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Cover Letters

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5 Cliche Lines to Cut From Your Cover Letter. How to Write a Cover Letter. How to Write a Cover Letter. The 4 Paragraphs That Make a Killer Cover Letter. Ah, writing the dreaded cover letter.

The 4 Paragraphs That Make a Killer Cover Letter

The vital piece of the job hunt that almost no one enjoys. How can you possibly convey to an employer the depths of your awesomeness in just one page? Or, more importantly, what can you write to keep the reader engaged for the minute plus it takes to skim through one? 5 Cover Letter Myths—Busted. News flash: Nobody reads anymore.

5 Cover Letter Myths—Busted

Thanks to cell phones, the internet, and that damn MTV, we all have the attention spans of goldfish. Keep this in mind the next time you write a cover letter. Long ago in the days of yore, cover letters were paper. They were long, super formal, and usually printed on official letterhead. Well, those days are long gone, but the legends of old cover letters still live on. 7 Ways to Get a Recruiter to Read Your Cover Letter. Although your résumé is definitely important, the cover letter can also be a make-or-break factor.

7 Ways to Get a Recruiter to Read Your Cover Letter

How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter Email. “I wrote 91 cover letters in 6 months, and I probably could have done more.”

How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter Email

The 5 Worst Ways to Start Your Cover Letter. Cover letters have the (incorrect) reputation nowadays of being a formality.

The 5 Worst Ways to Start Your Cover Letter

Like saying “bless you” when someone sneezes, or ending an email with “best.” Frequently, people write a cover letter “just in case” the hiring manager feels the urge to look at it. Which is the wrong move, considering that it’s capable of making or breaking a candidate’s chances. You probably get where I’m going with this. In the same way that it’s really obvious when an actor is phoning in a performance, the person reading your cover letter can tell when you fill it with generic and meaningless filler. With the beginning of the cover letter dictating whether the rest will be read or not, let’s focus on the very first line. 1. The 3 Rules of Addressing Your Cover Letter. You’ve found the perfect job and finally sat down to write that cover letter (good for you!)

The 3 Rules of Addressing Your Cover Letter

, but immediately you’ve run into a roadblock. How do you even start the darn thing? Should you use Mr. or Ms.? The 8 Cover Letters You Need to Read Now. Cover letters: They strike fear in the hearts of millions, and just uttering the phrase is enough to make a grown man cry.

The 8 Cover Letters You Need to Read Now

Who the heck writes a good cover letter anyway? Lucky for you, we searched the web far and wide to bring you the best examples of totally awesome, out of this world cover letters that people have actually written. 3 Ways to End Your Cover Letter and Get the Interview. “Finish strong.”

3 Ways to End Your Cover Letter and Get the Interview

It’s a saying that you’ve probably heard before. However, many people don’t realize it applies to cover letters. Not that I blame them. There’s so much conflicting information out there about whether or not hiring managers even skim cover letters, let alone get to the very end of them. Cover letter writing advice: How to write a cover letter for an entry-level media job. Photo by Thinkstock Over the last five years, I’ve read something like 500 applications for entry-level media jobs.

Cover letter writing advice: How to write a cover letter for an entry-level media job

Over time, I’ve spotted many talented people, including a number of recent college graduates who are now valued Slate employees. Slate is a small company, so when it’s time to make a hire, a list of three great HR-approved candidates does not magically appear on my desk. I write the ads (like this one) and read all of the responses myself—and after scaling mountains of cover letters I’ve developed some opinions I can no longer hold back.

The most important one is this: Many young people seem to have no idea how to apply for a job. Focus on the cover letter. Keep it short. Avoid awkward phrasing and attempts to be overly formal. You are your best advocate. Show me that you read my site. Explain how selecting you will benefit me. Academic cover letters: 10 top tips. The classic counterpart to a CV, cover letters are standard in almost all job applications.

Academic cover letters: 10 top tips

Academic cover letters are typically allowed to be longer than in other sectors, but this latitude comes with its own pitfalls. For one, many cover letters are written as if they were simply a retelling in full sentences of everything on the CV. But this makes no sense. Selectors will have skimmed through your CV already, and they don't want to re-read it in prose form. How to Write a Cover Letter. No one likes job hunting. Scouring through online jobs boards, spiffing up your résumé, prepping for grueling interviews — none of it’s fun.

But perhaps the most challenging part of the process is writing an effective cover letter. Expert Advice: 8 Tips for Writing a Standout Cover Letter. It’s practically unheard of nowadays to apply for a job or an internship without submitting a cover letter. Companies are flooded with resumes, and candidates need to stand out in order to avoid unemployment. Students especially have it tough: according to a 2013 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 13% of recent college graduates are unemployed and an additional 44% take jobs they are over-qualified for. In today’s competitive job market, it is crucial that students come prepared to the job search with dazzling resumes and eye-catching cover letters. To help students master the process, NerdScholar debunked eight resume myths and then asked career experts for the best ways to make a cover letter stand out. Follow their tips to land the interview.

[Want more career advice? 1. How to Write a Cover Letter: 31 Tips You Need to Know. Ah, the dreaded cover letter. Every time you sit down to write one, you probably browse cover letter examples online, get overwhelmed, and think something to the effect of: Does anyone really read these? Wouldn’t it be so much easier if I could just let my resume speak for itself? First off: Yes, we can assure you that cover letters do, in fact, get read.

In fact, to some hiring managers, they’re the most important part of your job application. And yes, while it would be easier to let your resume speak for itself, if that was the case you’d completely miss the opportunity to tell prospective employers who you are, showcase why they should hire you, and stand out above all the other candidates. 13677.