comma after the greeting, and make sure all names are spelled correctly!

Examples:

Dear Ms. Thomas-Bentley,

Dear Mr. Benson,

State which position you want and how you heard about it.
A large company may be hiring in several departments at once. In your cover letter, briefly state which position you are interested in and how you found out about it.

Example:

I am responding to your ad in the Daily Herald for an editor/proofreader.

Describe your most important qualifications—briefly!
Your resume should give your work history and qualifications in some detail. In your cover letter, briefly mention only the qualifications that are most impressive and pertain exactly to the job opening. Indented bullets or numbered lists of three or five items of fairly equal length are easy to read and show your qualifications at a glance.

Example:

I am the ideal candidate for this position because I have:

1. Three years experience as a proofreader/editor

2. A bachelor's degree in English, summa cum laude

3. Strong English skills in grammar and composition

Alternate Method! You can accomplish the same purpose in your cover letter with a well-worded sentence and not be restricted to making each item in your list a similar length.