Are you confused about how to write a cover letter for a job application?

You don't need to be confused

This guide will show you how to write the perfect cover letter for a job application. We also included a sample cover letter template to help you get started faster.

With our well-crafted guide, you will learn:
-What a cover letter is
-About the perfect guide to writing a cover letter
-How to structure and format a cover letter

What is a Cover Letter?

Before you start writing your cover letter in the first place, it is important for you to know the aim and purpose of a cover letter in the first place. A cover letter is a document that provides additional information about your skills and experience which is usually accompanied by a resume.

The cover letter provides details about why you are qualified for a particular job. Never make the mistake to think that a cover letter is another copy of your resume, you should rather see it as a sales pitch that will help you get an invite and afterward the job.

The cover letter and the application letter are slightly different because an application letter can stand alone unlike the cover letter that is usually accompanied by the CV. However, it is commonplace for the cover letter and the application letter to be used interchangeably in our society. So when you are asked to submit an application letter as a requirement for a job application, then you can submit the cover letter.

A Guide to Writing the Perfect Cover Letter

These are really simple cover letter guides that would help you get interview invites faster than before:

Heading

A good cover letter should have a heading which usually appears at the beginning of the cover letter. When writing your cover letter, ensure the heading matches with that on your CV. The heading should include your present residential address, phone number, and email address. Always remember to align all text to the left margin.

Example;

Your Contact Information;

Your Name

Your Address

Your City, State Zip Code

Your Phone Number

Your Email Address

Date

Employer Contact Information;

Name

Title

Company

Address

City, State Zip Code

Heading (For email cover letter)

When creating an email cover letter, the format for the heading is slightly different from the hard copy cover letter. When you are writing the email cover letter, the subject of the mail is simply a statement of your intent in applying for a particular role. Unlike when writing the copy cover letter, the heading is simply the subject as explained above – without contact address, e-mail etc.

You will need to use a strong subject line that will give the hiring manager the first impression of you.

Write an Attention Getting Introduction (First Paragraph)

The first paragraph of a cover letter is one of the most important aspects of the cover letter because that is what the recruiter or hiring manager will see first. To write a good cover letter, you should start your introduction with a greeting/salutation. You should start your cover letter salutation with Dear sir./madam./Mr./Mrs.

You should be very careful not to address your hiring manager wrongly when you are trying to greet. You should take your time to research the hiring manager to find out his/her name, but if you can’t do that, then you can simply address them as “Dear Hiring Manager”.

Another information you should add to your first paragraph is introducing yourself. After greeting the recruiter, you can then go ahead to introduce yourself. Introducing yourself doesn’t mean you should tell the recruiter about your life history, you should rather introduce yourself by telling the employer the position you applied for and how you learned about the position. Always remember to keep your introduction short and straight to the point.

Sell Yourself to the Recruiter (Second Paragraph)

Since the cover letter is a marketing tool, then you should seize that opportunity to sell yourself to the recruiter/prospective employer. The second paragraph should more or less be a response to the job description, which gives you an opportunity to convince the hiring manager that you are a good fit for the position.

To properly sell yourself to your hiring manager or prospective employer, you should tell the hiring manager how your skills, previous experiences, and abilities will enable you to meet the company’s expectations. Using words or phrases from the job description in your cover letter can help you sell yourself better.

See Yourself in the Company (Third Paragraph)

In the third paragraph, you have to go a step above selling your skills and abilities the hiring manager. This paragraph has to do with you being a part of the company’s vision. The purpose of this paragraph is to make the hiring manager see how well you fit into the company. This paragraph will require you to carry out a research about the company and its vision.

This paragraph will help explain how you fit into the company structure and how you can help push the company forward to achieve its goals.

Anticipate the interview (Closing Paragraph)

In the closing paragraph of your cover letter, you should restate in a way the skills that make you a good fit for the job and why you would love to work for that particular company. You should also state that you would appreciate the opportunity of an interview/employment discussions. Anticipating the interview will help you prepare better for the interview.

It is also important for you to explain what you intend to do to follow up and how you intend to it (you can tell them that you would send them a mail in one week if you don’t hear from them. Always remember to thank the employer for considering to read your letter.

For email cover letter, the closing can be quite different. You are expected to formally sign off when writing an email cover letter. The sign off can include your contact information or your email signature after your valediction.

Example: Sincerely,

Rose Samuel

Data Entry Manager

Facebook/LinkedIn handle (if necessary)

001-005-6676 (telephone number)

How to Structure and Format Your Cover Letter

Have you thought of structures or formats you should use in your cover letter? Maybe not, but they are really important. Aside from the actual content on the page, the overall structure and format of your cover letter give an impression of you to the hiring manager.

You should also structure and format your cover letter in such a way that it won’t be sifted out on the ATS (applicant tracking system). Since some companies use the ATS to sift cover letters, then it is important for you to format your cover letter. Since ATS usually work based on keywords, then having the right keywords on your cover letter is key. By directly responding to the job description and using phrases from it to describe yourself and skills can help you optimize your letter for the ATS.

General Cover Letter Structure and Format

These are few tips to help you format and structure your cover letter:

Fonts

When you are choosing a font for you tor cover letter ensure to keep it professional and simple. It is not advisable for you to use extremely fanciful fonts for your cover letter. It is better to stick with simple and professional fonts like Arial, Calibri, Verdana, Times New Roman etc. using fanciful font may not make your words clear enough to the recruiter or the ATS.

You should also use size 10 – 12 points for easy better readability. Using a bigger font size will make your letter look unprofessional and a smaller size may be difficult to read.

Alignment

The alignment of margin should be uniform throughout your document. You can use “1­­­­­­­- 1.5” margins, they are always safe. Using the proper margin prevents you from having a cramped up content. Then on alignment, it is advisable to align your content to the left.

Align your text left and use standard 1-inch margins all the way around. If your letter is spilling off onto a second page, first reread it and see if there’s anything you can cut. If you can’t cut anything, you can consider shrinking the margins to ¾” or ½”, but avoid going smaller than that so your cover letter doesn’t look squished on the page.

Spacing

Good spacing is really essential for the readability of your cover letter. Spacing your cover letter well will help your hiring manager read it easily. Make your cover letter single-spaced, it is good to add a space between each section of your cover letter.

Length

You should not have more than 3-4 paragraphs on your cover letter. Try to keep your cover letter to a single page, to achieve this, you must make sure you are able to communicate the essential information in fewer words.

File Format

Your cover letter should be saved in compactible file formats, the file formats should be one that can be easily downloadable. Sometimes hiring managers make use of the applicant tracking system to sift cover letters, so it necessary to save your documents in a compatible format (either word or PDF). You should take note of the name you give to your document, you can rename them to something that is more specific. You can use this format of first name - last name - cover letter (e.g. John – Peters – cover – letter.doc) to make it easily recognizable for the person viewing it.

Edit and Proofread Your Cover Letter

It is very important to proofread your cover letter to be sure there are no errors before you attempt to send them out. It may sound small, but small errors can ruin the whole cover letter. You can read it over and over again or ask a friend to help you go through to make sure there are no errors. To make the editing and proofreading easier, you can make use of grammarly.com it is easier and faster.

Writing a selling cover letter requires a lot of effort to make you stand out from all other candidates applying for the same position. So taking the time to write the perfect cover letter for the job is a great opportunity for you to impress your prospective employers and land your dream job.

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