This is a tip that you’ve probably heard before, but it happens all the time: Don’t use your cover letter to simply restate your resume! This is a tip that you’ve probably heard before, but it happens all the time: Don’t use your cover letter to simply restate your resume!. Nothing provokes fear in people faster than a wall of text. If you can’t find it, then address the cover letter to ‘Hiring Manager at (name of company)’. Quantifiable results are much more powerful than broad statements. Again, focus on the pain point: What talents and skills do you have that would help this organization tremendously? Cover letters can be absolute torture, and it feels like there are a million ways to screw them up. Is this company a little more informal and fun? Yikes. But think about it: If a company has put up a job description, it means they have a pain point and need a solution. 8. Keep this brief, your cover letter shouldn’t be a biography. Match the tone of your writing to the company culture. Instead, break up your cover letter into smaller paragraphs of three or four sentences each. This type of cover letter is the most casual and tends to be the shortest. 5. Flattery. Your cover letter should be addressed to the hiring manager by name whenever possible. This is a no-brainer: Regardless of how “chill” the company says it is, keep clipart, emoticons, emojis, cute pictures of your puppy, and any other images OUT of your cover letter! (More here.) This tip holds true for resumes! I’m applying to [name of company]’s [name of job title] position, and I was having some trouble figuring out whom specifically to address the cover letter to. The networking cover letter is the black sheep of the cover letter family. By signing up you are agreeing to our, How to Be a Working Mom Without Completely Losing Your Mind, Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know now on politics, health and more, © 2020 TIME USA, LLC. Keep your font professional (and normal). Try opening with a favorite short anecdote, a quote that best describes you as a professional, or your personal tagline. Hiring managers get a visual of your physical cover letter before they ever read it, and if their first reaction is, “Oh god, it’s all one paragraph!” that’s not a good sign. To save yourself time, create or use a form or template to use as an outline that you can customize. EY & Citi On The Importance Of Resilience And Innovation, Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change. “If you want to make a strong impression, then take the time to find out who you’re addressing,” the ebook says.