Job Cover Letters Are More Important Than You Thought...

Every single one of the Job Cover Letters you write are equally as important as your resume or CV which you know is important.

What I must stress is that I don't want you to think that the cover letter you send with your resume or CV for the job application is just an extra bit of paper or something that you're supposed to do. It really is far more important than that.

When you send the package of information which is your job application, in response to a job advert, whether its by email or traditional mail, the only thing that matters is that you get a reaction and that means your letter has to be read and the reader must immediately know that she has to interview YOU. Look at this CV cover letter to see what I mean.

Now you may not be an expert writer, but that doesn't mean that you can't create a brilliant cover letter, all you need is a little help and understanding of what job cover letters are there for. You can use a professional CV or resume writer who will usually provide you with a free cover letter as well (like I do, see my CV writing services page), or you can use a point and click product like Jimmy Sweeney's 'Amazing Cover Letter Creator' which you use yourself to produce crafted job cover letters that really do get results.

Whichever way you choose to write your job cover letters, please remember that the package of information you submit MUST be good enough to get you to an interview. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS at this point.

Job Cover Letters Must Get This Right...

• You can easily lose the reader with your first sentence if it follows the same line as most other people. A typical opening sentence like this: "I wish to apply for the job you advertised on your company website" is unlikely to grab the attention of a hiring manager who has already read the same line a dozen times.

  You must go straight in with a compelling first sentence that summarizes what you can bring to the job and why you should be considered.

• Readers of your job cover letters want to see specific statements that relate to the job advert and your understanding of it. So, when you write your cover letter, you must to stress your relevant background experience and highlight your achievements in four or five bullet points which can be easily scanned to capture the interviewer's interest quickly.

• Your bullet points should address the specific requirements of the job advert and identify the experience and skills you possess to leave the interviewer in no doubt that you can do the job. Look out for the 'killer criterion' and address that first and forcefully.

• People will avoid reading something that doesn't look easy to read, so both layout and content matter. Your letter must be easy to read ; I would suggest Arial as a good font choice and use minimum 11 or 12-point size. Check everything is both present and clear.

• In my opinion, the package of information - job cover letters, CV and / or resume is actually used to reject you and cut down the number of applicants to be considered. Why do I say that? Because feedback from my HR clients tells me so. The interviewer will throw out any applications that have typos and spelling mistakes, because that says the applicant just couldn't be bothered to get it right and do they want to interview such a person? NO.

  And please, include your contact details, otherwise they can't get you in for an interview and it will all be wasted

Getting Cover Letters Help

Because Job Cover Letters that get you interviews are the MOST essential part of your job search and application process, 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.

Do you need some Cover letter examples, because what you need is the right letter layout for your application that shows off not only your key strengths and relevant experience, but also demonstrates your interest in the job so that the prospective employer immediately feels the need to interview you! Take a look at this page of cover letters for some very creative ways of writing your letter.

Please note: You can freely copy any of these cover letter examples for your own personal use. You may not sell any of these examples or give them away.

You are here: Job Cover Letters. Follow this link to get tons more information about the best way to prepare your cover letters.

Go back to the home page of Your Career Change website.

Looking for something more specific about writing job cover letters?

Need an answer to an interview question? A CV or Resume layout? How to start Networking?

Just enter your keyword in the search box below to find your answer on this site or anywhere else on the web. You will see some adverts that may be of interest since Google targets ads to your particular interests, but your results will be below that.