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Have you ever spent more than an hour writing a cover letter? Maybe when you really wanted the job?
It takes so much time to craft a perfect cover letter. One small mistake might cost you the job. Isn’t it worth taking a few extra minutes to reviewyour cover letter before you submit it?
Keyword Check
Keywords are the words in a job posting that tell you what skills and experiences are important to have for the position.
Use keywords in your cover letter to show you're the right fit for the job. Many hiring managers sort applications by looking to see how many of these words appear.
Before sending out your cover letter, take another look at the job posting and ask yourself two questions:
Which words come up more than once or are essential “must have’s” for the role?
Did I use these words in my cover letter?
Did you know?
Fact Check
Have you addressed your cover letter to the right person at the company? Use the company website or LinkedIn to check. ✅
Have you spelled that person's name and the company name correctly? ✅
If you’ve included the company’s address, is it correct? ✅
Is the name of the job you're applying for correct? ✅
These are especially important checks if you’ve copied and pasted material from other cover letters you’ve written! You don’t want to address the wrong person or company, or say you're applying for another role.
Quiz
Lee is reviewing her cover letter. She's unsure how to spell the name of the company with the advertised position. What should she do?
The company website is the best way to confirm the company's name. Job postings that are not on the company's own website, but external sites, sometimes have errors and are not as reliable.
Spelling And Grammar Check
Your computer’s spell check and grammar check are not perfect. You need to proofread your cover letter to find small errors.
Be sure to check your own name and contact information.
If a company wants to set up an interview, they need to be able to reach you! Check every letter and number of your name, address, phone number, email, and any website addresses (URLs) you’ve included.
Quiz
How should you review your name and contact information in a cover letter?
Checking every letter and number in your name and contact information is the best way to review it. When you read the letter for sense and the "bigger picture," you sometimes miss small mistakes. Similarly, a friend may catch these errors but may also be reading for sense rather than small mistakes.
Freshness Check
Unfortunately, after you've stared at a piece of writing for a long time, you no longer see every detail...or every mistake!
Here are some tricks to get a fresh perspective on your cover letter:
Print it out or change the font or font size (just make sure to change it back before sending). 📄
Let some time pass, maybe even a day or two, before looking at it again. ⏰
Read it out loud. 🗣
Ask a friend to read it. 👩🏻🤝👩🏾
Take Action
Now that you've perfected your cover letter, you have a better chance of landing your dream job!
Photo by Cytonn Photography on UnsplashThis Byte has been authored by
Carolyn Black
Freelance writer and editor for education