Cover Letter Mistakes You Must Avoid Or Fail To Win Interviews

Cover Letter mistakes are easily made and with every resume submission, you should have a cover letter that presents you as a positive and qualified candidate for the job.

Your cover letter should be able to stand alone if necessary and highlight areas of your resume which promote those areas of your professional experience which the prospective employer requires. Mostly it should address positively any questions an employer may have about hiring you for the job. Also see my Top 10 Cover Letter writing Tips for even more cover letter writing help.

There are five common cover letter mistakes outlined below that you must avoid in order to get through the first round of resume review and move one step closer to getting the job that you want.

1. Generic Greetings

Addressing the cover letter using a generic greeting, or misspelling the name of the personal contact or the company. The address line is the most prominent part of the cover letter; it should be included even if the cover letter is sent via email. Generic greetings are not favored; they make it seem like you have a template for your cover letter and you simply send it to all employers you are interested in working for. Do the research and find out who the appropriate contact is for the cover letter.

However, make sure that their name and the company name is spelled correctly. If your address line contains errors, cover letter mistakes like this mean your cover letter is likely to never make it to the hiring manager.

2. What They Can Do For You

Telling the company what they can do for your career rather than what you can do for the organization. Simply stated, employers care only about your qualifications and what you can do for the company. Do not waste your time telling the company how working for them can be great for your career. What your potential employers want to hear is how you can benefit their team and add value; they want to know what you can bring to the party that is innovative, and focused on results. Make sure that your resume lets your employer know just why you are the best candidate for the job and that your cover letter highlights it.

3. Repetition Mistakes

Restating your resume makes the inclusion of your cover letter pointless and is one of the most common cover letter mistakes. Do not go over the same information from your resume in your cover letter. Your cover letter is meant to create interest and cause the employer to review your resume in greater detail. Restating the information in your resume doesn’t add anything to your job application. Draw their attention to certain areas of your resume in the context of how such qualifications will benefit the company.

4. I-Strain

Starting every sentence with “I”. While your cover letter is about you, starting each sentence this way will make your employer believe that your communication skills are not up to the level of your professional background. Examine every sentence that begins with “I” and see if you can turn it around to start with another word. For example: “I secured grants totalling $76000 from government...” could become: “Government grants worth a total of $76000 were secured by me...”

5. Please Call Me...

Asking the employer to call you at their convenience. The most generic closing statements in cover letters ask the employer to contact you at their convenience. If you are truly excited about the opportunity with the employer, you won’t want to wait for them to call you back whenever they feel like it. What you should do instead is let them know when you want to follow up – and then do follow up. Close your cover letter by letting your potential employer know that you will contact them, as well as the manner in which you will do so. This shows your interest, and your initiative.

When you know what you're looking for, avoiding cover letter mistakes like these becomes second nature and ensures your application is of the highest standard. Choose the whole set or just the Cover Letter Samples below and make sure you don't make these cover letter mistakes.

Getting Cover Letters Help

Cover Letters that get you interviews are the MOST essential part of your job search and application process. And you need to realize that your letter is not just something to send with your Resume - it is your SALES letter!

Understand this: If you are writing to anybody for a job, whether the job has been advertised or not, your cover letter is more important than your CV or Resume; so if you want a successful career move you cannot afford to get this wrong.

There are two ways you can approach writing letters: you can do it yourself and hope for the best, or you can enlist some professional help.

The small cost involved for professional help is a great investment, because it means you instantly multiply the number of opportunities to land your dream job FASTER than you thought possible!

You can choose which type of professional help you prefer and learn HOW to create exceptionally powerful cover letters - a skill you retain for life, or you can go for the faster "fill in the blanks" approach for an amazingly powerful instant letter.

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