6 Tips on Writing a Cover Letter That Stands Out

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Microfinance Jobs
Advice, Information Jul 25, 2022 0

How many times have you backed off from a job just because the application process chose to include the compulsory inclusion of cover letters, and you don’t know how to impress your interviewers with the same.

Well, fret not, for MicrofinanceJobs.net is here to help. We suggest some tips for you to work on improving the way cover letters can be written.

Some of these tips are as follows:

Keep it short and under one page

Hiring Managers are probably occupied with an n number of applicants, they might not go through every word of every cover letter that they receive. Therefore, keep in mind that the cover letter directly speaks to them and is under the word count that catches the managers’ attention and retains it.

Write more than 200 words but not more than 400. Keep it in that range, and divide the same into 2-3 paragraphs.

Do Sign Off Your Cover Letter

It’s important to leave your mark of identity on your resume as well as on your cover letter. It also adds a professional layer to your application when you do that.

Be it handwritten, typed, or digitalised, sign off in blue or black ink at the end. This increases the chance of leaving an impression on the hiring employer.

Say how you’re qualified right from the start

Quickly establish yourself as qualified and worthy of the employers’ time by sharing your capabilities and your contributions to your previous employment that match the requirements of the workplace you’re applying at.

Choose the skills you’re most confident in and learn to highlight the same right off the bat. Do share the numbers of relevant qualifications and experience as well but don’t overdo it. Always remember that everything you include in your cover letter should be in accordance with the requirements of the job you have applied for. And the company you have chosen to work for.

Share how you found the job opening

Do mention how you came across the company’s job openings and what made you apply and go after the opening. This helps in case you have a reference who works at the company you applied to or some other resources that increase your chances of approval.

Remember, if you have been referred, mention that foremost, so they recognise who you are. Hiring managers will surely appreciate that you are considering enough to share the process behind the application as well vis a vis how you discovered them in the first place. This allows them to get an idea about their reach.

Include Numbers

Substantiate your cover letter. But how does one do that? They include numbers. Hard evidence of your accomplishments makes it almost impossible for the hiring manager to ignore. Say you worked at a sales department and contributed to increasing sales. Now, how much? Mention if it was 10% or 20% or 40%. Include the quantity and express in numbers how you have handled and actualised the work you did.

You can also mention how many people you coordinated and managed and a team of how many people you worked with as a superior to.

Avoid jargon or abbreviations

We know we said to keep it short and under one page in the first point but that doesn’t mean that you compensate by using unnecessary jargon and abbreviations even when they are not required.

Professionalism starts from the application process itself, and it reflects first on your resume and cover letter. Make your tone professional and avoid using abbreviations. Rather, spell them out. We can’t expect the hiring manager to know every abbreviation. They can even get confused with too much jargon. Avoid that at all costs and write full, complete, strong active voice sentences.

How about that? We didn’t want to overwhelm you with too many tips so we specifically chose some of the most important ones according to us.

What do you think? Reference was taken from here, and here.

You can go through the same.

Let us know what you think. And share your thoughts below in the comments.

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