10 of the Worst Cover Letter Mistakes to Avoid

10 of the Worst titelblatt Letter Mistakes to Avoid10 of the Worst titelblatt Letter Mistakes to Avoid10 of the Worst Cover Letter Mistakes to AvoidMake sure your deckblatt letter helps your candidacy by avoiding these all-too-common mistakes.Once youve updated your professional resume, its time to prepare your job applications for submission. This usually involves making some small tweaks to your resume and creating a titelbild letter to accompany your application.But arent titelblatt letters a thing of the past?Yes and no. While 74 percent of recruiters dont find the cover letter to be an important factor when evaluating candidates, the remaining percentage do. And since you have no way of knowing which font of recruiter will receive your application, its best to cover your bases and include a cover letter with every job application. As an added bonus, a reported 53 percent of employers admit they prefer candidates to send a cover letter.However, not just any cover letter will do. If youre going to take the time to craft this document, make sure it helps, not hurts, your candidacy, by following cover letter dos and donts. Below are 10 common and costly mistakes to avoid when writing your next cover letter.Cover Letter Mistake 1 Lack of researchThanks to the Internet, theres little excuse to not personalize your cover letters. Whenever possible, research the name of the hiring manager or recruiter (if its not listed on the actual job post) and the company whos filling the position, and use this information to customize your opening document. If you skip this step, youre sending the glaubenszeugnis to the reader that you dont really care enough about the position to do your homework. In a world where employers are inundated with applications, any excuse to eliminate candidates will do. Dont let this cover letter mistakegive them a reason to cut you from the pile.There are some exceptions to this rule. If youre responding to an anonymous job posting, youre not e xpected to include the name of the company or the hiring manager in the cover letter. When a company goes out of its way to keep its name and the names of its employees confidential, you can assume the hiring manager wont take off points if you use a generic opener.Cover Letter Mistake 2 Overly formal or casual greetingsWhenever youre applying for a job or preparing for an interview, take the companys culture into account. You can get a better sense of the employers brand by checking out its Careers section online, reading reviews on Glassdoor, searching for its profile on The Muse, following the social media accounts the company set up for recruitment purposes, and talking to your networking connections whove worked at the organization. This will help you decide if youre better off going with a Hello Jeff or a Dear Mr. Berger type of greeting.If youre unable to address your cover letter to a specific person, steer clear of incredibly formal introductions, such as To Whom It May Con cern, as they are not conversational and can be considered off-putting. The saatkorn goes for super casual openers like Hi Even if youre dealing with a startup that prides themselves on being non-traditional, this cover letter greeting is a little too laid back for your first communication and may have the reader questioning your professionalism.Play it safe and stick with a gender-neutral opener such as Dear Hiring Manager or Dear Recruiter.Cover Letter Mistake 3 Talking all about me, me, meThink of your cover letter as your sales pitch to the hiring manager. Instead of spending the entire time talking about yourself and your wants and needs, consider the needs of your prospective employer. Your potential boss is the one who will (hopefully) read your cover letter, after all.Review the job description again and check out the latest news on the company. Ask yourself why the organization is hiring for this role. In other words, what pain point will this position solve? When you can r elate to the hiring managers concerns and position your skills as the solution to his or her needs, you have a better chance of avoiding cover letter mistakes andcapturing the readers attention.Cover Letter Mistake 4 Repeating your entire resumeRemember, the recruiter already has your resume - theres no need to rehash your entire work history in your cover letter. In fact, I believe this is why so many employers disregard the cover letter theyve read so many bad cover letters that merely summarize their candidates resumes, that they see no need to read them.One cover letter tip is to surprise the hiring manager by using your opening to demonstrate your understanding of the companys position in the marketplace and its needs and then highlight your experiences and accomplishments that speak to these requirements.Avoid these common cover letter mistakes.Hire a TopResume writer today.Cover Letter Mistake 5 Generic messagingEven if youre applying to an anonymous job listing, a common cov er letter mistake is using boilerplate text. While your introduction may not be as specific as it would be for a position where the employer is known, this doesnt give you license to use a generic template for the main sections of your cover letter.Based upon the job description, make a list of the top 3-5 requirements for the role. This may have to do with your knowledge of a certain topic or an industry, your experience performing a particular task, or your education and other credentials. Then, brainstorm how you possess each prerequisite, referencing a specific contribution, accomplishment, or experience from your work history that illustrates these qualifications. Summarize this information in a paragraph or a set of bullets. This is a great way to customize your cover letter and grab the readers attention.Cover Letter Mistake 6 Not following instructionsAs I previously mentioned, some employers, especially those in the healthcare, education, and legal sector, still value a cov er letter and will request one in their job description. Do yourself a favor and re-read the job description carefully to provide context to your cover letter dos and donts. Often times the employer will request certain information to be included in the cover letter. The last thing you want to do is ignore this request, as the reader will assume you are not detail-oriented and unable to follow the simplest of instructions.Cover Letter Mistake 7 TyposWhen youre competing against a large pool of candidates for one role, the smallest cover letter mistakes could be used to eliminate you from the pile. These days, weve grown all too reliant on spell-check and autocorrect to edit our communication. Its easy to overlook the small mistakes, such as using higher when you really meant to say hire. Dont let these silly details derail your job application.Follow this simple cover letter tip Reread your cover letter. Then read it again. Then hand it over to a trusted friend. You know, the one th at majored in English. If youre looking for some resources to improve your grammar and punctuation, check out Lynne Truss book, Eats, Shoots Leaves The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, and Woe is I The Grammarphobes Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. OConner. Theyre great readsCover Letter Mistake 8 Writing a novelIf recruiters spend an average of six seconds scanning your resume before deciding if youre a fit, how long do you think theyll spend reading your cover letter? Heres another set of cover letter dos and donts your cover letter shouldnt be any longer than is necessary to get your points across. And it definitely shouldnt exceed one page.Also, keep its readability in mind. Similar to your resume, try to create white space in your cover letter by avoiding dense blocks of text.Cover Letter Mistake 9 Going off brandWhether youre searching for a new job or managing your career path, its important to pay close attention to how you present your profess ional brand to others online, on paper, and face to face. To that end, another cover letter tip is to give itthe same look and feel as your resume. If youre uploading your cover letter as a separate document to an online application, ensure it uses the same header as your resume. Also, make sure the font type, color, and size, the contact information you provide, and even the name you use on both documents remain consistent.Cover Letter Mistake 10 TMIWhile you can use a cover letter to explain an employment gap or your interest in relocating to a new city, dont overshare your personal details with a prospective employer. The recruiter doesnt need to know the gory details of your back surgery or how you had your heart broken and need to find a new city to call home. These extraneous details cant be used as selling points and will only detract from your qualifications and candidacy.Click on the following link for more job application advice.Your resume should be mistake free as well. Is yours? Find out with a free resume review.Recommended ReadingThis Cover Letter Tip Can Double Your Interview RequestsHow to Be a Great Candidate Even if Youre Under-Qualified for the JobHow to Write a Catchy Cover Letter