Most of the candidates have a perception that a cover letter is not important. And resume will help them land to a job. A cover letter is important and differentiates you from other job seekers. A cover letter is like a “sales proposal” and it acts as a piece of personal marketing.

While your resume talks about you in generic like your qualifications, experience, achievements, strengths, associations and any personal information. Your cover letter should be tailored as per the job description and it should not be generic.

A cover letter should generate a greater interest about you in recruiters. Remember, recruiters have no time and most of the recruiters look at your resume only for 15 – 20 seconds. A cover letter helps to generate more interest in recruiters and will encourage them to spend more time on your resume. In order to do this, your cover letter should be tailored and should cover certain elements. Do your research first, about the company – vision, mission, leadership, employees, strengths, challenges, competitors and etc.

Start with the reference of the job posting: Address the recruiter with first or last name as appropriately and give a reference of the job posting and the position you are applying for.

Start with a strong opening statement: Demonstrate interest in what the company is about. Share what attracted to apply for the position. Relate with their vision, mission, values, products, services and etc.

Demonstrate knowledge about the company: Demonstrate that you have done a bit a research on the company. Share your knowledge about the company products, services, leadership, employees, challenges, success and etc. Also share your knowledge about the similar industry. Connect your skills sets with the company/industry. You need to position yourself as a person who will add value to the organization.

Make links between job requirements and your skill set: Share your expertise in the competencies mentioned in the job description. Share your contributions in those competencies.

Ending the letter: End the letter with confidence and be specific about the next step statement is important. You may choose to express that “I look forward to discuss how my skill set will map to the requirement in an interview” or simple “ I welcome a chance to speak to you in the interview” rather than writing “ Hope to meet you or see you at the earliest” or “expecting a early reply from you. Share your contact details – mobile number, e-mail id, blogs and etc.

Do's & Don'ts of a cover letter:

A cover should be brief and should not be more than a page.

A cover letter should have the information in paragraphs. Again, ensure paragraphs are not more than 4 – 5 sentences. And also do not have too many paragraphs.

Format your cover letter with margins which have been followed in your resume. Maintain the same text as used in your resume.

Don’t be flattery. Be professional and mature.

Do a spell check and ensure the cover letter do not have any grammatical errors.