Cover Letters Have Big Roles Too

When applying for work, most people nowadays neglect to give good attention to their application or cover letters. Most of the attention due is given to the resume or the curriculum vitae. What these guys don’t know is that a cover letter has an impact on your application that is as significant as your curriculum vitae.

First of all, it is the cover letter that shows how interesting you are to the company you are applying for. Resumes are quite bland to the HR staffer tasked with segregating application letters for consideration or for thrashing. What these people do is that they read cover letters instead, and the ones that have as great impact for them gets filed off to the short list and those that don’t—well, either the shredder or set aside for future consideration.

Some people unfortunately also fail to provide cover letters with their CVs. This is a big no-no. Cover letters are a way for you to express your intention to apply, and it is a medium through which you can tell the HR staffer reading your application that “I am interested in your company. Come on give me a try.”

To some extent, cover letters show HR staffers a peek into your overall personality. The structure and the wording of your cover letter show how good you are—to some degree—at speaking and dealing with people which are important qualities that you need to have if you are applying for work at a reputable and stable company.

On the other hand, failure to provide a cover letter shows somewhat a kind of laziness or even arrogance in your part as an applicant. This is because cover letters, even if they are only a page long, still take time to write. Cover letters that use somewhat conversational words are big mistakes in the job-hunting process. To write a good cover letter, you need to spend time and choose words carefully. Failure to attach a cover letter with your resume or to come up with a compelling copy could send a message of laziness on your part, which hasten the rejection process for your part. You would’ve blown a potentially good job if you do that.

Cover letters also allow you to convey in more detailed fashion information about you like educational background, technical background and a bit of work experience.  These data are otherwise accessible through your submitted resumes, but since resumes are not vital in the first stage of recruitment, putting them across in a cover letter is important. The cover letter also allows you to control how the information is sent to the reader, and ensure as much as possible that they give the most favorable image of you to the company.

In a nutshell, cover letters also give you the means of displaying yourself in the best manner possible for the prospective employer. They also can be used to flatter the prospective employer in a way that he can see your interest and your eagerness to begin a professional relationship within the company.