How To Write a Cover Letter

3. The Creative Letter

The creative cover letter allows you to expose your competencies, experience, and personality without wasting the reader’s time. Start by expressing your interest in the job directly. Also, describe your schooling and skills briefly in that first paragraph.

From that point on, you can expand on that initial information with a lighthearted tone. In a letter like this, “My husband wishes I’d just close the laptop and go to bed” is a great way of saying you often work at home.

End the letter with a paragraph about your achievements at your previous workplace, university, or school. After which you’ll sign off with warm regards. The creative cover letter is best suited to companies that have shown character in the job description.

4. Professional Cover Letter

When you have a unique set of skills and experience, there may be fewer jobs to suit your profile than there are for the student just starting out. You can actually see what the market looks like by using online resources and then start applying for positions once you’ve found something you like.

Using a professional cover letter is great for law, engineering, accounting, and other such professions.

Use formal language and avoid contractions. Present your ‘argument’ as to what makes you a good candidate in a structured manner. Open with previous experience, list your qualifications, and write a polite paragraph about the ways your skill set will benefit the firm. Any awards or certificates you have been given should also be mentioned in your cover letter.

It’s vital that you use formal formatting for the letter’s layout.

Before you enter into certain careers, you’ll need a specialised degree, and you can add a cover letter if you’re applying to a college or university as if it were a job. Most applications these days are done online, but you can upload a cover letter along with the rest of the required documentation.

Briefly summarise your scholastic achievements in the first paragraph, your extramural activities in the second, and your enthusiasm to be studying in the third. Most colleges also look at life skills and experience as well as academic achievement.

7. Sales and Marketing Cover Letter Examples

A particular type of person is good at sales and marketing. Companies want people who are upbeat, convincing, adaptable, but also very technically adept. In your cover letter, you’ll want to come across as likable and well-informed about the product or objective. This will also tie into the personal statement that goes into your CV.

8. Software and Engineering Letters

It’s standard practice to write your cover letter simply so that an HR manager from outside the field can understand the content. However, when you apply for a job in IT, IS, or Engineering, you don’t have to avoid jargon.

Demonstrate your aptitude with a little jargon as this can lift your resume to the top of the pile. Any specific qualifications or further education you have completed should also be highlighted in your cover letter.

9. Consultant Cover Letter

Key elements for a consultant to highlight is their technical competency and then how competitive their rates are. If you want to outshine other prospective consultants, you could hint that your fees are lower or better for the service you’re providing. Listing previous clients can also help add prestige to your cover letter.

Wondering why you left your previous company is a key element in hiring decisions. If you’re changing jobs you have to convince the hiring manager that you’re doing it for sincere reasons.

While expanding on skills and experience, add details about your reason for change as well. As a rule, talking about what drew you to the new job is better than what drove you away from the old one.