7 Important Things You Might Be Forgetting To Do In Your Cover Letter

7 Important Things You Might Be Forgetting To Do In Your Cover Letter

By Lilian Wamaitha
We all know how important it is to tailor your cover letter to match the job and company you are applying to.
A good cover letter should show your enthusiasm for the position and should be error free.
But besides this, what else are you missing when crafting your cover letter? And the one question most job seekers ask me is; “Why can’t I seem to land a job when I am covering all areas that are to be covered in my cover letter?”
In this article I will talk about the seven things that you are probably forgetting to do before hitting send.
1. Make it clear how you can be of help
Most of us when writing a cover letter concentrate on how much we are qualified but forget to include why the company would find you useful.
“There is nothing that stands out in a cover letter than when a candidate uses it as an opportunity to align themselves with the company’s interest, both in the experience they are bringing as well as the ideas,” says Ms. Muthoni Ndegwa, a recruitment manager at a leading HR firm.
As a candidate, ensure that you paint a clear picture of how exactly you can help them. Never make an employer guess or try to figure out on their own what it is you are bringing on board.
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2. Forget that its quality over quantity
Not unless you are applying for a creative position, make your cover letter as concise as possible. Most employers scan through cover letters looking for specific keywords related to that industry so a lot of words is not going to cut it.
Your cover letter is meant to make the recruiter open the rest of your application so ensure that in short well-crafted sentences, you bring out why you are the most perfect candidate for that position.
3. Include keywords in the job description
When hiring, companies will create job descriptions with specific keywords that describe who they are looking for.
Any applicant who references the job description is more likely to move on to the interview stage.
This means that when you are crafting your cover letter, you should have gone through the JD rather than writing a generic cover letter.
4. Include your contact information
“After reading an outstanding cover letter, the first thing I want is to get in touch with the person immediately. But what happens when you have not included you contact information? It means as a recruiter, I will move on to the next candidate,” says Ms. Ndegwa.
The hiring process moves fast and the easier you make it for the employer, the more likely you are to get a job.
5. Emphasize that you are able to pick up new skills
When writing your cover letter, you only stand out if you are able to demonstrate your willingness to learn.
Most job seekers focus on telling the recruiter how qualified they are and forget that a job is a learning process and your willingness to pick up new skills matters more than anything.
6. Show that you are adaptable
Show that you have an interest to work and explore a wide range of tasks and topics as well.
“When shortlisting, I always look for such people since they are the most adaptable who will not cower when things don’t go right but find ways of turning situations around,” Ms. Ndegwa says.
7. Spelling and Grammar
You should never send out an application with poor grammar and spelling mistakes. This will automatically disqualify you for the position.
Having spelling and grammatical mistakes will show the employer that you have a poor command of the language and that you are careless.
Your cover letter is just as important as your CV. In fact, when you think about it, it is more important because it’s what makes the employer open your CV. If you nail it at the cover letter stage, you are more likely to move on to the interview stage.
Lilian is a Communication Officer at Career Point Kenya. Got any questions on how to write the perfect cover letter that recruiters will actually read? Email them to lilian@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke