Your cover letter is a critical part of your job application and is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to a company why you’re a good fit. If you’ve been sending out your resume and cover letter but yet to land a job, consider re-visiting your cover letter to ensure that you are not making the following 5 mistakes:
1) Highlighting your skill deficiencies:
There are different reasons why some job seekers highlight their lack of skills. For some, it’s an attempt to be modest, while for others, it is due to doubts about their qualifications. Whether you lack some essential job-related skills or have limited experience, do not undersell yourself by drawing attention to your deficiencies. Instead, focus on highlighting the skills you do have as well as the value your will bring to the organization.
2) Embellishing the truth:
Many job seekers are so eager to land a job that they embellish facts related to their academic background, skills, and experiences. Other job seekers will outright lie in their cover letter simply to get a call back. Over exaggerating information or making up false realities is a risky business when it comes to resume writing as it has become increasingly easier to check these facts. Many employers rescind offers to job seekers and also fire employees who were insincere about the details in their cover letter. It’s crucial not to embellish your work history or qualifications; rather, make sure you accurately state the facts in both your resume and cover letter.
3) Speak poorly of your last employer:
Most employees have had negative experiences in a workplace and may have even dealt with a crappy employer or been fired from a job. Regardless of any hardships you faced in your workplace, you will do well to avoid slagging previous employers. Saying you left a previous job because you were not treated right won’t just make your former employer look bad; it will also make you look bad. It’s like starting out on a first date by talking about your ex. This is one of the biggest turnoffs of recruiters when they’re reading a cover letter.
4) Highlighting your salary expectations:
There’s no need to include your salary expectations in your cover letter unless the employer has asked you to. If you have made the mistake of including this, it may be one of the reasons why employers are not getting back to you as the perception is that you are all about the money. The reality is that hiring managers are looking for ‘fit’ and they seldom choose someone whose primary motivation is money.
In your cover letter, stay focused on your accomplishments and show a genuine interest in the position you are applying to. This will serve you well.
5) Sharing unrelated experience:
One of the top mistakes job seekers make in their cover letter is discussing skills and experience that are unrelated to the job at hand. A cover letter should only be one page in length and this means that you don’t have the space to go into detail on all your accomplishments and achievements.
Don’t waste precious space on your cover letter by discussing qualifications that don’t match the job description. You need to be laser focused on what you share and connect these with the job at-hand.
Conclusion:
Cover letters are a great way to showcase how you are uniquely qualified for a job posting, however, they can also negatively affect your application if not written properly. If you want to avoid some of the most treacherous cover letter pitfalls, follow the tips above to improve your chances of getting hired.
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