5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Cover Letter

5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Cover Letter 5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Cover Letter After weeks of writing/editing/rewriting/tweaking, you’re pretty sure that you’ve created a killer cover letter, one that is sure to attract the attention of any hiring manager and get you a job. So why haven’t the job offers flooded in yet? It could be that your cover letter is, well, a letdown. Read your cover letter over again and ask yourself these five questions. Is it too long- or short? You have so much to say that a mere page is not enough space to highlight all of your skills and qualifications, and your personality. That’s why you made your cover letter three pages. A hiring manager won’t mind, right? Wrong. A cover letter should be no more than one page. Studies have shown that hiring managers take a mere six seconds to scan a cover letter. Six seconds. And while you might feel that your cover letter is a scintillating page-turner, if a potential employer has to turn actual pages to read it, he’ll toss it in the trash. The same applies for a cover letter that is too short. You don’t want to have too much white space on the page. That will convey to the reader that your skills, experience, education, or frankly, your personality, is lacking. Aim to fill the entire page so that you give a well-rounded view of who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and what you can do for the company. Is it edited? It goes without saying that you should spell check your cover letter before sending it out. But you would be surprised how many people don’t review their cover letter and then send it in along with their equally unchecked resume. After rereading it, you may make tiny changes in an effort to improve your cover letter, and you absolutely must run your spell check (and your grammar check) each and every time you do so. One small typo or grammatical misstep could potentially cost you the job. Does it showcase who you are? If you thought that your cover letter was basically a way to regurgitate your resume, think again. Writing a cover letter is the best way to let a prospective boss have a glimpse into who you are, what you’ve done, and what you’d like to do in the future. He can learn this by your writing style and by hearing your “voice” in your thoughts and words. So don’t miss the opportunity to let your personality shine (professionally, that is) in your cover letter. It can help you stand out from the dozens of other job applicants with ho-hum cover letters. Does it make sense for the job you’re applying for? Up until now, you’ve worked as a mortgage banker, but you’ve decided to do a career change and become a graphic designer instead. If all you do is write about your previous experience scoring bank loans so people can buy their dream home, your job application will get tossed. You need to relate your experience and skills to the position you’re applying for, even if the two are not seemingly relatable. You can use volunteer experience to join the two fields, or find transferrable skills and qualities, such as your ability to work independently and your superior communications skills- especially if you’re looking to work from home. Is it consistent? Together, your cover letter and your resume are the best way to represent yourself to a hiring manager. That’s why it’s important that they match. For example, if you are mailing in your job application, it’s ideal for your resume and cover letter to be printed on the same type of paper. For an online job application, make sure that the font, pagination, and spacing are all the same for both the resume and cover letter. Keeping both the same will show not only consistency but an attention to detail. Your cover letter is truly your calling card when submitting job applications. Make sure that yours represents you in the best light so that you can find a job that you love. Readers, how would you describe your cover letter? What changes have you had to make to yours? Let us know in the comments section below!