1. What is the purpose of a cover letter? The cover letter is the letter that will be sent to an organization (company, association, etc.) to apply for the position you desire. It can be a handwritten letter (some companies wanting to conduct a graphic analysis), but today sending a cover letter directly in the email or as an attachment (Word or PDF format) has become the norm.
The objective of a cover letter is to show your interlocutor in a few sentences that you have understood the positioning of the organization, that you will be able to bring your skills and succeed in the tasks assigned to you.
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The impression that the recruiter has of your cover letter is based solely on these elements – it is pointless to recount your personal life or your passionate feelings for the approached organization.
The recruiter just wants to know if you have (even a minimum) knowledge of their organization and if you are able to highlight your skills and/or experience.
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A good cover letter will make them want to know you a little more and encourage them to read your CV. On the other hand, a bad cover letter can result in the recruiter not even reading your resume.
We have already encountered situations where the cover letter alone convinced that the candidate was the right one!
There are two types of cover letters:
- Response to an advertisement : you write a cover letter to respond to an advertisement published in a newspaper, online, read in a recruitment agency, etc…
- Spontaneous application : you write this type of letter to get in touch with organizations that you think might hire you.
In the first case, it is important to highlight the suitability of your profile in relation to the position proposed in the advertisement.
In the second case, it is more interesting to highlight the suitability of your profile in relation to the organization itself.
The content of the cover letter should highlight your strengths for the position and the role.
For the cover letter to be effective, it must explain your resume.
Indeed, through the cover letter, you can provide explanations for any job changes or periods of unemployment in your CV.
But it can also be the means to highlight certain points of your resume in relation to the position you are applying for. Indeed, you can use this letter to highlight previous jobs or training that are an asset for this position.
This letter should also present your future career goals and argue your qualities. This email should showcase your expertise for the desired position.
The cover letter should not be a literal form of your CV, but should complement your CV. One should not assume that this letter will not be read by the recipient, because that is not the case. It should make the recipient want to read it completely and be engaging.
The cover letter helps recruiters to separate different candidates for a position. Therefore, it must have relevant content.
A cover letter should be short and dynamic. It should answer the two questions that recruiters ask themselves: what can this candidate bring to my company and is he/she capable of succeeding in this position? When writing your cover letter, you should keep these two questions in mind to formulate a letter that gives them the answer. By addressing these questions, this letter will attract the recruiter’s attention and lead to a potential interview or contact.
The purpose of the cover letter is to introduce yourself and capture the reader’s attention. Therefore, a cover letter should not be written quickly. You should take your time, read it again, and even have a third person read it.
To write a cover letter, you need to prepare and put all the assets on your side. Thus, before writing your cover letter, you should bring your CV, the advertisement if you are applying through it, research the company and the profession you want, and list the points of your CV that are an asset for your application. The cover letter is an important document as it is a testament to your application file and can be the starting point of a hiring process. It is the first step towards a new job. A successful cover letter is one that leads to contact.
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