Covering letter or cover letter are the very first opportunity for you to impress an employer. Covering letter is the very first page of your Curriculum Vitae (CV). Hence, it got a vital role to play in every job application. Following are the essential elements to be covered in a covering letter;
Salutation
You start your cover letter with a salutation, and the salutation you chose will depend upon the information you have about the organisation.
- If you know the name of the employer to whom your covering letter is addressed, then it is always appreciated that, your salutation shall commence as Dear Mr. /Mrs. /Dr. [Name of the Hiring Manager] followed by a coma or a colon. Further, you should ensure that, you use proper title such as Mr./Mrs./Dr.
- In case you are not sure about the name of the hiring manager, then you may use either “To Whomsoever it may concern” or other most common salutations such as “Dear Recruiting Team” OR “Dear [Company Name] Team” OR “Dear HR Team” etc.
Writing First paragraph of covering letter
First paragraph of your covering letter shall always referring to the job opportunity against which your are applying and you may also refer as to how you came to know about said job opportunity. Further, it is essential to note that; first paragraph of your covering letter shall not exceed two sentences.
Writing body paragraph of covering letter
This part of your covering letter shall be specific and shall be designed to gain the attention of the hiring manager in the very first reading. Ideal covering letters generally contain 1 – 2 body paragraphs only. Following are the major points to be covered in the body paragraph of the covering letter;
- Why I am the suitable candidate for the job opening?
- How my work experience and academic qualification makes fit to the job opening? and
- Be specific, on how you want to work for the organisation; OR how best you can contribute to the company’s growth?
Concluding remarks of covering letter
This is the last part of your covering letter where you wrap up and conclude how you will be proceeding with the application. In this regard, you may consider including following points;
- Describe in one sentence that, why you are the best candidate for said position
- Mention your action plan for follow up. For example, if you prefer to follow up after two weeks do specify the same. Else, you may just say that, “looking forward to a positive reply”.
- Do not forget to mention your contact details, including email address and phone number (mobile number). In most of the case, where proper contact details are not provided, the possibility of rejection is very high.
- Do not forget to mention that, if you are attaching your Resume or CV along with the covering letter.
- Finally, feel free to thank the hiring manager for their valuable time in considering your application. For eg. “thank you for your time and consent”