August blog

Image: The Lost Art of Writing a Cover Letter

Why write a cover letter?

The reality of every job seeker’s mission is to attract the Hiring Managers attention. Yet so often a job seeker will give up the opportunity to create a cover letter, which can be an excellent tool to lure the Hiring Manager into reading your resume!

With the automation of the job search process, a cover letter is no longer required; however, can be submitted under the category of “additional documents”.

A cover letter can make a difference to the Hiring Manager that takes the time to read the cover letter, and a well written can lead to a job interview. Below lists a handful of dos and don’ts to ensure you are writing an impactful cover letter.

Always:

• Personalize your opening paragraph.

• Highlight accomplishments/skills that align to the employer’s needs.

• Be brief. Create a cover letter with no more than four paragraphs.

• Always check for typos and grammatical errors.

Never:

• Reference your job loss.

• Justify why you are pursuing a job.

• Talk about a skill you do not have or need to develop further. 

And most importantly, never submit a cover letter that is heavily influenced by AI. Employers are growing leery of AI generated written material. Why? Because everyone is beginning to sound the same!

The job seeker has found a valuable tool in AI, but when the job seeker depends on AI to create their documents, they are at risk of losing their uniqueness when presenting their value to an employer.

When you keep the human in the creation of your job search documents, you will stand out from the rest in the eyes of the Hiring Manager. They will hear your voice in your written word, which may be just what was needed to land you that job interview!     

For more information about writing an effective, human-centric cover letter and resume– reach out through ArrowCareerConsulting.com