Questions to Ask Yourself when Preparing Your Cover Letter

1. Find your answers to these important questions before you start writing your cover letter:
1. What is the complete name of the company to which you are applying for a job?
2. What is the name of the person to whom you are addressing the cover letter?
3. What is the address of the person to whom you are sending the letter?
4. What is the title of the job for which you are applying and does it also have a reference number that you should include?
5. What is the type of job or level of the position you are seeking.
• "entry-level"
• "management"
• "senior level"
6. What skills do you possess but that you are not using enough of in your current role? Would the ideal candidate for this new role be required to make more use of those types of skills? What opportunities are missing in your current role? Answering these questions will help you explain why you are interested in leaving current position. For example, are you looking for:
• "room for advancement"
• "an opportunity to learn new skills"
7. What is your current job or educational position? This may seem like an obvious question, but knowing how to clearly define your current role is a tremendous asset. For example, you could be a:
• "graduate student in environmental science"
• "customer service professional specializing in the high-end retail market"
8. What is a general description of your accomplishments/experiences in the field to which you are applying? For example, you could have:
• "fifteen years of excellent customer service experience"
• "an outstanding background in scientific research and discovery"
• "a solid history of dependability in the automotive industry"
9. What assets can you offer to the company? List a few in your cover letter, such as:
• "extensive experience with start-ups"
• "demonstrated ability to solve problems"
• "refined ability to manage teams"
10. What will you help the company accomplish, if given the job you desire?
• "increase its bottom line"
• "meet its goal of providing only the best in customer service"
• "expand its customer base and increase its revenue"

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 1030