How to Write a Cover Letter
A cover letter is your first — and perhaps only — chance to impress a potential client or employer. Don’t let that intimidate you, though. A cover letter is, in fact, your opportunity to shine. It gives an employer a brief glimpse of the potential success you bring with you. Your experience, your personality and your enthusiasm all play a part in helping you land the job. Don’t leave them behind when building your cover letter.
How do I write a Cover Letter? In general, be honest, genuine and professional. But the details can get a bit more complicated. Follow these simple guidelines to create a compelling cover letter that will be hard for an employer to resist!
Start with a warm and professional greeting. This person is considering hiring you – so your opening should encourage them to think of you as someone they’d like to work with. “Dear Mr. Smith,” “Dear John Smith,” or “Mr. Smith,” are all appropriate. “Hey Bob,” “What’s up, Jim?” or anything extremely casual should be changed to err on the side of formality. Don’t know the name of the person doing the hiring? “Dear Hiring Manager,” is a great way to set a professional tone from the get-go.
- Get to the point. Your cover letter is not the time to write a novel about yourself. Let the employer know why you’re contacting them, what skills you have that make you the right person for this position, and where they can find more information about your work experience: “I’m interested in the position of Lead Blogger you recently posted. I have been a professional writer for nine years, and am very familiar with WordPress and Typepad. During my 3 years as editor-in-chief of BeingInterested, I managed a team of writers that produced 5 blogs posts a week. You can see some of my own writing in my portfolio (www.odesk.com/users/~~…)
- Hit the highlights. Most job postings will give you very clear hints about the type of skills the desired candidate will have. If you have these skills, you should mention them – repeating the employer’s needs for the role and how you fill those criteria will make it clear that you are the right person for the job: “You had mentioned that you were looking for someone with a background in creative writing and journalism. I studied both in college, where I majored in English. I began my career as an assistant editor at the local paper, where I learned to take a hands-on approach to investigative journalism.”
- Follow directions. Many potential employers will ask candidates to fulfill a specific request in their cover letter. This is designed to help them
quickly weed through applications, and cull out those who are taking the “copy & paste” approach to submitting resumes. If you’re asked to answer specific questions or include a keyword in your reply, make sure you do it! As an added bonus, calling out that they have requested this information is a great way to let them know you are about to make their hiring decision even easier: “Per your request, here are the links to three articles I’ve written about local events, gardening or technology….”
- Close the sale. Make sure you let them know your availability for the position and invite them to contact you to discuss further. It’s a polite way to “ask for the job” and reinforce your enthusiasm for working with this employer: “Moving forward, I can dedicate 15 hours/week to your company, and my daily hours are negotiable. I’m very excited to assist you in making your blog successful – please feel free to contact me directly to discuss this position further.”
- Reread, edit and consider. Before you click “send”, take another look at the job description. Did you address all of their criteria in your cover letter? If you were the person hiring for this position, would your cover letter fit the bill? Does your profile and your portfolio support your application for this job? (If not, don’t apply! Save your energy for a position that better suits your skills and abilities.) If you’re unsure, ask a friend to review the job posting and your cover letter, and listen carefully to their perspective – they might find a hidden gem that makes the difference in you landing the job!
Cover letters are the first view an employer or client gets of you, so make sure you’re putting your best foot forward. For more tips on crafting a successful cover letter, check out our previous post on Writing a Killer Cover Letter, a brief list of ways to ensure your cover letter is truly “killer”.
Got your own thoughts on crafting a successful cover letter? We’d love to hear them!
Erica Benton heads up the oDesk Blog team, and has seen enough cover letters to know a “killer” when she see one. Erica brings her experience as a small business owner and freelancer to her position as the Marketing Communications Manager for oDesk.
Hi madem ERICA,
I knew that a killing covering letter could do it 100% but lack of tools to do so.Now I have enough of
them. I’m happy to say a BIG THAAAAAAAAAAAAANKS
and I reserve the right to do it again and again because I’m sure you may strike again with newer tools .
thanks for thios helpful information. I will apply it on my cover letters and I hope it will impress the hiring managers.
excellent
i will use it for my first Cover Letter
you have mention a real information for odesk contractor
best help for a beginner contractor.
Thank you, Erica! Your advises are great!
Thanks
Thank you, This is very important information for beginner contractor.I will use it for my first cover letter.
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These cover letter is very good.
Dear Erica,
I’m new here and I needed to read this since my first and only application was turned down on cover letter basis, thanks for the guide. I will work with this and hope for a good response soon.
I couldn’t help noticing a little typo in your brief profile though …when she see one…….. I think it should be ‘sees’. I hope I don’t sound like a critical person cos i’m really not, just trying to contribute positvely!
Thanks once again, looking forward to a great experience on odesk!
Thank You
thanks for the very wonderful example of a cover letter..
In writing a cover letter,don’t be too humble.I guess,you have to act straight to the words.
Very helpful and best guidance.
Thanks
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I’ve been working in odesk for almost 3 years and really satisfied with their service.
I think it also very helpful for new comer.
Great guide lines, after reading the document i drafted one for myself, and can modify and send to my employers in future.
Thanks again.!!
Informative……Hoping to get more response from Employers after following guidelines.
I heard Odesk is a good company. If I get opportunity to work in Odesk I will feel greatly. Thank you
am a new member in this family i just got it so interesting with orientation because i now i have a start from point.big up odesk support team.
Hey, this is a big help. Thank you for sharing this important information for new users like me.
Regards.
From someone who has read through a lot of cover letters, my advice would be two things, first repeat back to the buyer how you have understood the project and then a little bit about how you would go about doing the work of it. Second, provide a targeted sample. Show an example of something you have done that is as close to the type of work being requested, not lists of links. Always provide samples of your writing if it is a writing job.
I could go on forever here but the buyer is looking for someone who understands what it is he/she is asking for, if you can show that you do understand the requirements then straight away there will be an empathy between the two of you. Hope this helps.
PS. Don’t use generic cover letters unless you want to be seen as generic, most buyers scan hundreds, even thousands of replies and like Google, they can spot duplicate content a mile off. Hope this helps.
Really very very useful information
It is need for all employer .
Thank you so much Maam Erica for the good guide in writing a cover. it gives me clear idea on how to make it
it is very helpful for me as a first timer to write a cover letter. Thanks, indeed. Look forward to your next helpful tips soon.
Thank you so much Steven Brough for the good guide in writing a cover. it gives me clear idea on how to make it
Thank You!!! I am sure Odesk is talking about the CV’s they seen me submit…lol..I really did need the help…lol…Now I feel more confident and can structure the cover letter properly…lol..Thanks Odesk…