Cover Letter World

Our Cover Letter Expert Shows You How To Avoid Cover Letter Mistakes

Cover Letter mistakes are easily made and with every resume submission, you should have a cover letter that presents you as a positive and qualified candidate for the job.

Your cover letter should be able to stand alone if necessary and highlight areas of your resume which promote those areas of your professional experience which the prospective employer requires. Mostly it should address positively any questions an employer may have about hiring you for the job.

There are five common cover letter mistakes outlined below that you must avoid in order to get through the first round of resume review and move one step closer to getting the job that you want.

1. Addressing the cover letter using a generic greeting, or misspelling the name of the personal contact or the company. The address line is the most prominent part of the cover letter; it should be included even if the cover letter is sent via email. Generic greetings are not favored; they make it seem like you have a template for your cover letter and you simply send it to all employers you are interested in working for. Do the research and find out who the appropriate contact is for the cover letter. However, make sure that they name and the company name is spelled correctly. If your address line contains errors, cover letter mistakes like this mean your cover letter is likely to never make it to the hiring manager.

2. Telling the company what they can do for your career rather than what you can do for the organization. Simply stated, employers care only about your qualifications and what you can do for the company. Do not waste your time telling the company how working for them can be great for your career. What your potential employers want to hear is how you can benefit their team and add value; they want to know what you can bring to the party that is innovative, and focused on results. Make sure that your resume lets your employer know just why you are the best candidate for the job and that your cover letter highlights it.

3. Restating your resume makes the inclusion of your cover letter pointless. Do not go over the same information from your resume in your cover letter. Your cover letter is meant to create interest and cause the employer to review your resume in greater detail. Restating the information in your resume doesn’t add anything to your job application. Draw their attention to certain areas of your resume in the context of how such qualifications will benefit the company.

4. Starting every sentence with ‘I’. While your cover letter is about you, starting each sentence this way will make your employer believe that your communication skills are not up to the level of your professional background. Examine every sentence that begins with ‘I’ and see if you can turn it around to start with another word. For example:

‘I secured grants totalling $76000 from government…’ could become:
‘Government grants worth a total of $76000 were secured by me…’

5. Asking the employer to call you at their convenience. The most generic closing statements in cover letters ask the employer to contact you at their convenience. If you are truly excited about the opportunity with the employer, you won’t want to wait for them to call you back whenever they feel like it. What you should do instead is let them know when you want to follow up – and then do follow up. Close your cover letter by letting your potential employer know that you will contact them, as well as the manner in which you will do so. This shows your interest, and your initiative.

When you know what you’re looking for, avoiding cover letter mistakes like these becomes second nature and ensures your application is of the highest standard.

Everyone Needs A Cover Letter

Everyone who is looking for a job and sends out resumes NEEDS a Cover Letter. It is not an option. As a professional, you should have a cover letter, and you should send one with every resume you submit.

Armed with a great covering letter for your application and being ready to follow up any intermediate enquiries, PLUS sending a ‘Thank-You’ letter after your interview, can make the difference between success and failure.

To help you along, there are some cover letter examples on this site - all carefully written - that can easily be modified as I suggested above; in fact if you look around you will find tons of information to show you precisely how to prepare your cover letters for maximum impact.