Cover Letter Tip: Why Is a Cover Letter Important?

by John Sylo on November 24, 2009

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Many job seekers focus their attention on writing their resume, but when comes the time to write their cover letter, they let go and send out a generic one.

A well-written resume can often do the job for multiple job applications and only needs to be modified slightly, if at all, to refer to the specific requirements of each position applied to.  The cover letter is another ball game.  The rules for writing a cover letter are not as well-defined and leave a lot of latitude to the writer.  Inspiration is sometimes hard to come by for many job seekers.  Next time that you face this situation, keep in mind that, as impressive as a resume can be, it cannot convey your interest in the position.  Further, some things cannot be said in a resume, yet, could be relevant or of interest to the recruiter.  While a resume is relatively rigid in its construction, a cover letter is much more flexible and allows a candidate to put his or her personal touch to a job application.  Far from repeating what’s already in a resume, a cover letter should complement it.  While resumes are for the most part past-oriented, cover letters can connect the past to the future and shed light on what you can bring to the position you are applying to.

If you have a weak candidacy, rely on the cover letter as your trump card to the job interview.

For more cover letter tips, please go to WorkBloom.com.

About John:
John Sylo is one of the co-authors of this blog.
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