How To Tailor Your Cover Letter To Each Application

Following on from last week’s blog about tailoring your CV to each job application, I thought I would shed some light on how to tailor your cover letter too.

There have been questions raised about whether cover letters are still really necessary, but they do still have a place in the job applicati0n process, and some employers will automatically reject candidates if they don’t include one.

Cover letters are tricky, there’s no two ways about it. But it’s a hundred times worse to include a rubbish, generic one that not include one at all.

So, without further ado, here are my top tips on how to tailor your cover letter to each job application.

1) Address The Hiring Manager Directly

The first thing you should do before tweaking your cover letter is to make sure that you address it to the hiring manager/recruiter directly. If his/her name is not included in the job description, check on the company’s website, on LinkedIn or even call them to find out their name. This will show that you have done research and that you’re committed to the position.

Also make sure that the first paragraph clearly specifies which job you are applying for and where you found it.

For example: “I am writing to apply for the position of Social Media Manager at your company, as advertised on Bubble Jobs.”

2) Highlight Relevant Skills

Hiring managers don’t have time to read every single cover letter in depth, so that’s why it’s vital that you highlight your relevant skills for the role fairly early in the letter.

Make a list of the skills required in the job advert and then compare them to your own skills. This way it’s easy for you to then pick out your strongest skills that are relevant to the job requirements and highlight them in your cover letter, explaining how they will benefit the company.

3) Only Mention Relevant Experience

You don’t have a lot of space to sell yourself in your cover letter, so it’s really important that you only mention the experience you have that will be relevant to the role.

If the job description asks for two years of SEO experience, it’s no use blabbing on about the three years you spent in sales. Focus on the experience that best matches the job advertisement, as well as any relevant qualifications.

4) Talk About Company Values

Sometimes it’s more important to hire a candidate whose personality fits in with the company’s brand values rather than the most qualified candidate.

Does the job advert specify the company’s values? If not, check out their website and read up on the company’s attitude to work and growth. Highlight how your experience, personality and values match up with those of the company and how you will seamlessly fit into the business.

5) Do Your Research

By this point you should have a really solid cover letter that will impress the hiring manager, but why not go that extra mile?!

Do a quick Google search of the company you’re applying to and see if there’s any recent news that would affect the role you’re applying for. Perhaps they’re increasing their marketing budget, using a new operating system or setting up an extra online service.

Reference this in your cover letter and how your expertise will lend themselves to this development. This will show that you’ve done your research and are keen to make your mark in the business.

So there we go, five top tips on how to tailor your cover letter for each job application.

I hope these are useful! Do you agree with the tips or have any of your own? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter @BubbleJobs!

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