So many people disregard adding a cover letter in the submission of their resume. While most hiring managers do not require a cover letter, this document says a lot about the applicant. It is one source of information that Hiring Managers use to read between the lines and figure out what type of person you are. For some, a cover letter alone determines an interview schedule or not; it acts as more of a secret passage to an interview, if you will.
Here are some things that Hiring Managers can pick from merely reading the cover letter:
- Attention to Details
"I am look forward to you're call" screams wrong grammar in all aspects. While wrong grammar can be blamed on typographical errors, it also shows how attentive an applicant is to details. Good grammar in cover letters shows that the applicant has spell-checked and proofread the document before sending.
There is nothing more glaring inattentiveness to details than wrong verb tenses, incorrect hyphen uses, wrong formatting and other careless spelling and/or grammar mistakes.
- Personal Qualities are Shown and Not Told
The main reason why Hiring Managers disregard cover letters more often than not is that most cover letters are very generic, like they're being copied and pasted from one document to another. Some even have the audacity to paste the wrong company and addressee.
Instead of listing down all your personal qualities, back them up with actual facts. Specifically, you just cannot say that you are a good leader and a team player. Instead, think about re-writing your cover letters like this, "I was fortunate enough to be given a Team Lead role in an inventory project. I was able to reach our team's goals by assigning individuals to certain roles where they are most comfortable with and with this, we have came up with five different strategies to counter inventory losses. These strategies are being used up to this day."
- Interest to the Company by Research and Culture Fit
Hiring Managers mostly hire people who care enough about their company to do actual research. The cover letter portrays that homework is being done instead of waiting for the interview to do so. Find out what the company specializes in and how it relates to one's own personal values and/or skills.
Inserting a cover letter can portray meticulousness, passion and dedication or it can also portray carelessness and arrogance. While it is all advantageous to insert one, make sure that you have portrayed the right fit.
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