Cover Letter Check List

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Cover Letter Check List:

Make sure you have not forgotten anything important before sending out your cover letter.

   1. Have you proofread your letter at least 3 times for grammatical, spelling and typographical errors?
   2. Is the letter addressed to a specific person? Have you taken care to put the correct title and spell the person's name correctly?
   3. Have you signed the letter in blue or black ink?
   4. Is your letter confined to one page and not more than three to five short paragraphs?
   5. Have you highlighted your strengths in the second or third paragraph using bullet points?
   6. Does the cover letter focus on the needs of the employer and not on your own requirements, such as money or flexible hours?
   7. Do you have a copy of the cover letter for your own records?
   8. If salary information was specifically asked for, have you included it? (There is no need to mention salary, if it is not asked for.)
   9. Have you included your resume? Have you placed it behind the cover letter without clips or staples and folded it neatly in thirds to fit into a standard size envelope?
  10. And last but not the least, because it is the number one thing people forget to do: Have you signed your name using blue or black ink?

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Tips For Maximizing Scannability of Your Resumé
•   Use white or light-colored 8.5 x 11 paper, printed on one side only
•   Provide a laser printed original.
•   Do not staple or fold.
•   Use standard, easy to read typefaces such as: Times New Roman, Helvetica, Times, Palatino, New Century Schoolbook, Arial, etc.
•   Use a font size of 10-12 points.
•   Do not condense spacing between letters.
•   Use boldface and/or all capital letters for section headings as long as the letters do not touch each other.
•   Avoid vertical and horizontal lines, graphics, and boxes.
•   Avoid a two-column format or resumes that look like newspapers or newsletters
•   List each phone number on its own line.
•   Use a one-line format for your addresses.


Tips for Maximizing Hits
•   Use enough key words to define your skills, experience, education, professional affiliations, etc.
•   Describe your experience with concrete words rather than vague descriptions. For example, it is better to use "Managed a team of software engineers" rather than "responsible for managing, training".
•   Be concise and truthful.
•   Use more than one page if necessary. The computer can easily handle multiple-page resumés, and it uses all of the information it extracts from your resumé to determine if your skills match available positions. It allows you to provide more information than you would for a human reader.
•   Use jargon and acronyms specific to your industry (spell out acronyms for human readers).
•   Increase your list of key words by including specifics, for example, list the complete names of software you use such as Microsoft Word and Lotus 1-2-3.
•   Use common heading such as: Objective, Summary of Qualifications, Employment, Work History, Positions Held, Appointments, Skills, Summary, Accomplishments, Strengths, Education, Affiliations, Professional Affiliations, Publications, Papers, Licenses, Certifications, Examinations, Honors, Personal, Additional, Miscellaneous, References, etc.
•   If you have extra space, describe your “soft” skills. Key words could include: time management, dependable, high energy, leadership, and integrity.


 
E-mailing your Resumé

Many employers prefer electronic versions of your resumé and cover letter. Also, e-mail is often the most efficient way to send resumés when you are conducting a long-distance job search. If an employer does not specify their preference for receiving application materials, but provides an e-mail address with their other contact information, you may assume that e-mail is an acceptable way to send your resumé.

Tips for e-mailing your resumé
•   Attach your resumé to your message as an MS Word document; because this is the most universal program, nearly every employer will be able to open and read your resumé
•   Use only universal fonts, like Times New Roman or Arial, to ensure that the employer will view the document exactly as you sent it.
•   Pasting your resumé into the body of your e-mail message will cause your formatting (including bullets, columns, indentation, lines, and font style) to be lost.