Covering letter of CV is crucial
I.M. Soni

The decision to hire or reject an individual is primarily based on a successful or unsuccessful interview. Yet, many important strategies must be successfully completed prior to the interview stage if a job is to be attained.

One such preliminary strategy is writing the covering letter. Since a letter is often the initial contact between you and an employer, its content will make an important first impression.

Therefore, before you can sell yourself in an interview, it is important that your letter also contain selling qualities.

Your ability to communicate effectively in a letter is a perquisite for further consideration for employment. Careful attention to the preparation of letters with special emphasis on effective communication is an important aspect of this step in the job-hunting sequence.

Let a letter summarise the facts of the enclosed resume in such a way that the employer will be interested enough to read the resume. This approach is based on two main assumptions: First, the purpose of an employment letter is to make the employer read the resume and, secondly, an employer is not likely to carefully read a resume unless the covering letter catches his or her attention.

A letter seeking employment should be a simple communication which is business-like but not overly formal, respectful without being shy, and personal but at the same time dignified. This type of letter allows the resume to speak for itself.

How to write a letter that will make this favourable impression?”

An important consideration is that the covering letter you write is a “communicative extension” of yourself and, accordingly, should be consistent with your personality.

This means that you should feel comfortable with what you say in a letter. Except in cases where formal phrases are necessary, your written expressions can be very similar to those you would use when speaking to an individual employer.

This is not to say that informality should be a part of a business correspondence; only that being yourself in a letter is important.

Using an explosive vocabulary, words whose meanings you have to look up is an example of not being yourself. This will create a superficial impression that can be seen through by the interviewer or personnel manager.

By being yourself through correspondence, you can find the right combination of sincerity, confidence, and selling to create that favourable first impression on a prospective employer.

You can write three kinds of letters when you are pursuing an employment opportunity: letters of enquiry or covering letter; letters of application; and follow-up letters.

Though their purposes are different, the content and points to be aware of are, in many cases, similar.

The following points are applicable to all employment-related correspondence.

Your name (signature) should always be written in longhand.

The letter should be neat and free of errors. You should proofread it carefully for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Keep the letter brief and to the point — a one-page letter is the accepted standard. Employers lose interest if they have to read irrelevant padding.

Avoid boastfulness, apologies, exaggeration, insincerity, and inconsistency.

Do not waste the employer’s time by telling him things he already knows or that appear in your enclosed resume.