© Written By Jimmy Sweeney
President of CareerJimmy and Author of the new,
"Amazing Cover Letter Creator"
Your cover letter format is not one size fits all...
Since the beginning of time, job seekers have frantically sought examples of the perfect cover letter format. They've bought books, copied samples and searched the Web for answers in this endless quest. Any day now, I expect for archaeologists to discover a trove of ancient papyrus cover letter templates on the Nile.
Cover letter format truths
And there's nothing wrong with looking at these templates to get an idea of
what type of cover letter format you should use for your letters. But if you
just re-work these typical samples, you're sending out the same stale, over-copied
form letter that the Hiring Manager has seen a thousand times. Can you blame
him or her for throwing it out? They LOOK for reasons to discard job-seekers
resumes and cover letters. There is no "carved in stone" rule or job
search "commitee" that MUST give your application a good look. If
it doesn't capture the interest of the reader, it's probably going to find the
recycle bin in a hurry.
Beyond the cover letter format mania
The secret of amazing cover letters, attention-grabbing, interview-getting,
manager-exciting cover letters, is their content. Result-earning cover letters
show that you know the hiring manager's business needs and can meet those needs
better than any other candidate.
That might sound like a lot to ask from a piece of paper, but it really isn't. People send out those types of job-catching cover letters every day and so can you. All you need is the willingness to put aside the old cover letter templates and accept expert advice about what works now. Your reward will be a clear, focused, personalized cover letter that cuts through the copycat competition like a laser beam.
Final thoughts on the proper cover letter format
Keep the format of your cover letter clean, clear, short and sweet. You can copy the format of any job search cover letter out of a book and go with that. Don't be "all-consumed" with the format of your letter, after all it is the actual words you write that will land you the job interview and ultimately the job itself. Let your personality shine through and remember to always ASK for the interview towards the end of your letters. Good luck!
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