Cover Letters: Selling Your Skills On Paper
{"Image DocumentName": "Avoid These 7 Killer Cover Letter Mistakes", "Image ImageDescription": "By Peter Vogt, Monster Senior Contributing Writer. 1. Using the Wrong Cover Letter Format. The student s cover letter looked more like a cut-and-paste  than a business letter. It had no recipient information, no return address and no date. The letter screamed unprofessional. 2. Making It All About You. It may seem counterintuitive, but your cover letter, like your resume, should be about the employer as much as it s about you. 3. Not Proofing for Typos and Grammatical Errors. Employers view typos and grammatical errors as evidence of your carelessness. Proofread every letter you send. 4. Making Unsupported Claims. Too many cover letters from college students and recent grads say the applicant has strong written and verbal communication skills. Without evidence, it s an empty boast. Give some examples. Employers need proof. 5. Writing a Novel. A good cover letter should be no longer than one page (three or four concise but convincing paragraphs). that are easy to read. 6. Using the Same Cover Letter for Every Job and Company. If you haven t addressed their company s specific concerns, they ll conclude you don t care about this particular job. It s time-consuming but worthwhile to customize each cover letter for the specific job and company. 7. Not Sending a Real Cover Letter. There is no gray area here: You must include a well-written, neatly formatted cover letter with every resume you send. If you don t, you won t be considered for the job.", "Image XResolution": "37", "Image YResolution": "37", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "SlidePlayer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}