A lot has been said on the cover letter. But, as practice shows, Ukrainians either do not use this useful tool at all, or do it to their own detriment. To understand how to direct the power of the cover letter, Work.ua contacted Dmitry Tolmachev, Director General of the international recruiting company WORLD STAFF.
Dmitry’s answers to frequently asked questions regarding the cover letter will help you put a comma in the phrase “Cover letter: help can not be hurt” in the right place.
Why do employers ask for a cover letter
Cases in which, in addition to the resume itself, the employer asks to send a cover letter, is dictated by his desire to discern among the stream of incoming CVs of candidates with high motivation for the offered job, who are able to “sell" their candidacy. In addition, it does not hurt to evaluate the following qualities of candidates:
business correspondence skills, ability to express thoughts briefly and to the point, ability to introspection;
level of language proficiency (especially in cases where the resume itself and the cover letter need to be written in a foreign language);
ability to creatively present information.
Is there a perfect cover letter and what does it look like
According to Dmitry Tolmachev, there is no such form of letter that would correspond to all companies at all times. However, there are several important rules that should be considered by those who decide to present themselves in the best light:
1. First of all, the cover letter must be individual. It is very helpful to ask a specific person if you know his name. Often on job sites it is indicated on whose behalf the vacancy is posted. You can also try to call the company and find out in advance who is running this vacancy, and possibly, preliminary, discuss the vacancy requirements with this employee in order to make your letter even more targeted.
2. The introduction must be convincing: you need to choose the “magical” word order that will make the recipient read your letter to the end and, most importantly, will encourage the decision maker to meet with you. By and large, the purpose of the cover letter is to ask for a personal meeting where you will be able to introduce yourself to the future employer in all its glory.
3. The letter should be concise, concise and structural. Information must be submitted in blocks, separating it with paragraphs, otherwise the text will merge into something whole, which is rather difficult for perceiving and remembering key information.
“It is boring to read very large texts of letters. In such cases, you read, as a rule, the beginning, one or two paragraphs, and then patience comes to an end, and the recruiter simply opens the candidate’s resume to quickly determine whether it’s worth spending more time on this candidate, ”Dmitry Tolmachev shares his experience.
4. If you are responding to a specific vacancy, then in the letter you need to emphasize your competitive advantages as a candidate for the mentioned position:
If you have a deeper knowledge of the subject than indicated in the requirements, - underline this, if you have a longer experience - specify.
If you do not meet 100% any particular requirement, but you have other competitive advantages, then it makes sense to emphasize such advantages and encourage the person in charge to meet with you in person.
If in the job description it was a question of any specific skills that the applicant is required to have, indicate them and give specific examples where these skills were successfully applied by you.
Indicate your 1-2 achievements in past workplaces - what allowed your past employer to significantly earn or save with your help. After all, it can come in handy in a new place!
5. Look at the letter through the eyes of the employer. If we are talking about vacancies where you do not need a lot of experience, but you need a capable and motivated person, demonstrate these your qualities:
refer to examples where your abilities helped you achieve better results;
mention specific information that you gathered about the employer from open sources (company website, media);
make a statement that you wanted to work in this particular company, in this team of professionals or under the guidance of an authoritative leader.
6. Summarizing, indicate your willingness to meet in person at a convenient time for the employer, and that you are looking forward to feedback on your letter. Alternatively, you can stipulate in the letter that you will call back after one or two days to receive feedback.
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