Nowadays, finding a job is a lot similar to selling. People need to sell themselves to earn the appropriate attention they need from their future employers. With so many people applying for a job, the selection process usually become tedious and stressful that employers need to see eye-catching resumes and cover letters.

Generally, job applicants need resume in order to sell their good points. However, even if your qualifications look good, so does the other job applicants. Hence, it can be quite a work to really identify the person fit for the job. This is where the cover letter becomes very useful.

Cover letters are, at any point, the forefront of a job application. A good resume will be useless if not presented or established by a good cover letter.

The idea is to catch your potential employer immediately. With thousands, if not millions, of people applying for a job, resumes will all look the same – and so does the cover letters. This is specifically true for those who fail to make their cover letters shine above the rest and create write-ups that can instantly catch the reader’s interest.

If in sales it is important to include “what’s-in-it-for-me” factor whenever a copywriter creates copies for ads, cover letters should do the same. Rarely does an employer notice a bland resume without any spice to liven up and make everything palatable to digest.

So the point here is to come up with a cover letter that shines. Here’s how:

1. State your purpose

In all aspects, communication is the number factor that employers look into in job applications. Applicants should know how to communicate well, verbally or in print, and express the main reasons why they are applying for the job.

In order to make a cover letter that shines, you should learn how to express the purpose of your action. Why are you sending them resume anyway? Tell them exactly what you want and why you are taking such actions. For instance, you can state at the beginning of your cover letter the position you are applying for, the reason for your application, in what way have you found about the job, etc.

2. Sell your way to success

Just like in the interview, cover letters will serve as your ticket to success. Cover letters should state your needs, your aspirations, or your objectives. At some point, you are already selling yourself to your future employer. You need good cover letters to create an impression that you are the right person for the job.

3. Flawless

Typographical and grammatical errors are big no-no. Keep in mind that you are trying to impress your potential employer. Giving them grammatically and technically wrong cover letters will really whip your letters into the trash.

The look of a well-polished, absolutely error-free cover letters will definitely create an impression that you are a professional and can provide their employers with the skills that they need.

4. Teaser

Like teasers in a television show, cover letters should lure their readers to read the next section of your resume. The key point is to appear motivating and interesting. It should also promote the upcoming information they are bound to discover.

Moreover, cover letters, in order to shine apart from the rest, should not be generalized. Many people are scared of making their own cover letters thinking that they will not do good on the construction itself. It is acceptable to use them as a guide but to rewrite the whole cover letter and replace the items that need to be changed is definitely a nix.

Boiled down, learning how to make a cover letter that shines is not so much on the glamour of writing but more on the information that you put in and make it more interesting through your own writing style.

Image taken on 2009-02-11 12:28:47. Image Source. (Used with permission)