Recently, we’ve had numerous students come in, stressing over their resumes and, in turn, their cover letters. They work hard to match their cover letters to each job posting, carefully pinpointing why they are the perfect candidate. When a student sees what goes into writing a cover letter, they find the process to be fairly easy and less intimidating. However, just as there are things that every cover letter SHOULD include, there are also things a cover letter SHOULD NOT include. Our friends at Careerealism have a great post on the six blunders you shouldn’t have in a cover letter. You can see the excellent examples- and explanations- in their article here: http://www.careerealism.com/cover-letter-blunders/. In essence, the six blunders are:
1. Writing a cover letter that is too self-serving
2. Coming off as overly desperate
3. Adding details that are irrelevant
4. Not proofreading and seeming careless
5. Writing a lacking, or too short cover letter
6. Alternatively, writing a lengthy cover letter
A cover letter is clearly about content and conveying how you would be an asset in a given role. However, just as there are things to avoid in a resume, there are also things to avoid in your cover letter. Remember your cover letter and resume are your first impression, and you don’t want either to put you in the “No” pile!
ALBRIGHT ELCDC 