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Formatting Your Cover
Letter
by
ResumeEdge.com
- The Net's Premier
Resume Writing and
Editing Service
Because a cover letter
is your first chance to
make a lasting
impression with a hiring
manager, it must be
professional. To
accomplish this:
1. Always use the same
heading for your cover
letter that you have
used in your resume.
2. Whenever possible,
use the hiring manager’s
name. This personalizes
the document and shows
attention to detail.
3. Include in your
opening paragraph what
job you’re interested in
and a specific reason as
to why you feel
qualified for this
position.
4. Include in the body
of the letter the
specific experience,
skills or
accomplishments from
your past that dovetail
with the requirements of
the new job. This data
should be bulleted,
rather than presented in
a solid block of text.
The human eye is drawn
to bulleted areas, and
they provide the data in
an easy-to-read format,
so that the hiring
manager can digest the
information from one
sentence before moving
on to the others.
Examples of bulleted
areas follow:
As my enclosed résumé
indicates, my background
includes more than two
decades of service at US
Flight with significant
experience in:
-
Aircraft accident
investigation as a
member of the US
Flight disaster
team.
-
Security
checkpoints, where I
handled countless
calls for
assistance.
-
Training the Ground
Security team to
protect and promote
public safety.
In addition to the above
skills, I can also offer
your firm:
-
More than 30 years
of experience in the
airline industry.
-
Expertise
in dealing with
government agencies,
including the FAA
where I facilitated
communications to
reduce company
fines.
-
Reduced absenteeism
and occupational
injuries --
standards I
maintained at US
Flight, where I
achieved the best
employee safety
record of all US
Flight cities.
5. If the letter is
being addressed to a
specific hiring manager,
close your letter
proactively indicating
that you will be
contacting the hiring
manager’s office within
the next week to see if
you might set up a time
to meet.
Sending Your Cover
Letter by “Snail” Mail
With today’s technology,
most resumes and cover
letters are sent as
attachments via email.
However, if you have
reason to send your
cover letter and resume
by “snail” mail, the
documents should be
printed on good bond
paper (20 lbs.) with a
watermark. Choose a
color that evokes
professionalism; the
best choices are white
or cream, though a light
gray can also be
considered.
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