The structure of a good cover letter is simple and allows you to get across all the important information you need to make your case as the right choice for a job. Here are the four things you need to include in your cover letter.
1. Contact and personal information
First, you need to include your contact information, which is typically placed as a header that sits at the top of the cover letter:
- Full name
- Phone number
- Physical address — city and state (this can be optional)
- Email address
- Any relevant links, such as a link to your LinkedIn profile
Below your contact information, you should include the hiring manager’s details, such as:
- Their name
- Their job position
- Company address
2. Greeting
The greeting for your cover letter is more important than you might realize. This is partly because the greeting can tell a hiring manager how much work you’ve put into the cover letter and whether you may have just copied and pasted it to every job application you’ve submitted. Try to avoid an extremely generic salutation, such as:
- To Whom It May Concern
- Dear Sir or Madam
- Dear Hiring Manager
These phrases make it seem as though you’ve sent the same letter to many managers or that you didn’t do any research on your potential employer before you applied to the job posting.
Instead, you should address the letter to a specific person (e.g., the hiring manager or someone from human resources). The job description should give you the hiring manager’s name but you may have to do some research on your own to find the hiring manager’s name. A customized cover letter always has a better chance of getting read over a generic one.
- Dear Mr. Smith
- Dear Ms. Smith
- Dear Dr. Smith
3. Opening paragraph
Your first paragraph is your chance to make a good first impression and grab the hiring manager’s attention. Here’s how to do it:
- Speak directly to the hiring manager: Tell the hiring manager your name and why you are writing. If you are responding to a job advertisement, mention where you saw the advertisement and the specific position you’re applying for. If you are applying for a job through a contact, mention the person who referred you.
- Tell the hiring manager what to expect next: If you submit your credentials for the hiring manager to consider, that is what you say in the second sentence of your letter. If your letter has a different intent (i.e., requesting a reference letter), the second sentence in the opening is when you identify that purpose.
In short, your introductory paragraph informs the reader of your interest in the position.
4. Second paragraph
After this, you’ll move on to the body, which may be one or two paragraphs long. Here you’ll dig deeper into the details a hiring manager wants to see. Tie your relevant skills into how you can benefit the company by describing specific work or a relevant accomplishment from your previous role and how you can contribute to the company’s success. Make sure you make this section concise and easy to read. Bullet points may be a good option to point out specific pieces of information.
Avoid repeating what’s in your resume. Instead, discuss one or two projects the hiring managers might find relevant. These should be projects that showed measurable results — i.e., you helped cut costs or initiated a new computer system.
5. Cover letter ending
Your final paragraph should wrap up the letter with a formal closing. Reemphasize your interest in the position and thank the recruiter or hiring manager for considering you. Finish the closing paragraph by stating that you look forward to discussing important details with the hiring manager and inviting them to contact you for an interview.
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