How to Write a Cover Letter 2024 (Simple & Easy) with headings and examples to tell you about the cover letter. You can write a cover letter by following the guidelines below. Do not confuse a cover letter and a motivation letter. The difference between a motivation letter vs a cover letter is that a cover letter gives specific examples of how your job experience and skills match the opening youโre applying for. A motivation letter, on the other hand, focuses more on your personality, interests, and motives for applying. Read our 9 points on how to write a Cover letter. Read it, it is simple and easy to understand.
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Methods on How to Write a Cover Letter
๐. ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง:
Whenever you see a job ad or a PhD position ad, it also mentions the point of contact. For example, the name of the professor in case of a PhD/postdoc position. Specifically, address this person e.g., Dear Prof. Peter.
๐. ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐งโ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐:
Since you are writing it to a specific person, speak in his/her language. This means using the terms, which that person already knows e.g., keywords from his/her research. You should also make use of the key terms mentioned in the advertisement. This will make your letter resonate with the reader. For instance, it is quite likely that Iโll read a letter that mentions the terms cyber security, big data, and software engineering.
๐. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ญ:
Everything makes more sense when itโs in numbers. Therefore, quantify wherever possible. Moreover, focus on the outcome instead of the process. For example, instead of saying that I have research experience in big data, you should say my 2-year experience working in big data has resulted in 3 research papers.
๐. ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐:
Ask yourself this question why would someone read a 500-word letter? What will compel him/her to read this whole letter? Give a smooth and soft flow to your letter. Help the reader to easily go from one sentence to another.
๐. ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐:
People are mostly quite busy. They donโt have time to read lengthy letters nor do they have time to read very complex writing. Keep it to one page and write in simple straight language. Do not use a sentence longer than 2 lines.
๐. ๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ญ:
Why you are writing this letter? Mention the purpose right away. โI am writing to express my interest in the PhD position available at your research labโ is a decent line to start with.
๐. ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐:
Keep your letter very positive. Do not complain or blame anyone or anything. Mention how your skills and experience fit the advertised job. Do not mention that you deserve the position because something bad happened or that you were at some disadvantage in the past.
๐. ๐๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ:
Make sure your letter is free from typos and grammar errors. You can easily remove such errors using online software tools such as Grammarly.
๐. ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐:
Your resume is only about you. A cover letter is where you link your profile with that of the advertised position. This way itโs both about you and the advertised position. Focus on demonstrating this link instead of only focusing on your profile.
Is anything to be added? Happy to share a template/sample cover letter if you need one.