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HOW TO
WRITE AN EFFECTIVE
COVER LETTER
NAME

GOALS &
AMBITIONS

WHY CHOOSE

01
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By 02
Is a Cover Letter necessary?
Absolutely. A Cover letter is essential to you getting a job in the modern world. Going
hand in hand with your resume, a cover letter is the one document that piques the
interest of the HR or Hiring Manager of a company. It's the one page that states why you
should be hired over the hundreds of other applicants vying for the same job!

In this Ebook you’ll get the answers to the questions:

Do I need to research before writing a


cover letter?
What should I put on my cover letter?
How do I start writing a cover letter?
What kind of tone do I use in my cover
letter?

By 03
Why should you research before
drafting a cover letter?
A cover letter isn’t like a resume which you can send to any and every employer. It
needs to be crafted specifically for the company and job role you are applying for. You
can begin your cover letter research by

Reading and
understanding
the job
description

Check out the


website of the
company you are
applying to
Follow and check
the twitter feeds of
the company
executives

Research the
linkedIn profiles of
the employees to get
a fair understanding
of the role and
company.
Reach out to the
Hiring Manager/
HR for more
insight on the
company.

Doing the above steps before drafting your cover letter will ensure that it is tailored to
the company and role and prevent you from writing something generic.

By 04
What to focus on your
cover letter
Your cover letter should be different from your resume. While your resume is a
professional recap of your education and work experience, your cover letter should
talk about your future, your objectives, ambitions and goals.

With that being said here’s what you can focus on when
writing your cover letter:
1 Write about what skills and experience you intend to bring to the company

2 Express how you would like to grow within the role and company

If changing industries or roles, explain how your skills and experience is


3 transferable to the new job role

4 Showcase your eagerness and enthusiasm for the job role

By 05
How do you start writing
a cover letter?
1 Don’t start with a generic ‘My name is so and so’, start strong with your
opening statement.

2 Instead start with an intense punchline that expresses your desire to join the
company. Such statements will make HR’s take notice of your profile.

3 The body text of your cover letter should not be a rerun of your resume. So talk
about your experiences and background but be succinct or to the point.

4 Do not try to be humorous or sarcastic in your cover letter. Chances are,


humor will most always fall flat and even turn off Hiring Managers.

Talk about the pain points of the company based on your research, and then
5 show how you aim to solve the problem.

HR and Hiring Managers prefer problem solvers, and talking about the
6 company and role shows your personal investment for the job.

The two most common skills required for any job right now is the ability to
7 grow and adaptability.

Explaining how you overcame a similar situation can showcase those skills to
8 the HR/ Hiring Manager.

Convey your enthusiasm to join the company and role but try not to overtly
9 flatter the Hiring manager. It will make your letter seem artificial.

Lastly, keep the cover letter short, Hiring managers go through hundreds of
profiles and won’t be interested in a long letter.

By 06
What kind of Tonality does
a cover letter need?

01 02

Be enthusiastic and Do not try to use flowery


positive in conveying your language to prove a point,
interests and work this is still a professional
experience. letter.

What
o u N eed
Y
03 To Do 04

If you’ve been out of a job for A good rule of thumb is to


a long duration, make sure write in the tone a HR would
that your statements do not write to a customer. Curt,
seem desperate to the Hiring professional and positive.
Manager.

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Reminder: The Do’s and Don’ts
when writing a Cover Letter

Do Don‛t
Make a strong opening statement Don’t be funny or sarcastic - It
expressing your desire for the job almost always falls flat.
role and what skills and
experience you bring to the table Send a generic cover letter — craft
a unique letter for every job.
Be succinct — Your cover letter
should be easy to read and quick Go overboard with flattery and
for a Hiring Manager flowery language — be
professional and mature.
Show personal interest -Talk about
the pain points of the company or
role and an incident or experience
that shows you can solve it

By 08
Things to keep in mind

1 2
Address it to a specific
Keep it short - keep
person whenever
it concise within 3 to
possible. If recruiter
4 paragraphs, not
details are not mentioned,
more than one page
address your letter as
“Dear hiring manager” .

5
Use action
3
verbs wherever
possible.
Avoid incorrect
grammar and
spelling.

4
Use the same
font and size as
your resume .

By 09
Sample Cover Letters
Rajeev Applicant
555-555.5555
rajeev.applicant@email.com

March 9, 2021

Eric Lee
Chief Technology Officer
Global Data
Business City, NY 54321

Dear Mr. Lee

This letter is to express my interest in your posting on Dice.com for an experienced Software
Developer. With a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Master’s degree in Information
Technology, and hands-on experience using .Net languages to create and implement
software applications, I am confident I will be an asset to your organization.

I enjoy being challenged and engaging with projects that require me to work outside my
comfort and knowledge set, as continuing to learn new languages and development
techniques are important to me and the success of your organization.

Your listed requirements closely match my background and skills. A few I would like
tohighlight that would enable me to contribute to your bottom line are:
Highly skilled in designing, testing, and developing software
Thorough understanding of data structures and algorithms
Knowledgeable of back-end development best practices
Hands-on software troubleshooting experience
Proven track record of proper documentation for future maintenance and upgrades

I’ve attached a copy of my resume that details my projects and experience in software
development. I can be reached anytime via my cell phone, 555-555-5555 or via email at
name@gmail.com.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you about this
opportunity.

Sincerely,
Rajeev Applicant

By 10
Sample Cover Letters
Rohan Applicant
(123) 456-7891
rohan@email.com
May 1, 2018
Dear Hiring Manager,

I would like to introduce myself as an applicant for the Data Scientist position at River
Tech, a prestigious and reputable name in innovative technology. I am confident in my
ability to perform as a Data Scientist at River Tech due to my extensive education and
work experience.
During my work experience at Ugam solutions, I had an extensive range of
responsibilities including selecting features, optimizing classifiers, mining data,
expanding the company's data by incorporating third-party sources, improving data
collection techniques, processing data, and doing ad-hoc analyses. As a Data Scientist,
I was required to have excellent communication skills, understanding of algorithms,
excellence in the MatLab tool kit, proficiency in GGplot, knowledge of SQL, and
excellence in applied statistics. During my two-year tenure at Ugam, I applied these
skills daily and performed exceptionally at the company.

My abilities as a Data Scientist are rooted in a sturdy education in mathematics. I began


with a bachelor's degree in computer science from IIT bombay - ranked 7 in India. I
followed this with a master's degree in Data science at UC Davis. I attribute my success
as a Data Scientist in large part to this extensive and in-depth education. I believe my
personality has also played a major role in my ability to succeed in this career. I am an
extremely analytical, data-oriented, and calculated. Even in my personal life I like to
look at the data before making a decision. I like to analyze outcomes.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to review my application. I look forward
to hearing more about River Tech and the details of the Data Scientist position. I feel
that my education and experience will ensure my success in this role.

Sincerely,
Rohan Applicant

By 11
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