"13 Key Points" for Cover Letter Writing

"13 Key Points" for Cover Letter Writing

The cover letter is to highlight the job seeker's great enthusiasm for a certain company and a certain position. A successful cover letter should indicate that you are willing to work with future colleagues and that you are willing to contribute your talents to your career. Of course, to write a satisfactory cover letter, we must pay special attention to the following points, so as to attract the attention of the staff of the company's human resources department.

1. The cover letter should highlight the key points

Professional personnel consultants remind everyone to recognize the difference between a cover letter and a resume: "Each of them plays a different role." "The purpose of the cover letter is for job seekers to sell their past experience and skills and how they meet the requirements of the position they are applying for. A simple sentence is: "Let the employer know why they should consider your application." The resume is a complete list of all the job seeker's expertise based on facts. If you write all your personal expertise in the cover letter without different requirements for different positions, it will only make the employer feel that the content of your cover letter lacks focus and is not very convincing.

2. There should be no errors in writing, and there should be no errors or omissions in the grammar of the information.

The cover letter should avoid typos, typos, incorrect sentences, and illogical grammar. There should be no errors or omissions in the grammar of the information, and the required photos, academic certificates, etc. should be attached with the letter to avoid affecting the employer's impression of you and thus missing the interview opportunity.

3. The information should be concise and to the point.

Use concise language to express your job search ideas and personal characteristics, and avoid piling up words. Because most readers of cover letters are heads of units, they will not waste a lot of time reading lengthy articles. The cover letter is not the place to show your literary talent. It is best to write it in a plain and steady tone. Some college graduates always want to show off their literary talents and find ways to pile up gorgeous and fashionable words, but the results are self-defeating and offensive. Therefore, when writing a cover letter, you should be straight to the point, concise and to the point, and avoid clichés and unnecessary words. A cover letter is not about being long, but about being precise. The essence is that the content is focused and clear, the language is concise and clear, and the length is short and concise.

A classic test report from the Harvard Institute of Human Resources in 1992 showed that if the content of a cover letter exceeds 400 words, its validity is only 25, that is, the reader will only leave a few questions. 1/4 of the impression of the content, so writing concisely is a very important criterion.

4. If necessary, the cover letter must be written by hand, and the handwriting must be neat

The ancients said: "The words are like the person, and the writing is like the person." If your article is fluent, the writing will be good. Be beautiful. This will first of all overwhelm other competitors from the appearance, and it can also introduce your work attitude, mental state, and personality characteristics to the other party. Together with your job search conditions, you will win among many job seekers. . In fact, neat fonts make people feel good, while sloppy handwriting is annoying. This is a feeling that each of us has experienced. Just as the person in charge of a talent exchange center told us during the investigation: "There are too many letters to deal with. We usually put aside letters with scrawled handwriting and wait until we have free time to deal with them." But in fact, During the job search process, you are lucky to encounter this kind of situation. If you encounter a stern person in charge, he will just throw it into the wastebasket without even looking at it. Therefore, in order to achieve the purpose of your job search, you should write your cover letter neatly, clearly and pleasingly.

5. Be confident

You must first think of a self-promotion plan before writing. Whether you see a job ad in a newspaper or get information from a friend or relative, explain your position so that it impresses the recipient. You must think carefully before writing your opening statement. If it is not powerful enough, it will naturally not be attractive at the beginning. It should be treated as if you were writing a news blurb or an advertisement.

6. Full of personality and unconventional

Writing a cover letter is like carefully planning an advertisement. Don’t stick to popular writing, but have a novel idea and use unique language and Diverse ways of thinking create a strong impression on the other party, attract attention, and arouse interest. A cover letter, no matter how complete the content is, will be in vain if it cannot attract the other party's attention; if the other party is not interested in your statement, all your efforts will be in vain.

7. Determine job search goals and seek truth from facts

It is not easy for a person to determine job search goals. It must comply with the laws of supply and demand and the laws of competition in the talent market. Today, when our country implements a socialist market economy, talents can also be regarded as "commodities" to a certain extent. The law of supply and demand in the market affects the price of commodities all the time. When supply exceeds demand, the price is higher than the value, which means it is a seller's market for talents; when supply exceeds demand, the price is lower than the value, which is a buyer's market for talents. Understand this rule, when you enter the job market, you will not rely only on your academic qualifications and always think about what kind of job you should get, but you will adapt to the operating mechanism and competition rules of the market. As for what price you can "sell" for, it depends on the market conditions. Today, when there are so many college students, if your price is too high, no one will take notice. The wisest choice is to follow the market and adjust prices. In the same way, if you study a major that is not popular in society, even if you are a doctoral student, you may only be able to find an undergraduate position. At the same time, the laws of market competition also restrict your choice of career. In essence, the competition for job hunting is a competition based on people's talents and qualities. Before participating in the competition, you should first have a clear evaluation of yourself, determine which level you are at, and then decide which level of position to challenge. Only in this way can you position yourself and set reasonable goals on the premise of complying with the laws of market supply and demand and competition. Only in this way can you make your cover letter targeted and improve your success rate.

8. Self-promotion and humility should be appropriate

Writing a cover letter is to promote yourself. It must emphasize your own achievements and your value to the chosen unit. This is Introducing yourself is indispensable, but you must pay attention to technique. For example, the statement in your letter that you have the ability to create a new situation for your company sounds harsh. Apply some skills to express, you can say: "I can use the knowledge I have learned to establish a new management plan to improve the productivity of the enterprise", "I can do some image design for the enterprise" and so on.

For the Chinese, modesty is a virtue. A humble person can make others feel good about him. But for job seekers, being too modest will also make people think that you can't do anything. Humility is not self-denial, it is seeking truth from facts and expressing yourself appropriately. Therefore, when writing a cover letter, you should follow the principle of "moderate promotion", but it depends on the specific situation. Due to cultural differences, foreign-funded enterprises can be more boastful, while domestic enterprises should be more modest.

9. Use less abbreviations and use "I" words carefully

When you talk to people, you may be used to abbreviating your school or the subject major you studied, but It is best not to use abbreviations in your cover letter, because the leaders of the employer may not all know the abbreviation of your school or major, and it is often easy for them to misunderstand because they do not understand it. For example, "UST", does it refer to the University of Science and Technology of China or the University of Science and Technology Beijing? Professional abbreviations are sometimes even more confusing. In addition, multiple abbreviations may sometimes make people think that you cannot do things out of character as a student, or that your attitude is not cautious enough, which will affect the recruitment. In addition, when you need to use "I think", "I see", "I think", "I think" and other tones to express your opinions in the cover letter, be careful, otherwise the employer will leave you with the impression of being arrogant, arrogant, and arrogant. The impression of immature thinking.

10. The title should be appropriate.

Generally speaking, the recipient of the letter should be someone in the unit who has the real power to hire you. Pay special attention to the person's name and position. The writing must be accurate and there must be no sloppiness. Because the first thing they encounter from letters is the title.

The initial impression has a direct impact on the final effect of this cover letter, so it should be done carefully. Because the cover letter is often the first time you interact with the employer, you may not be familiar with the names of the relevant personnel of the employer, so you can directly address the job title in the cover letter, such as "Head of Shanghai Zhang Xiaoquan Knife and Scissors Company", "Manager of hundreds of trading companies" , "Human Resources Manager of Shanghai Bailang Yagao Clothing Co., Ltd." The purpose of the cover letter is to apply for a job, and it has the meaning of "private" business, so the address should be serious and cautious, and should not be too close, so as not to give people the impression of being "too close" or flattery or abrupt. Of course, polite speeches can still be used appropriately.

After the title, a title is usually added, that is, words used to improve the title, such as "Zunjian", "Cijian", "Junjian", "Chongjian" for the elder; For ordinary people, use "Taijian", "Dajian", "Huijian"; for ladies, use "Fangjian"; for couples, use "Lijian", "Tongjian", "Junjian", etc. This kind of honorific in letters should be coordinated with the title.

11. Greetings should be sincere

The greeting words after raising the head (the greeting words) serve as the opening remarks. Whether you are someone you correspond with frequently or you have never met before, your letter should begin with a greeting. Greeting each other is an essential etiquette. The greeting can be long or short. Even if it is as short as "Hello", it reflects the sincerity of the writer and is not an "occasionally written article". The greeting should be suitable for the relationship between the two parties and should be simple and natural.

12. Congratulations should be sincere

Although the greetings and congratulations after the main text only have a few words, they express the writer’s wishes and admiration for the recipient, and there are also other aspects that cannot be ignored. Ritual function. There are standardized requirements for the format of the congratulations. They are generally written in two lines, with two spaces in front of the upper line and a top space in the next line. Congratulations can use conventional sentence patterns, such as "Sincerely," "Salutes," "Wish you good health," etc., or you can find a new way to express your best wishes to the recipient. For example, for elders, you can write "Blessings and Peace", "Blessings for Jin", "Da'an" and "Peace"; for letters to ordinary people, use "Ode to Shi Qi"; in spring, you can write "Ode to Shi Qi". "Spring Festival", during the New Year you can write "I wish you a happy New Year", "This is to wish you a happy New Year", and usually use "Happy Shi Sui" and so on; you can use different greetings according to the other person's profession, and you can use "Happy New Year" for the academic circle. "Please learn from", "Zhuan", "Bian'an", "Wenqi", "Jiao'an", "Guian"; for the political circles, you can use "Respectfully invite Jun'an" and "Xun'an"; for the business community, you can use " Please give me your blessings", "Chou Sui", "Shang'an", "Cai Qi", etc.

At the end of the letter, the name of the writer and the date of writing should be signed. To show courtesy, the corresponding "disciple" and "successor" should be added before the name; write to the leader of the employer The letter can be written as "Job seeker" or "Your future subordinate". Under the name, appropriate salutations should also be selected. For example, for elders, after the signature, "kowtow", "respect relatives", "kowtow", "wow up", "reverence", and "reverence" should be added. "Your Majesty" and so on; for ordinary people, add "Kindly", "Yours sincerely", "Yours truly", "Blessed", etc. after the signature.

13. Use honorifics when addressing the envelope

In addition to the main content of the envelope (cover), the address and postal code of the recipient, the name of the recipient, and the sender must be clearly and accurately stated. In addition to the address and name of the sender, you must also appropriately choose polite words for the recipient. First, pay attention to the address of the recipient. The envelope is written for the postman, so it should be written "Manager (or General Manager)", "Factory Director", "Director of Human Resources", "Human Resources Manager" or "Mr." according to the recipient's title, age, etc. , "comrade", "ma'am", etc. Secondly, we must pay attention to the choice of "unsealing words" and "sealing words". "Opening speech" is a polite word to ask the recipient to open the envelope. It expresses the sender's feelings and attitude toward the recipient. Generally speaking, "Anqi" and "Fuqi" are commonly used for senior elders, and "Junqi" and "Ciqi" are used for other elders; for ordinary people, "Liqi" can be used according to the identity and gender of the trustee (for military personnel) ), "Wenqi" (for teachers), "Fangqi" (for ladies). The usage of the word "篆" is also particular. It is better to use "煯" when writing to elders, and "箷" when writing to ordinary people.

Postcards, New Year's cards, etc. do not have envelopes, so there is no such thing as "opening" or "sealing". Job seekers should be careful not to send job application materials by registered mail or express mail to avoid tedious and time-consuming work.

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