How do you write a good cover letter?

How do you write a good cover letter? In your cover letter, you need to show the company that you can add value to them. In your cover letter, you need to offer something interesting and unique to make the company want to invite you for an interview.

At the start of your application, you should answer the following questions:

• Why are you passionate about the position?
• What value can you bring to the company if they hire you?

You won't be invited for an interview because you're a salesperson, play badminton and are married for 15 years. You'll be invited to an interview if you can help solve the company's challenges and unlock its potential. And that's exactly what needs to be communicated.

Here are 3 tips on how to write a great cover letter:

1. Believe in your abilities and be proud of your achievements - but don't overdo it.
2. Write what you can and leave out what you can't.
3. Use humor wisely - you can easily be misunderstood.

Not immediately familiar with the company's challenges? Find out by studying the job ad and looking for the challenges the company is facing. Spend time and energy searching for information about the company on Google, social media, in media coverage and possibly through conversations with (former) employees. You can find information on the company's website, search the internet or ask your network if anyone knows the company or anyone who works there. Use LinkedIn to see if you know anyone in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd tier who knows an employee at that particular company.

It's a common misconception that you should write about yourself in your cover letter and that you should write what YOU get out of working for the company. Instead, you should focus your cover letter on what the company will get out of hiring you. At the same time, you should also show in your cover letter that you can solve the company's challenges and that you can fulfill their potential.

In your cover letter, you should highlight what the company gets out of your skills. Use the saying "show it, don't tell it". In other words: Don't just tell them that you can help them. Show it through examples. In the examples, you should concretely show what you will do to help the company.

This is probably one of the best pieces of advice there is. Target your application - every single time. When you sit across the table and read over 100 applications, it's very clear to see which applications are a standard template and which applications are written from scratch.

Everyone is different and you are unique. That's why you can't find a standard recipe for a cover letter. In other words, you need to write with your own style and voice - adapted to each company and each job.

In your cover letter, you need to show who you are. Give your application personality. And don't use (too many) repetitions from other applications. Each application should be targeted to the individual company and their job posting. If you use a standard application that is sent out to several different companies, it will be clear that you haven't taken the time to familiarize yourself with who the company is. Therefore, the employee, HR consultant or recruitment agency will quickly reject you.

In the application, you should argue why you are the right candidate for the job. You should answer why you are applying for the job, what you can offer and how your skills can be used in the position. The application should therefore not be a repetition of your CV.

Show that you are passionate about the job. Someone who is passionate about their work is worth considerably more than someone who sends the same application to every company without explaining why they want to work for this particular company.

In your cover letter, you need to tell the reader how you match the job posting's requirements for professional and personal skills. You need to convince the reader that you are the right person for the job.

Answer how you will use your experience and skills in the specific position. Focus on what characterizes you professionally and as an employee, and support this with two or three specific examples.

It is important that your application is simple and clear to the reader. Keep your application to one page as far as possible. Aim to write in lively, active and personal language rather than long, formal and passive sentences.

Choose a font that is easy to read and don't go too small in font size. Feel free to use font size 12. Use 1.5 line spacing if necessary.

Sometimes companies prefer to receive the application as an email attachment. Do not write your application directly in the email, but use the email for a short description of what you are attaching, e.g.: "Please find attached your CV and application for the position of [insert job title]...". Remember to attach your application and CV as a PDF file and not as a Word file.

However, many companies only use their own recruitment system where you can upload your application and CV.

Language examples in a cover letter

Instead of writing: "I am flexible, have sales experience and good communication skills...", which can be read in your CV, you should make it concrete by writing how this experience can benefit the company.

You can therefore, for example, write:

"I have sales experience in xxx, where I have successfully achieved my budget in over index 125 for several years. At the same time, I have created increased customer satisfaction, which has been reflected in the company's improved customer satisfaction in several surveys."

or:

"I have experience and a flair for communicating the technical benefits of products in a way that is easily understood by the customer, which I believe will benefit [insert company name] customers."