This may come as a surprise but recruiters love cover letters. For recruiters they are a great way for applicants to express their excitement for a job and for hiring managers get a personable insight into you the applicant. Now, we don't mean the old drum of the standard cover letter... Follow these 6 top tips to allow you to stand out from the crowd.
Nowadays, cover letters are seen as unnecessary and applicants are more ficus din providing a link to their LinkedIn profile or even applying to a role using their LinkedIn profile and not a CV. However, recruiters can receive over 150 applicants for a single job advert and many candidates are falling short of presenting their motivations and aspirations in this competitive crowd of CV's.
As Recruiters we've written 6 tips to help you write compelling well-crafted cover letters.
1. Tip numbero Uno: Keep in short because cover letters are not your manifesto. too.The recommended length of a cover letter is about two to three paragraphs.
2. Your qualifications: It may not always look obvious to recruiters or hiring managers how your qualifications are relevant, specifically if you're moving to a different role or industry sector. Be clear on why the role is right for you and your career.
3. Show your personality: Be porofesisoan in your cove letter but also use personable language. For example, as I sat here in my local coffee shop thinking about ow to write the opening sentence for this article...
4. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable. If your changing careers, talk abut why. You have spent time and possible money re training to make a career change. You can describe how you decide on your next destination and how this fits in with the role you're applying too and the experience you bring to it.
5. As yourself why are you really applying for the role: What can you bring from your personal and professional experience to this position: Explore your background... do you know more than one language and how? Do you have living or travel experience abroad and/or experience of different cultures... all of this can give you a way to look at things from a unique perspective. If this is you, tell the recruiter!
6. Lastly, keep it focused. Don't go off on a tangent, rather make sure your writing about your career path and how it is directly connected to the specific role your applying too and how your experience and motivations are relevant to that role.
Short for time...get out free cover letter template here