It’s common for people to be unsure of what to put in their cover letter. A lot of people might even be unsure of what a cover letter’s purpose is. A cover letter should seamlessly coincide with your resume. This guide will go in-depth on what a cover letter is and how to efficiently write one. You’re one step away from catching a future employer’s eye and landing an interview. 

What Is a Cover Letter?

Whether your journey has just begun, or you are looking for a new adventure, we’re here to help you conduct the best cover letter possible within your job search. One of the main purposes of writing a cover letter is to show employers what you are capable of. It’s your chance to make a good first impression and show them what skills you have, what you are passionate about, and all of the experience you have. 

Typically a cover letter is a one-page paper that you submit in addition to your resume. This is a way to express to the employer that you are interested in the job position that is open. The ideal layout of a cover letter is to introduce yourself, provide them with an overview of your work experience, professional skills, what you are passionate about, and why you are best suited for the open position. 

Don’t confuse your resume with the cover letter. Your resume goes into detail about your achievements and work experience, while your cover letter gives a brief overview of what they could expect of an employee like you.    

7 Tips on How to Write a Cover Letter

We’re going to guide you through the best things to address when you are writing your cover letter. The structure and tone matter, so keep that in mind as well when you are explaining all of your professional skills. 

1. List Your Contact Details

Along with your information, you should include the employer’s basic information as well. You should provide the following information in order. First and last name, email address (a professional one), phone number, mailing address, LinkedIn profile link, and portfolio. 

After your information, it is ideal to include your potential employer’s information. List the following information in order. First and last name (of the person you are addressing), company address, company phone number, and hiring manager’s email address.

2. Address the Hiring Manager

When you begin your cover letter it is best to address the person you are sending it to by name. If you don’t have access to their name directly, a simple “To whom it may concern’ will work as well. There is more than one way to find out what the hiring manager’s name is. You could try to search the company on linked in, explore their website directly, and if you are determined to address the manager directly, then you could contact the company.  

3. Write an Enticing Opening Paragraph

Start your cover letter with an informative, direct introduction by including the following details in the first one or two sentences. Your job position or the one that you are applying for, the name of the company, how you found out about the open position (this could be from Linkedin, Indeed, or other hiring platforms), and why you are applying for the position. This is your time to shine, so mention your excitement about the position and why you think you are the perfect one for the job. Lastly, include past experience that might be applicable to the job that you are applying for. This could hold weight with the hiring manager, which means they would be more inclined to pick you for the position.

4. Explain Past Experience and Qualifications

The next set of paragraphs should be convincing the hiring manager why you are perfect for the job. This is where you can talk about all of your past achievements and applicable work experience. For inspiration, here are a few things you can highlight that may be of value to your employer.

Professional achievements: Did you exceed targets for production, sales, revenue, profit, customer satisfaction, or any other business objectives? 

Professional praise: Have you received compliments from management or colleagues for your work? 

Professional awards: Have you received awards for your work, like “Employee of the Month”?

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5. Why Your Work Experience Can Help Their Company

Begin to close out your cover letter by restating your interest in the job and explaining how your experience fits into the needs of the company.

For example, if you’re applying to work at a company that’s seeking to break into a new market that you have experience in, you should highlight this experience in your writing.

If you’re not sure what the goals or needs of the company are, find out by doing some general research online. Take note of what products or services they offer, what their work culture is like, or if they have any future goals.

6. Finish with a Closing Paragraph

When writing your cover letter closing, be polite, confident, and continue to market yourself as the best candidate for the job. Here’s how to write a convincing final paragraph for your cover letter in three steps:

  • Restate your excitement about the job opportunity
  • Politely ask the reader to send you an invitation to interview
  • Thank the hiring manager for reviewing your application

7. A Proper Sign-Off

The last thing that you’ll want to do when closing out your cover letter is to close it out properly. There are a few different sign-offs that you can include at the end of your cover letter. Here they are: 

  • Best
  • Sincerely
  • Thank you 
  • Best Regards
  • Respectfully

Example of a Cover Letter

Here is an example of a cover letter to go off of in case you are in need of some inspiration. There are a lot of different ways to go about writing your cover letter. Keep a strong and confident tone so the employer knows that you are ready to take on the position. 

Once you have your completed cover letter you are ready to start applying for jobs! You are more likely to get a job if your resume is paired with a cover letter. Just remember to provide as much quality information as possible while also keeping the letter short and sweet. 

Finding a New Fulfilling Career Path

Are you unhappy at your job? Do you leave work feeling drained? Are you stressed out even on your days off? There are many reasons why people feel unsatisfied with their current careers. In this article, we will focus on deciding when to find a new job and finding a career right for you. 

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Finding a New Career: Advice and Tips

Finding a new career can be stressful and intimidating. Sometimes it feels easier and more manageable to continue with our typical patterns and routines. We all have bills and responsibilities, and our jobs offer us security. It’s always hard to leave a job behind, regardless of whether or not you like it, and what’s more, you don’t always know how to find a new career.

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Finding a career test or finding a career counselor may be worth pursuing as you consider alternative career paths as you move forward. There are plenty of resources as you research alternative career paths as well as tests and quizzes for finding a new career.

Unhappy at Your Current Job?

There are lots of valid reasons to decide to leave your job and start thinking about finding a new career. Perhaps you are experiencing interpersonal difficulties with your coworkers or boss. Not everyone is well-suited to work together. If you are finding it difficult to connect with others and struggle to collaborate meaningfully, perhaps it’s time to start thinking about when to find a new job. 

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Reasons to Leave Your Current Job

Workplace Culture

There are just as many workplace cultures as there are jobs. If you don’t feel comfortable in your current workplace, know that there are plenty of workplace cultures that will be a better fit. A “workplace culture” is simply a term that describes how individuals interact with one another in the workplace. Some workplaces are strict and professional. Others are more laid-back and casual. Perhaps everyone is friends outside of work. Or perhaps people struggle to get along.  

Generally speaking, a workplace culture depends on official policies, the overall atmosphere, communication standards, and how different personalities blend and interact with one another. How would you describe your current workplace culture? When you go to work, how do you feel? How do you feel around your coworkers? Your boss? Customers, clients?

Matters of Trust

Matters of Trust: You deserve to feel safe, respected, and comfortable while you are at work. Trust is crucial within any successful workplace dynamic. Without trust, you will not be able to collaborate and work meaningfully with others. It’s important to feel like you can trust your boss and coworkers. Otherwise, it might be time to focus on finding a new career path.

Navigating a workplace with trust issues can be stressful. Your sense of safety, professionalism, finances and credentials could be at risk if you are in an unsafe work environment where you feel you cannot trust others. You deserve to be able to trust the people you work with and for. If you don’t, perhaps it’s time to move on and focus on finding a new career.

Finances and More

Finances and More: People consider a wide variety of factors when they choose their careers and different people have different priorities. Everyone, though, has financial concerns – regardless of what the specifics may be. Many people may decide to leave their current job because of their pay, or a lack of opportunities for professional growth. Perhaps you feel like you deserve a raise but aren’t qualified for one or don’t know how to ask for one.

Other

Other reasons people may decide to leave their jobs include physical and mental health reasons. Sometimes people are not able to achieve the work-life balance they would like in their current career.

Or perhaps, you have found a new passion and are excited to pursue a new career!

Whatever the reason, know that there are countless reasons to decide to leave your job. If you feel unsatisfied in any way, know that you deserve better and that with passion, research, networking, and perseverance, you can find a new more fulfilling career. Start by researching how to best prepare for a job interview and the proper steps to take afterwards.

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Questions To Ask Yourself When Searching for a New Career

When you are searching for a new career, it’s important to reflect on your past employment. What jobs have you liked? What jobs have you disliked? What job made you feel the most energized and fulfilled? 

Everyone has different workplace priorities and it’s important to actively reflect on what you would like from a job before you can find your ideal career. Take a moment to brainstorm some of your workplace priorities. 

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What Do You Like About Work?

Of course, no one enjoys their job all of the time. Even if they love their career.

As the popular saying goes: that’s why it’s called “work.”

It’s important to be realistic when we reflect on our ideal careers. Yes, we should give ourselves time and space to dream up our ideal scenarios. We deserved to indulge ourselves and our fantasies every once in a while. But try to remain grounded as well as you consider finding a career right for you. 

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There will be good days and bad days wherever you are and whatever you are doing. There will always be challenges and coworkers you don’t like and tasks you’d rather not do. But in order to find your ideal career, you have to accept that nothing is perfect. Your ideal career is out there, but in order to find it, you need to be realistic. 


What Do You Want From Your Ideal Job?

Everyone has different priorities. Some of these priorities depend on personal preferences and some of these priorities are affected by our families, health, finances, and upbrings. Try not to judge yourself too much as you reflect on your professional priorities. Everyone is different. But make an effort to be thorough and realistic when brainstorming. This will help you later on in your job search as you compare job offers. 

Your Ideal Career for Your Ideal Lifestyle

Schedule

Some people need strict schedules and routines in order to stay organized and to maximize productivity. Others need flexibility and creative freedom. Work schedules play a huge role in our lives. They affect when we go to bed and wake up, what our social lives look like, and more. 

Some questions to ask yourself as you think about finding a new career and your ideal work schedule are: Are you a morning person? Night person? Do you have a passion, hobby, or second career that you want to prioritize? Do you have a family? Do you have scheduling conflicts at your current job you’d like to avoid? 

Location

This one is a bit more straightforward. Where do you want to live and work? Do you like cities or more rural areas? How long of a commute are you comfortable with? What is your ideal mode of transportation?

Income

What are your financial needs and goals? Make a list or spreadsheet of all your bills and financial responsibilities. Everyone is different. It’s okay to want more money. Just like it’s okay to prioritize other factors. 

Workplace Culture

It’s important to feel safe, comfortable, and respected. What is your current workplace culture like? Could it be improved, how? It’s possible to advocate for ourselves and others in order to foster healthier workplace cultures. Sometimes, though, despite your best efforts, it might be time to move on and find a new job where you feel more comfortable and fulfilled.  

Work-Life Balance

It’s important to prioritize our overall health and well-being. We do not want to feel stressed, exhausted, or lonely because of our jobs. This is why it’s important to try to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Finding a career right for you may be key in these efforts.

Everyone and every job are different. It might be possible to change other lifestyle factors to achieve your ideal work-life balance, but your actual physical job plays a huge role in whether or not you are able to accomplish this and to what extent. 

Is your job stressful? Can it be dangerous? What are your working hours? Do you have to do additional work at home? All of these answers will play a crucial role as to whether you will be able to achieve a healthy work-life balance or when to find a new job.

Finding Career Tests and Quizzes

There are lots of resources to help you actively reflect on your personality traits, strengths, and weaknesses, and how these factor into finding a new job path. There are lots of tests and quizzes focused on helping you find a new career. Take some of these tests and quizzes to help you brainstorm during this process. 

Your career test results may validate opinions you have about yourself or they may surprise you! Whatever the case, taking a new career test may help point you in the right direction.

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Factors that are included in finding a new job test include: whether you prefer leadership or supporting roles, whether you prefer to work alone or as part of a team, and whether you prefer flexibility or stability. 

Other questions you may ask yourself are: What are you good at? What do you want to learn about? What impact do you want to have?


Hiring a Career Coach: Find the Perfect Career!

There are lots of practical steps to take to start the process of finding a new career. Update your resume and your LinkedIn profile. Don’t have a resume or cover letter? Create one for free here. Concentrate on researching and networking. Brush up on your interview skills. It takes hard work and perseverance to find a career right for you. You may even need to go back to school or receive additional certifications. All of this is possible and with the proper help and guidance, you will be well on your way to finding your new career. Consider connecting with our services and finding a career coach to help challenge and encourage you as you begin this journey of finding a new career.

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