A cover letter is a great opportunity for candidates to shine. With CVs getting shorter and hiring managers getting busier, extra space is a valuable resource. There’s nothing worse than to waste that opportunity and the recruiter’s time with a badly written letter.
A letter of presentation should complement your resume and give some context and background. It’s also the right moment to let your personality shine and give with both its context and writing style a good idea of who you are as an employee and on a personal level.
Too much information and repetitions, however, will quickly lose the reader’s attention and actually work against your application.
On this page, you’ll find a list of things not to include in your cover letter and common mistakes to avoid.
Spelling and grammar mistakes
This is a big one. Just like you do as you write your CV, correct spelling and language should be among your priorities.
That’s not to say that all HR professionals are obsessed with grammar. A well-proofread cover letter shows attention to detail, a highly valued quality in a coworker. If you’re already leaving mistakes on the page, it’s easy to imagine that you could do the same as you write an email to a client in the future.
Tip: Try to read your document from the bottom up so that you don’t let anything slip. Have someone else proofread your writing for you. There are also plenty of free tools and web extensions that will help you check your grammar.
A full page of text
We mentioned that this is your chance to add relevant details and convince your prospective employer that you, and only you, are the right fit for this position.
You won’t manage to do that if you stuff your page with information. It’s important not to tire the reader and to allow some white space on your document for their eyes to rest.
Remember, the presentation letter should be concise and to the point, including facts and real life examples of your skills and achievements. It’s ok to include some personal information and you should indeed tailor it to the company you’re applying for, but irrelevant information should be left out.
Keep your paragraphs and sentences short. Using a font size smaller than 11 is a no-no and so is filling out more than one page.
💡Tip
Use an online cover letter builder to find a format designed for optimal readability.
Incorrect information
It’s normal or companies to run checks and contact referees to confirm the veracity of what you’re saying. That is true for every step of the recruitment process, from CV to interview, including your cover letter.
Being caught in a lie will automatically exclude you from the pool of candidates. And even if you’re not exposed, you don’t want to start a professional relationship with a company with the fear that the truth may come to the surface sooner or later.
💡Tip
Focus on your strengths. Chances are, your profile is already impressive as it is. You can use the cover letter to explain anomalies in your CV (like long gaps between jobs) but this is a place where positive language is key.
Cover letter clichés
Standard, trite phrases will take up space and won’t work to your advantage. Imagine being the reader and thinking that this letter sounds just like tens of others you’ve gone through this morning. Would you contact the job seeker?
You want your piece to stand out. In order to do so, it needs to be different from most.
Here are some expressions to avoid:
- To whom it may concern
- Thinking outside the box
- Team player
- Fast learner
- Problem solver
- I’m the best candidate for this position
- This job would be a dream come true
💡Tip
Show, don’t tell. Most of the above examples show the right goal but the wrong way to get there. You want to let recruiter to know that you’ve researched the role, you can work in a team, and that you’re the right fit. However, you want your achievements and qualifications to prove that without you having to spell it out.
By now, you already know that whenever you can send a cover letter, you should do so. Not only you’re taking advantage of one more chance to impress the hiring organisation but failing to send one (even when ‘optional’) will give a clear indication that you’re not willing to go the extra mile.
However, keep in mind that not just any piece of writing will work. A cover letter can make or break your application. A successful one will be tailored, concise, positive, and polished.
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