{"id":227,"date":"2010-10-21T09:30:35","date_gmt":"2010-10-21T09:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/cover-letter-checklist-227\/"},"modified":"2010-10-21T09:30:35","modified_gmt":"2010-10-21T09:30:35","slug":"cover-letter-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/cover-letter-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover Letter Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><SPAN class=\"body\" id=\"ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_body_body_wacCenterStage_wacCenterStage_lblBody\"><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">&#65279;Many job seekers struggle with their cover letters, but writing a good cover letter is a skill that can be learned and perfected. The time and effort will pay off, because a well-written cover letter can increase your odds of getting an interview.&nbsp; <BR><BR>If you\u2019re wondering whether your cover letter is the best it can be, make sure you can answer \u201cyes\u201d to the questions on this checklist:<BR><BR><STRONG>Introduction<\/STRONG><BR><\/FONT><br \/>\n<UL><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\"><FONT size=\"2\">Does your cover letter have a strong <\/FONT><FONT color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">opening paragraph<\/FONT><\/FONT><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">, communicating your job target and key strengths within the first few lines of text?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\"><FONT size=\"2\">Does your cover letter conform to a standard business letter format? (See our <\/FONT><FONT color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">cover letter samples<\/FONT><\/FONT><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">.)<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Is your cover letter addressed to a specific individual, if the name is available?<\/FONT><\/LI><\/UL><FONT size=\"2\"><FONT face=\"Verdana\"><STRONG>The Body<\/STRONG><BR><\/FONT><\/FONT><br \/>\n<UL><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Does the body of your cover letter express how you would benefit the employer if you were hired?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Do you avoid starting every sentence with \u201cI\u201d or \u201cmy\u201d so you can focus more on the employer\u2019s requirements and not your own?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Do you demonstrate your expertise by using industry-specific language?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\"><FONT size=\"2\">Do you include examples of your <\/FONT><FONT color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">accomplishments<\/FONT><\/FONT><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\"> so employers can see you have a proven track record?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\"><FONT size=\"2\">Is the content engaging and relevant to <\/FONT><FONT color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">hiring managers\u2019 needs<\/FONT><\/FONT><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Is the cover letter succinct, containing just enough information to entice the reader to review your resume?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\"><FONT size=\"2\">Did you include all information that was requested, such as a job reference number, employment availability date and <\/FONT><FONT color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">salary requirements<\/FONT><\/FONT><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Is the content unique? Did you avoid copying text from your resume verbatim?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Does your cover letter sound genuine? Does it reflect your personality and make you seem likeable and approachable?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Did you proofread your cover letter to ensure that it\u2019s free of spelling, grammar, syntax and formatting errors?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Does the writing style and design coordinate with the resume, such as by using the same font and layout style?<\/FONT><\/LI><\/UL><FONT size=\"2\"><FONT face=\"Verdana\"><STRONG>Closing Paragraph<\/STRONG><BR><\/FONT><\/FONT><br \/>\n<UL><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Did you provide an easy way for employers to contact you, such as a direct phone line and email address?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Does your cover letter end with a call to action, confidently requesting an interview?<BR>&nbsp; <\/FONT><br \/>\n<LI><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Did you remember to sign your letter if you\u2019re mailing a hard copy?<\/FONT><\/LI><\/UL><br \/>\n<P><FONT face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">For more advice on writing a job application cover letter, check out these articles: <\/FONT><\/P><br \/>\n<UL><br \/>\n<LI><A href=\"\/\"><FONT face=\"Verdana\" color=\"#673594\" size=\"2\">Cover Letter Tips for New Graduates<\/FONT><\/A><br \/>\n<LI><A href=\"\/\"><FONT face=\"Verdana\" color=\"#673594\" size=\"2\">Cover Letters to Recruiters<\/FONT><\/A><br \/>\n<LI><A href=\"\/\"><FONT face=\"Verdana\" color=\"#673594\" size=\"2\">Cover Letters That Sell<\/FONT><\/A><\/LI><\/UL><\/SPAN><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#65279;Many job seekers struggle with their cover letters, but writing a good cover letter is a skill that can be learned and perfected. The time and effort will pay off, because a well-written cover letter can increase your odds of getting an interview.&nbsp; If you\u2019re wondering whether your cover letter is the best it can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-resume-cover-letters"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}