How to Write an Eye-Catching Cover Letter

A cover letter is a document that a job seeker has to send to a potential employer if he or she has not met him in person. Its main function is to show your potential employer what you are capable of and why your skill sets, experience and education make you the ideal candidate for the position an employer is seeking to fill. It is absolutely essential that you catch the employer's eye in the thirty seconds or so he or she will spend looking at your cover letter and convince him or her to move on to reading your resume. A bad cover letter will likely result in a potential employer never looking at your r?sum? at all.

To write a truly eye-catching cover letter, there are a few things that you can do. Most importantly, you should be brief and to the point. Most potential employers do not have a lot of time to pore over lengthy and tedious cover letters; he or she will likely spend less than a minute reading it. Your language must be as effective and concise as possible. Use just a handful of sentences that will have a high level of impact while packing in as much relevant detail as possible.

The style you employ while writing your cover letter is also of utmost importance. Should your letter be riddled with typographical, grammatical, or syntactical errors, you will make a negative first impression even if you possess an impress level of relevant experience. Sending a cover letter is indicative of your interest in a company, but typographical or grammatical errors will show that you are unwilling or unable to proofread your documents. A poorly proofread cover letter is a serious mistake that shows a level of laziness on your part that no employer will appreciate.

As your r?sum? and cover letter will likely go to a company's HR department with experienced people reviewing them, it would be foolish to steal a template online or elsewhere. It is important that you not only be yourself, but simultaneously get to the point and maintain a necessary level of professionalism. Use a simple font (such as Arial or Times New Roman, avoiding unprofessional fonts such as Comic Sans) and refrain from trying to make your letter look "fancy." Get your point across as concisely and professionally as possible, using industry terminology when necessary and simple language otherwise.