Are you aware that there are several kinds of cover letters but you can still use the same guidelines for writing each one of them? The base of your cover letter will depend on how you put into writing your purpose, your motivation, your exuberance, your experience and your skills. Technically, it should show your personality and professionalism.

In order to understand what makes a cover letter great, you need to know the dos and don't in writing a cover letter. The first thing you need to get familiar with is to how you should address your cover letter. A great cover letter is addressed to the person who is in charge with the hiring process. Or else, your cover letter and resume will have a difficult time reaching the personnel department. So, do some research to learn exactly who is giving the hiring decision; in addition, ensure that the name, title and company information is spelled correctly.

You should also personalize your cover letter. Nowadays, generic cover letters are as boring as seeing foreign movies without translations. Create your cover letter in a conversational style however keep the formality and professionalism. Your letter should sound like you and it should not sound like a history book. To do this, be natural when making your cover letter. At first try you may feel nervous and awkward about it as you try to avoid grammar and spelling errors. Do not mind the errors first. You can check and proofread them after.

When creating your cover letter, ensure that your interest is displayed. You can do it by presenting your knowledge about the company or the industry. Apparently, there is where you also need to do research. However, do not go overboard that it might appear you replicated all the information of the company. As a guide, the two things you need to keep in mind are: who are they and what they do.

To create a bigger impact, make use of terms and phrases that are significant to the hiring manager or employer. For instance, if the company needs specific skills and experience for a certain job position, use those requirements and fit them to your skills and experience. If you must, bold them to make them excel even more.

Technically, a cover letter should not have bulleted lists; though some people use bulleted lists to make the cover letter much easier to read, it is still suggested that this list is integrated only in your resume. Therefore, your letter should be in paragraphs form. It should consist of at least three paragraphs. The first paragraph should briefly state what job position you are applying for, how you heard about the vacancy, and how qualified are you and what are your general qualifications.

Meanwhile, the body of your cover letter extends on how qualified you are. Tell the relevant skills and experience you have and talk about them as brief and detailed as possible. If you can, show how your skills and experience make you qualified for the job. The final paragraph of your cover letter should contain your request for an interview. Be specific and direct about it.