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Covering
Letter
Cover
Your Self
Writing
a letter is not always as straightforward as might be supposed.
It is worth taking time to create the best possible impression.
Size, quality of paper, layout and neatness all contribute to
this effect. By the time the letter has been read, the employer
will have been influenced by the way it has been written, as well
as by its content.
Even
though we are in the Internet age we still need to send a lot
of documents by snail mail. It is here that the covering letter
represents you. You don't want to give a wrong "first impression"
do you?
These
are some points that covering letters should achive:
•
The letter must encourage the employer to take your CV seriously
and want to look at it. Remember, in todays world being unique
is the only way to move ahead. This is true in all aspects of
life.
•
The cover letter is a document that sets the reader's expectations
of what will be in the CV. The thing here to remember is the word
expectatons.
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It should be worded in a way that it persuades the employer that
you are a suitable candidate for the job.
•
You have to be careful that you don't present facts about your
self that you can not support and defend. If you are wrong you
can close your eyes bite the dust.
•
A letter is especially useful if the form does not give you an
opportunity to mention essential facts about your suitability
for the job or to make your case effectively more valuable.
A
covering letter can be considered as done when the above mentioned
points have been conveyed.
Basic
points for creating the content for you covering letter
In
writing a letter, you should try to:
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Capture the reader's attention
• express what you need to say
as concisely as you can
• convey a positive attitude
of reasonable confidence
• avoid grammatical and spelling
errors.
• Structure and content
Presentation
The
first impression of your letter should be clear and well presented.
It should be laid out in such a way that it is visually attractive,
neither squashed nor with a blank space at the end. A4 white paper
of good quality is always acceptable rather than coloured paper,
and it should be plain and not lined. Unless a hand-written letter
is requested, a word-processed letter looks business-like and
professional, and you can get more information onto a page. Employers
are used to both. If it is hand-written, make sure that it is
legible.
The
letter below will give you a basic Idea about what a covering
letter looks like.
1st
August 2001
Miss Radhika Basu
Recruitment Manager
Human Resources Department
Careermosaicindia.com
Secundrabad 94
Dear
Miss Radhika,
Ref:
Assistant Press Officer
I
am writing in response to your advertisement of 30th July for
the above position. I enclose my Curriculum Vitae for your consideration.
As
you will see I have had considerable experience of press officer
work during my years at University. I was responsible for all
press contacts for our student union and for the production of
press releases for a number of events.
My
work experience during vacations has developed a number of the
skills mentioned in your advertisement, particularly team working
and meeting deadlines, and I think that I could bring ideas and
enthusiasm to the job.
I
look forward to hearing from you.
Yours
sincerely
Shashank
It
would be a good idea to drop a few references in the end, but
be sure to attach a reference letter for proof. You forget the
job if you can not show proof.
Lastly
there are no hard and fast rules for constructing a letter, but
the above mentioned rules and guidlines will give you start to
write effective coverletters. More details will follow in the
coming articles.
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