How to Create Cover Letter

How to Create Cover Letter- I’m sure you know how to write a cover letter for resume. But, you don’t know how to create cover letter , right? No worries! This article will leave you with vital information to help you craft the perfect cover letter. I promise it won’t be too difficult! Let me take care of everything for you.

Let’s face it: no employer will be able to read your cover letter if your spelling and grammar are terrible. In this article, you’ll learn what makes a good cover letter and how to create a great one. However, we’ll start with understanding things like what is a cover letter and how impress your potential employer.

Use a Professional Cover Letter Header 

Yup, the basics first. The letter header of every professional cover letter for a job application should include the following:

• Your name
• Your phone number
• Your email address
• The date
• The name of the hiring manager and their professional title
• The name and address of the company to which you’re applying

Optionally, you can add:

• Your professional title
• Your home address
• Links to your professional websites
• Your social media accounts (applicable only for LinkedIn and Twitter)
• Your city of residence (it’s not mandatory but adds a professional touch—include it if your cover letter is highly official)

Just remember to keep it professional:

• Use an email address from a respected provider—that means either Gmail or your personal domain (if you have one.)
• Your email address should only include your first and last name—[email protected] or [email protected] will be deal-breakers.
• Don’t use your current work address to send your email cover letter. It’s impolite to both your current and potential future employer.
• Make sure your contact information is consistent across your resume, cover letter, and social media profiles.

Want to save time and have your professional job application ready in minutes? Here are a sample cover letter and a matching resume made with our resume and cover letter builder.

Open Your Cover Letter with a Proper Greeting

Who do you address a cover letter to?

Directly to the hiring manager who’ll read it.

The greeting of your cover letter (i.e., the salutation) might be the very first thing the hiring manager sees. That makes it one of the most important parts of a cover letter. There’s one great, foolproof strategy to make your greeting catch her attention:

Dear Katherine,

That’s right. Her name.

If we hear or see our name, we react. Focus on what comes next. There’s a lot of science behind this:

Once the hiring manager sees her name in the greeting of your cover letter, she’s going to feel like she’s found something tailored specifically for her. It will feel personal, she’ll know whatever comes next might just be the exact information she’s been looking for.

All of the following are good examples of professional cover letter greetings.

Sample cover letter greetings:

• Dear Katherine,
• Dear Miss Jones,
• Dear Ms. Smith,
• Dear Mrs. Ford,
• Dear Mr. McConnor,

How do you find out the hiring manager’s name?

Do some research!

There are multiple ways to find out who your hiring manager is. You can learn about them in our dedicated guide: How to Address a Cover Letter: Sample & Guide [20+ Examples]

If you’re unable to find the name by any means possible, opt for Dear Hiring Manager. Avoid starting your cover letter “to whom it may concern”.

Who to address a cover letter to if there’s no name of the hiring manager provided?

Have a look at those sample cover letter to whom it may concern greetings:

• Dear Sales Team Hiring Manager,
• Dear Hiring Manager,
• Dear [XYZ Company] Team,
• To Whom It May Concern

Done with the header and greeting? Now it’s time for the meat and potatoes. The central paragraphs of your cover letter.

How to get them right?

Go for the three paragraph cover letter format:

• The first paragraph to grab the hiring manager’s attention
• The second to show what you’ve got to offer
• The third to prove that you’ll fit in

Write an Attention-Grabbing Introduction

First impressions matter, especially when it comes to your job search.

Recruiters get hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of applications. Chances are, they’re not going to be reading every single cover letter end-to-end.

So, it’s essential to catch their attention from the very first paragraph.

The #1 problem we see with most cover letter opening paragraphs is that they’re usually extremely generic. Most of them look something like this..

See the issue here? This opening paragraph doesn’t say pretty much anything except the fact that you’ve worked the job before.

Do you know who else has similar work experience? All the other applicants you’re competing with.

Instead, you want to start off with 2-3 of your top achievements to really grab the reader’s attention. Preferably, the achievements should be as relevant as possible to the position.

See the difference between the two examples? If you were the hiring manager, which sales manager would you hire, Jonathan or Michael?

Exactly!

Now that we’ve covered the introduction, let’s talk about the body of your cover letter. This part is split into two paragraphs: the first is for explaining why you’re the perfect person for the job, and the latter is for proving that you’re a good fit for the company.

Write a Catchy Opening Paragraph

Here’s the brutal truth:

These few sentences at the beginning of your cover letter will determine whether the hiring manager will read on.

You need to make your cover letter introduction attract and hold the hiring manager’s interest.

Have a look at these two sample cover letter opening paragraphs:

Why is it so bad?

Because it provides no value and no details. The bottom line is basically “I’ve already done this job so I think I’d fit in.” That’s not what the hiring manager is looking for.

Now, see a properly written cover letter opening example:

Explain Why You’re The Perfect Candidate 

You see a job posting from your dream employer. The name of the job is the same as your current position. You’ve been a very successful professional so far.

This means, to get that job you just have to show off your best assets in your cover letter, right?

Wrong!

Your cover letter is not a trophy case.

So—

What to write in a cover letter’s second paragraph?

You need to get the hiring manager exactly what she’s looking for. You have to show that you’re going to satisfy the company’s specific needs.

Remember Jane, our digital marketing manager candidate? The XYZ company to which she’s applying needs:

• First of all, a savvy digital marketing manager (1).
• And, on top of that, someone who will supervise the development of their new online portal (2).

Finish with a concise, direct closing paragraph

When writing your cover letter closing, be polite, confident, and continue to sell yourself as the best candidate for the job. It’s important to write your final paragraph thoughtfully and strategically, so be sure to:

• Thank the hiring manager for reviewing your application
• Summarize why you’d be a good hire
• Restate your excitement about the job opportunity
• Politely ask the reader to send you an invitation to interview

Here’s an excellent cover letter closing example:

Conclusion:

When trying to get your foot in the door with a potential employer or internship, it’s important to speak to them with words that are meaningful to them. When you aim for that shared understanding in your cover letter, you are more likely to have your talents recognized, discover what they are looking for, and come across as appealing to hire. A cover letter can also give you an opportunity to highlight some work or internship experience you have in the same industry so that the hiring company will believe you may be a good candidate for their field.