The cover letter states. How to write a cover letter for a resume

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Covering letter This type may be needed in 2 cases:

1) If it should be written by a graduate who does not yet have work experience.

2) A covering letter must be written to a person who is changing profession - there is no experience in the new profession.

In these two cases, the emphasis in the cover letter needs to be placed differently, so we will consider these cases separately.

How to write a cover letter for a graduate with no work experience

What to focus on?

• subject thesis (coursework), if it is relevant to the vacancy,
• work experience within the framework of internship (for example, pre-graduation),
• experience in social/volunteer activities,
• personal qualities(with an emphasis on those that are important for the employer; which ones - read in the job description),
• achievements, awards (victories in competitions, competitions, etc.),
• additional training (courses, programs, etc.), certificates received based on training results,
• links to your publications, portfolio, blog. Links to social media accounts if you often write posts on professional topics.

Why are these particular points important?

The weakest point of a graduate is the lack of work experience. You need to try to compensate for this feature: show that you have knowledge, abilities, potential; or already there practical experience, even if it is calculated in one month of work.

All important points you need to fit in a text of no more than half a page (5-10 sentences), so you should be very careful about the information that you present in the cover letter. The best guide is the job description. For example, the employer has identified leadership qualities as mandatory for the applicant, and you have experience as a counselor, or you were the captain of a sports team during your student years. Mention this in your cover letter.

How to write a cover letter without work experience - structure

Follow the following document structure:

1. Greeting (it is better to address a specific person if the ad indicates a contact person; if not, you can write “Dear employer!”
2. Brief introduction of yourself (who you are, what your name is, what vacancy you are applying for).
3. Your main motive is why you are interested in this vacancy.
4. Arguments why an employer should pay attention to you Special attention(information about practical experience, knowledge, achievements).
5. Expression of readiness to provide more detailed information about yourself.

It’s good if you collect information about the company or a specific division (division, department), and you will be able to “throw a bridge” between the company’s values, its methods of work or goals - and your knowledge, experience, values.

For example, a company widely uses a software product that you know well. Or the company is planning to enter Western markets, and you are fluent in English or other foreign languages. Finally, the company is passionate about volleyball: competitions are regularly held in which a large number of employees - and you play great volleyball.

Find the points where you and the employer coincide - and note this in your cover letter.

Example of a graduate cover letter

Job vacancy "Content Manager" in a marketing and advertising agency.

“Good afternoon, dear Vladimir!

My name is Lyudmila Ivanova. I want to take part in the competition for the vacancy “Content Editor” (announcement on the website Rabota.org dated 12/23/16).

In June 2016 I graduated from Voronezh State University majoring in Philology (English, German, French). Philology is my calling; From my early school years I wrote essays well. In grades 9-10, she worked as an editor for the school newspaper.

During my studies at the university, I collaborated with 2 publications as the author of articles:

1. with the magazine " Correct solution"(publication about business); 8 articles on business topics, including analytical materials,
2. with the online magazine “Pulse Voronezh”; more than 50 articles (led a news column).

Have experience of cooperation with the Business 2 Community portal: 10 of my articles on career topics have been published (they can be viewed via my profile on this portal).

I'm good with words as a tool, but I want to go further and gain experience in the field of content management. I know that in your studio I could grow as a specialist because you work on complex problems and create successful products.

I have no experience in the field of content management yet, but I have a theoretical basis. I subscribe to portal news that regularly share developments in the field of content management: [ portal names]. You will direct my efforts in the right direction - and in six months you will have a competent content manager on your staff, active in self-education and striving for constant improvement professional level. As an article writer, creating quality product, I can perform today. Moreover, I can create content in Russian and English (at a minimum; if necessary, in German and French).

I am ready to answer your questions and tell you more about myself at any time.

Resume is attached.

Thank you in advance for your time.

You can contact me at e-mail and by phone [telephone].

With respect and hope for cooperation, Lyudmila.”

The underlined fragments are those in which they would be appropriate active links.

How to write a cover letter for a resume without work experience when changing professions

The difficulty of the situation for a person changing profession is that he actually has no experience in the new specialty. Changing a profession means “nullifying” the merits and achievements that have been accumulated up to this point. Hence all the difficulties in finding a job that are typical for job seekers without experience, including the difficulty in writing an accompanying resume that will interest the employer.

In the case of a change of profession, the following emphasis should be made in the cover letter:

1. List the skills and achievements that are relevant to the new profession and to the specific vacancy. For example, you successfully coordinated the activities of a working group of 10 people. This is an achievement - and corresponding skills - that can be used in any job, regardless of profile; therefore, they increase the value of the applicant in the eyes of the employer. You can find quite a lot of such skills: communication, analytical; high level knowledge of computer programs that are widely used; knowledge foreign languages etc.
2. Show that you already have a theoretical basis for successful work in a new profession. For example, you completed training courses or completed several tasks for employers/customers as a freelancer - and completed them successfully.
3. Emphasize that you learn new things quickly. To do this, it is not enough to write that one of your personal qualities is a quick learner. Give an example when you mastered new information in a short time: for example, you learned to use computer program, or mastered and used in practice other working tools, methods, techniques.
4. Focus on motivation. Emphasize that you want to get this particular job in this company. In many cases, an employer is ready to hire a candidate with no experience, but with a sincere desire to work productively.

Example of a cover letter for changing professions

Vacancy – SMM manager in a chain of stores household appliances.

"Dear Sergey!

My name is Vladimir Eremeev, I am an applicant for the vacancy “SMM manager”.

For the past 10 years I have worked as an executive assistant/secretary and translator. SMM became interested six months ago, when I realized that I was ready to change my professional trajectory - I wanted a more stable work schedule, less dependence on the manager’s schedule, while leaving space for self-realization and making independent decisions. The idea came by itself: I realized that my accounts in in social networks are popular, and without much effort on my part.

For six months I studied theory, while remaining at a permanent job, and experimented in practice. Completed SMM courses organized by the marketing agency “Idea!” (3 months of training). Created three experimental groups: on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and used the knowledge gained to increase attendance and activity in the groups. A recent competition held in a Facebook group resulted in a 500% increase in group membership and a 250% increase in daily visits.

The main reason why I am interested in your vacancy is that for the last 2 years I have been an assistant director of a company that distributes household appliances. I am well acquainted with the features of household appliances from different manufacturers, I understand the values ​​and needs of the target audience. This knowledge will allow me to quickly get up to speed and establish effective communication with customers of your chain of stores.

Ready to provide more information about yourself detailed information in a form convenient for you.

My email, my phone. [telephone].

Thank you in advance for your time in my candidacy.

Sincerely, Vladimir Eremeev."

The set of advantages, achievements, and personal qualities that are worth mentioning in a cover letter is determined individually for each applicant: there is no set of universal “pluses” that will convince the employer of the applicant’s value. Think about what your strengths are - taking into account knowledge, experience (professional and life), personal qualities, goals and values ​​- try to connect them with the requirements of the vacancy and write about this in your cover letter.

The concept of “cover letter” has recently entered into daily life in connection with the development of Internet technologies. Typically these are short letters that accompany the main document and contain Additional information for the recipient. Under the guidance of an experienced HR manager, we figured out what rules exist for such letters in the business environment.

Cover letters are read before analyzing the resume itself, so they play a major role in the interpretation and perception of subsequent information. The letter must certainly be composed competently, then it will win over the reader and distract him from critical perception. A bad letter is a reason to throw even a perfect resume into the trash: 36% of HR managers admitted that they rejected candidates because of incorrect cover letters.

The practice of writing cover letters is more common among senior and middle managers. In these positions, writing requires a fundamentally different quality of execution. Let's look at the main features of successful cover letters.

Strict structure

The cover letter contains:

1. Greetings(“Dear [name/position]”, “[Name], good afternoon”, “Dear”)

   The greeting should either be personalized or addressed to specialists in a specific department if the recipient's name is not known.

2. Main part

   2.1. tell us what position you are applying for if you send your resume to the employer’s work email. There is no need to do this on the site;
   2.2. explain why you were attracted to this vacancy: an interesting product, new features or complex tasks;
   2.3. From motivation, smoothly move on to experience and a list of projects that are not described in the resume, but are useful for this vacancy;
   2.4. Remind again of your motivation for the position. The further the content of paragraph 2.3 is from the required experience, the more necessary paragraph 2.4.

3. Parting(“Best regards”, “With respect”) and duplicated contact information

It is important to remember that all points except 2.3 are well-established clichés created by successful candidates over many years of practice. They are standard, obvious, are already etiquette when communicating through cover letters, should not exceed one or two sentences and are written strictly from a new paragraph with an indentation.

Let's give an example from a letter from the head of the sales department of a large Western FMCG company. It is quite long, but for a leadership position it is quite acceptable.

“Irina, good afternoon,

I am writing to you regarding the vacancy “Head of Channel Sales Department modern trade».

I find the described responsibilities and objectives of this position extremely interesting. I have always been attracted to complex and ambitious projects.

I would like to immediately note that I have no experience working specifically with household appliances, but unlike most candidates, I have the following strengths:

• more than 5 years of experience working with federal networks at the level of top officials;
• successful launch and online introduction of new products in highly competitive categories (dairy products).

My professional experience also includes:

• managing teams of sales representatives and supervisors of 30 people;
• closing accounts receivable for key customers.

If there is mutual interest, I suggest you call us at any time convenient for you.

Sincerely,
Alexey H,
Tel."

Although in most cases the recipient's name is unknown, it is important to ensure that the message is personalized and thoughtful. Remember that a copied, boilerplate cover letter will likely leave your resume unread. Possible requests to the site could be: “Dear HR department of company X”, “Dear employees of the recruitment department of company X”, “Dear recruiting manager of company X”, “I have carefully studied the position of Head of Sales Department of the Modern Trade Channel, etc. ."

Small but capacious

Remember that a cover letter should be read in 10 seconds. Unfortunately, a common practice in Russian culture is to include in a cover letter absolutely all projects and life experiences that are completely unrelated to the vacancy. Such letters reveal a total misunderstanding of both the position and its role in the company.

Try to write a short but informative and useful letter with only quality information.

Business style

The style of the cover letter should be consistent with the company's industry and corporate culture.

For most engineering, medical, banking, consulting and other employers, the consistent business style described above is suitable. It is a win-win for 95% of vacancies posted on the Internet. It is distinguished by the easiest and most informative form of writing: simple structure, terminology, absence of cumbersome subordinate and complex sentences.

The remaining 5% are in the areas of Hi-tech, creative, IT start-up, private and small companies with niche products - they allow more free and emotional treatment.

Errors

A common mistake that instantly kills the reader’s interest is template letters. If this application for a position is so typical for you that you copy your letter, then you become just as typical for the recipient.

Do not duplicate your experience in other words in your cover letter.. No one wants to waste extra time reading the same information twice.

Creative writing and humor are appropriate only if the company in question is one of the small percentage of employers for whom originality and humor are part of professional activity and corresponds to the internal corporate culture.

So, what is the secret to successful cover letters? They are structured, small in volume, but extremely comprehensive, stylized according to the company’s culture and do not contain errors. And most importantly, such cover letters focus on the interests of the company, and not on the personal interest of the candidate. Show that you know what the company needs and how to help it.

A cover letter is a form of business etiquette. In addition to a simple register of transferred documents, it contains recommendations for handling them. In addition, according to the registration data, you can determine the execution time and the fact of sending. For an example of how to write a cover letter for documents, see the article.

How to write a cover letter for documents

There is no single unified form of writing. Requirements for the preparation of organizational and administrative documentation are described in GOST R 6.30-2003. The requirements of this standard are recommended.

How to write a cover letter for documents? Let's start with the basic rules:

• on company letterhead;
• indicating the date and registration number.

Let's take a closer look at a sample cover letter about sending documents, what main sections the text can be divided into and what information should be reflected in them.

Example of a cover letter for documents

Enterprise employees not only have to send such requests to counterparties, but also receive them from them. It makes sense for business clerks to develop a form for an incoming cover letter for documents. It will be required if the counterparty provides the package without explanation. This often happens in collaboration with individuals, and for legal entities this case is no exception. To optimize document flow, the counterparty will be able to fill out the proposed form, which will indicate all the necessary information.

Sample cover letter for transfer of documents. Form designed to be filled out by the counterparty:

What not to indicate

The text of the appeal is kept in a business style. Despite the fact that the message is not an independent form, you should not allow familiarity when composing it. The covering letter for documents should not evaluate what is happening, be emotional and contain phrases that in one way or another may offend the recipient. An example of phrases that cannot be used and options for replacing them:

Who signs the letter

The appeal can be signed by the head of the department, manager, Chief Accountant, Head of the organization. In this case, communication ethics should be observed. If the text contains an appeal to the head of the company, then it must be signed by an equal manager. It should also be remembered that the manager delegates the execution of instructions to the performers. Therefore, when signing, the director should indicate the contractor’s contacts so that the recipient does not have to waste time searching for the person responsible. Printing in this case is not mandatory.

Upon receipt, the recipient will assign the document an incoming number and date, which the clerk will enter manually or using a stamp. Using this information, it will be possible to easily track the stages of its passage and clarify at which level of consideration the application is at one time or another.