How to write a cover letter?

Remeber why you write a cover letter

1. To get the person who decides who will be invited to interview to read your resume carefully

key : attract attention

• say how you found out about the job; make it easy for them to contact you.
• Give details of your availability for interivew(at the end of the letter)

2. To communicate your enthusiasm for the job

• Say how it fits with past experience and/or career goals
• Show that you know something about the company
• Don't be too pushy but polite

3. To demonstrate how the sum of your past experience, personal traits, knowledge and transferable skills, fit you for this job

• Don't just produce your resume in detail - summarize your achievements
• Try to draw attention to at least one which is significant and relevant - give evidence for your claims about how wonderful you are
• Emphasize benefits to the company, not benefits to you

Weaknesses

Too strong worded (eg. Immediately recognise, obviously relevant, could really be of use)

Repetitive wordings (eg. Vital and essential)

Vague wordings (Eg. Lots of skills, demonstrates my brilliant mind )

Overly glorifying the company (Eg. “your esteemed company”, “the fame of”, “amazing growth” in one sentence)

Should not include the salary expectation

Questions should not be used

Dos and Don’ts of writing a Cover Letter

Don'ts

Don't talk about your passions if they're not relevant to what you're applying for.

Don't oversell or exaggerate yourself.

Don't repeat.

Don't suck up to the company you are applying for

Avoid indicating the salary expectations

Dos

Shows that you researched what you're applying for and that you are interested

Do proofread it very carefully

Do include your plans for if you're accepted( I believe that I will be able to contribute new teaching ideas to the department as ...)

Convey how you would grow and gain from the opportunity should you be offered a space on the programme

Do describe how you feel you can contribute to what you're applying for - without sounding arrogant. (Having been a public speaker on my school's team for years, I feel confident I will be comfortable contributing ideas and collaborating on a team)

Recommended Order

1. Application for the post of ...
2. Show interest and hightlignt
3. Relevant experiences and skills
4. say why you are impressed by this company
5. contact info and availability
   6.Express thanks

Example

Application for the post of Management Trainee

I am very interested in your Management Trainee programme, the details of which you placed with the Hong Kong University Careers Education & Placement Centre. I believe my educational background in Transport Economics, my leadership skills, and my track record of effective management in student affairs would enable me to make a strong contribution to your company.

In addition to having taken subjects directly relevant to your company's operations, I can offer a variety of skills that can be developed to meet your specific needs in the future. In particular, my sucessful use of .... in my research project demonstrates how quickly I can learn new data processing systems. My work as an arbitrator for three years at the Student Counselling Centre is proof of my interpersonal skills. Also, my advanced proficiency in ... could be of use in your new cargo service to ...

I am attracted to COMPANY by the preputation of your Management Trainee Programmed and by your recent rapid growth, as evidenced by your successful takeover bid for ... last July in the face of stiff competition from ... I am also impressived by your acquisition of 17 new .... and the addition of six new routes into China, which I believe will ensure a promising future for the company well into the next century.

I would greatly appreciate an interview to discuss at greater length the contributions I could make to your team. Please contact me at ... after ... during the day.

Thank you for taking the time to reveiw my application.

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Epilogue

Good luck with your job searching!