Many people rely on their resume alone to gain an employer’s interest and fail to recognize the power of a cover letter cv being attached to their resume. No matter how rockin’ your resume might be, employers get a ton of resumes for most positions they have available. Why are you so special? Well, if you have the right cover letter cv with your resume, you’ll be telling them why!
You can find lots of cover letter cv templates on the internet, but they’re all basically telling you what to do in order to write a cover letter that will score you an interview. A lot of those tips are complete bs though.
The following are the 5 biggest myths regarding the cover letter cv that any serious job seeker should avoid.
Unless, of course, your goal is to look like a boring granny. No offense to those older job seekers, of course.
But no matter what your age, you need to be able to show off your sensational personality and explain through a cover letter cv why you are better for the job than anyone else.
Myth #1: A cover letter cv should be short and simple. Of course you don’t want to give your entire life story in a cover letter cv. You’re just trying to highlight those special qualities that you possess that an employer can’t tell just from browsing over your resume, but keeping it too short makes you pretty darn boring. Make sure that your cover letter cv is about 3 paragraphs, each being about 3 or 4 sentences long. You don’t want to ramble on of course, but your cover letter cv can’t be too short either because you don’t want it to look like you used a template to write it… even if you did!
Myth #2: Point out key features of your resume on your cover letter cv. Um, what for? Your resume is to follow, which is why you don’t want to just make your cover letter about summarizing your resume. Tell the employer things that they can’t tell from your resume, such as how you heard about the position, why you have an interest in it, and why you think you’re a highly qualified choice for the job. Tell them something they don’t know! Of course they don’t need to know about your brief experimentation with the same sex in college- you don’t need to go that far back or get into that much detail, but include some personal tidbits about you on your letter cv that an outsider can’t see on your resume.
Myth #3: Never address a cover letter cv with “To Whom It May Concern….” Ok, so you’re supposed to include a letter any time you submit a resume but you’re not allowed to address it to “Whom It May Concern?” What about those instances where jobs are posted without a contact person or for a confidential company? Are you just supposed to leave it blank? Address it to “Sir or Madaam?” Sure, some might think that sounds professional, but this isn’t the 16th century, folks. “To Whom It May Concern” on a cover letter cv for a position that doesn’t have any details on who you’re writing to is absolutely fine. Of course, if you’re able to personalize your greeting, that’s nice and you should definitely do it, but if not, don’t worry too much about it because it’s such a minor detail!
Myth #4: Make sure you mention how you’ll follow up with the employer after they receive your resume and cover letter cv. Do you know how to call them? If so, you can try… but chances are, most employers don’t like to be contacted once you’ve sent in your resume and cover letter. That’s why you have to make sure that your letter cv and resume are both top notch. You shouldn’t have to call them to follow up- they should be dying to call you! Saying something like “I am looking forward to hearing from you soon,” is just fine. You don’t want to be too stalkerish. No one wants to hire a professional nagger. Unless, of course, that’s what the job entails.
Myth #5: Stick to only vital information directly related to the job you’re applying for on your letter. Of course you don’t want to go too off topic, but you need to give your cover letter cv some flavor. If you’re applying for a job in accounting, it’s OK to mention that you’re not only skilled in your trade and great with numbers but also great with people as well. Sometimes mentioning little positive qualities that you possess that you wouldn’t normally think are pertinent to the job are actually the things that catch an employer’s eye. So go for it, and include personal qualities about yourself that you think might win them over on your letter, even if they’re not directly related to the job.
The most important things to remember when writing a professional yet eye catching letter is to make sure it’s true to who you are and what you’re all about, while demonstrating what a strong competitor you are to the employer.
Don’t let all of the myths out there stop you from writing a cover letter cv that is personalized and reflective of your individuality.