With that being said, here are the steps to write a cover letter for the human resources jobs that you desire. Don't worry, because even the new college graduate can accomplish a good cover letter just by following these steps.
Do Your Research
Think of the way you did your research while preparing your resume. Your cover letter deserves the same conscientious attention to the needs of your prospective employers, again because it can make or break your application.
Your research will also allow for targeted cover letters that specifically relate to the human resources position you are applying for. Thus, avoid providing all employers with the same cover letter as it demonstrates your haphazard way of thinking in addition to showing that you don't really care for the company.
Also, your research will provide information about the person your letter will be addressed to. Absolutely avoid addressing it as ''Sir/Madam'' lest you come off as unprofessional, which is the last impression you should be providing the company.
Read through Your Resume
You will probably ask why. Reading through your resume provides information on the areas that you can highlight in your cover letter, again to pique the employer's interest. Also, your cover letter must complement your resume, not duplicate it, thus, the importance of reading through the latter before writing the former.
To achieve such complementation, you can identify the most pertinent work experiences and skills that you possess as they relate to the human resources job you are applying for. Or to state it another way, you can relate your abilities to the qualifications required in the open position.
Of course, this also applies to all of your applications for jobs in other industries. Surely, your college professors in business communication have taught you about this fact of life.
Start Writing Your Cover Letter
When writing your cover letter, read through books about standard business letters. If you don't have the time due to various reasons, you can always keep these tips in mind:
- Always use professional titles and salutations in your cover letter. Make sure that the name of the addressee and the position title are spelled correctly. If possible, call the company for this information, unless there are specifications that no calls will be accepted.
- State the reason for your letter, which is basically your interest in the job.
- State your source of information regarding the position, as well as the position itself. This way, the employer will be clued in to your desired job.
- Explain the reasons for your interest in the company and in the job.
- Identify the most pertinent personal skills and professional abilities that match the position you are applying for. Again, complement your resume instead of duplicating it.
- Express your strengths, motivations, and interests as these apply to the position.
- Indicate your means of follow-up—either by phone or e-mail. Or you can also ask for an interview at their convenience with your contact number stated.
- Express your sincerest thanks to the company for their favorable consideration.
- To make a positive impression on your prospective employer, you must remember these points in writing cover letters:
- Avoid overusing the words ''I'' or ''me'' because it demonstrates selfishness and self-centeredness. Instead, talk about how you can become as asset to the company.
- Always be positive in your wordings. This gives the impression that you are an optimistic person able to cope with challenges, of which there are many in human resources jobs.
- The cover letter must be relatively brief, just one-page long on a standard-sized paper.
- For your initial cover letter, don't include your salary requirements. This will come after you have been asked for an interview in most instances.
- Absolutely avoid verboseness as well as the use of clichés and crass humor in your cover letter. Although you can include a bit of humor to show another side of your personality, make it as light as possible since a cover letter is still a professional communication!
Proofread, Edit, and Re-Edit
You might revise your cover letter countless times. When you do hit upon the perfect cover letter, you will not do as much work, except to tweak it a little to suit the needs of other companies.
You must ensure that there are no misspellings, grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, and the like. You want your cover letter to be perfect, and by perfect, it means exactly that! Indeed, if you can ask the assistance of your family and friends to assist you in drafting the cover letter, then good for you. After all, two heads are better than one.
Now that you have your perfect cover letter, you are ready to take on any discriminating company by impressing them with that single piece of paper first and then your resume.
