Formatting Your Letter

How to Write a Cover Letter

Steps

Before Writing the Letter

1. Research the company to which you are applying for a job. This will not only help you in writing a relevant cover letter but it will also be useful if you get an interview. Some questions your research should attempt to answer are:
• What is the employer's mission? What do they promote as the one thing that sets them apart from their competitors?
• What kind of customer base does the employer have? Who is their target audience?
• What is the company's history? Who founded it? How has the business evolved? What are the main highlights of the company's performance over the past few years?

Formatting Your Letter

1. Format the letter. Use Arial or Times New Roman, 12-point, font throughout the entire letter, set your margins to one inch, and use single spacing. Be sure your font is black, and if you're printing your letter out, make sure you use standard sized paper (8 1/2” by 11”).
2. Create a letterhead. Your letterhead should include your full name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Some guidelines to follow when creating your letterhead:

• Your name should be in bold, 14-point or 16-point, font.
• Your address and other contact information should be in normal, 12-point, font.
• The font of your letterhead does not need to be Arial or Times New Roman, like the rest of your letter, but it should be professional looking and easy to read. The most important thing to remember is to include up-to-date information so that you make it easy for the employer to contact you.
• You may want to include a line under the letterhead in order to create visual appeal and to separate the letterhead from the rest of the letter.
1. Write the inside address. The inside address of a letter includes the addressee’s name and address with one item per line, and the date. It does not matter whether you put the date first or last, or how many blank lines you include between them, as long as it looks professional.

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 847