1. Length: A piece of A4 paper can conquer the world.
How long should a work letter be? 1000 is enough. It is good to have a long, voluminous and endless job application letter, but unfortunately, busy personnel managers will not spend time on your application letter. A short and straightforward cover letter is more likely to attract the attention of the personnel supervisor. Therefore, some people put forward the "four-paragraph theory" of the cover letter, thinking that the cover letter only needs to be written in four paragraphs, and it is also specific to the "five elements in each paragraph": the first paragraph writes about the source of work information and the position to be applied for, the second paragraph writes about personal qualifications, the third paragraph writes about development potential, and finally puts forward the interview hope. In fact, whether it is "a few paragraphs" or printed or handwritten, we don't advocate that a cover letter should be longer than A4 paper, because a cover letter that needs to turn pages may make the other party lose interest in reading. A piece of A4 paper is enough to conquer the world.
Handwritten cover letter: a good choice
If your handwriting is not ugly, you can try to write a cover letter by hand. Handwriting a cover letter can better show the sincerity of job hunting, and at the same time let the other party see that I am not the kind of person who casts a net all over the sky. When writing a cover letter, you need to pay attention to several questions. First, you should pay attention to the choice of stationery and envelopes, choose more solemn stationery and envelopes, and don't use those with cartoon patterns or fancy designs. Second, pay attention to the size, font and line spacing of words, not too small or too sloppy, and don't write densely and dazzled. Third, we should pay attention to the neatness of stationery and envelopes. Don't sprinkle some ink here, sprinkle some water there. If you make a mistake, rewrite it as much as possible without changing it.
A cover letter can be written by hand.
Xiao Zhang usually prefers calligraphy and writes well. Before attending the job fair, he saw that all his classmates were printing cover letters. He felt that they were all the same and had no characteristics. He had a brainwave and decided to write some application letters by hand. At the job fair, when Xiao Zhang handed his application letter to a company, the employer was immediately attracted: because everyone else's was printed or copied, only Xiao Zhang's was handwritten and very neat and beautiful. After simple communication, the recruiter decided on the spot to let Xiao Zhang directly participate in the second interview personally presided over by the general manager of the unit. And Xiao Liu, who has the same conditions as Xiao Zhang and good handwriting, did not write a cover letter by hand, because the cover letter was inconspicuous and did not get an interview opportunity.
Please leave your complete contact information.
Never forget this one, or all your efforts will be in vain. What a pity if the employer thinks you are good and decides to give you an interview, but you can't find the contact information anywhere! Therefore, please leave a complete contact information in a conspicuous position in the cover letter, including mobile phone number, home and dormitory phone number, e-mail, address and postal code. This information should be up-to-date and comprehensive, especially the mobile phone number and email address. It is best to write the contact information according to the degree of common use, with the common ones written in the front and the uncommon ones written in the back.
Taboo problems in the production of cover letters
In the process of making a cover letter, there are many details that need our attention, including many aspects, such as address, tone, content, format and so on. If you don't pay attention to avoid making these small mistakes, it will inevitably cause a lot of regrets and unhappiness in the job search process. Frequently asked questions in the cover letter mainly include:
(1) Text problem
A typo. Errors, other words and sick sentences in the cover letter must be deleted. Text errors are especially common in printed cover letters. A cover letter is an excellent opportunity to show the level of language and writing, and many units have high requirements in this respect. Therefore, when you finish writing the cover letter, you must carefully check it several times. It is best to ask your classmates or teachers to make suggestions to make sure that nothing is wrong.
Abuse of abbreviations. As I said before, dates should not be abbreviated. In fact, in the cover letter, unless it is a well-known abbreviation, try not to abbreviate it. For example, Beihang University should not be written as Beihang University and Sun Yat-sen University should not be written as Zhong Da University. Many times, you think the other person should know the abbreviation, and the other person may not know it. Even if the other person knows, a cover letter full of abbreviations such as "Beihang University" and "Zhong Da University" is not serious and impolite.
Pile up words. Even if you know everything, don't imagine that you can impress recruiters with gorgeous words. Many college graduates like to use some gorgeous language when writing cover letters, thinking that this will make their cover letters stand out, but it is not. Gorgeous language is mostly flashy, which belongs to big talk, empty talk and rhetoric, and has no practical effect. In fact, some cover letters have no grandiose words or flowery words, but they make people feel cordial, natural and true when read.
Too emotional. At present, some college students like to play the "emotional card" when looking for a job, hoping that their cover letters can win by surprise, and often take more extreme measures, such as exaggerating some detours they have taken during their growth as their "history of blood and tears" or "confession of true feelings", which is not worth it. What about "parents divorced from childhood" and "brother dropped out of school at home"? Some job seekers regard these experiences as the capital of job hunting in an attempt to win the sympathy of employers. In fact, employers will feel hypocritical and dishonest when they read it.
(2) Attitude problem
Put an end to the following performance in the cover letter:
Blind and arrogant. I think I am the best in the world, and I am aggressive in my application letter. For example, "I am a graduate of XX University, and I believe your company will consider me, otherwise it will be your loss."
Not confident enough. There should be no pessimism and inferiority in the cover letter. Who would like an employee who lacks self-confidence? However, in many application letters, we saw someone write: "I deeply know that my qualifications are not as good as others, but I can work hard." "Although I don't have any experience now, I will try my best to make up for it through study." "Although I am not a graduate of a famous university, I will work hard." Although there is a "but", it has actually lost to others in momentum.
Blow your own horn. For example, "I can adapt to all kinds of jobs." "I believe I can change the loss situation of your company." This inferior "cowhide" can be seen through at a glance.
Bullying others. Perhaps intentionally or unintentionally, someone wrote in the cover letter: "General Manager XXX asked me to write to you and apply for the position of legal assistant." "I want to apply for the position of computer specialist in your company. I hope you can help me after being introduced by the vice president." This kind of cover letter is disgusting
Threaten each other. For example, "I have received interview notices from several companies, please give me an answer as soon as possible." "There are two companies waiting for me to sign the contract. Please make a decision as soon as possible. " Please believe that without you, the earth will turn as usual every day, and employers will not be unable to operate without you.
Time is limited. For example, "I'm going out of town this Friday, please give me an answer before this deadline." "Please give me an answer before XXX, otherwise I may not receive the interview notice from your company." Before you write these words, please consider clearly whether you are an employer or the other party is an employer, and whether you are applying or the other party is applying.
(3) the wage problem
Don't mention the salary requirement in the cover letter unless the other party asks for the target salary in the job advertisement. I'm afraid it's not acceptable to ask for money if you don't meet for the first time.
(4) the problem of "copy+paste"
At present, many recruitment websites have cover letter templates, and some websites also provide various professional cover letter templates according to professional characteristics, which provides great convenience for graduates to make cover letters. Job seekers only need to copy these templates with a little modification (even no modification at all), which is convenient and quick. But we should also know that while enjoying this convenience, others are also doing the same simple "copy+paste" work. In front of the personnel manager, a cover letter with the same content and format has no way out. Therefore, please don't covet convenience, and write your cover letter in a down-to-earth manner. No pains, no gains, is an irrefutable truth.
(5) the problem of production effect
Please remember the following points:
Generally, A4 paper with good paper quality should be selected, and the paper used for cover letters should usually be the same as that used for resumes.
Don't design your cover letter too fancy unless it is a professional need, such as design.
If it is not handwritten, the cover letter should be printed. Never use a copy or a cover letter copied by other means.