Make Your Cover Letter Like a Professional

September 9, 2021

Nayreth Garcia

Content Writer At Gradehacker

Updated April, 2023

Cover letters are possibly the most underrated part during an academic or professional application process, and not by the people soliciting, but mainly by the applicant.

This is because most students and job seekers don’t know or understand the importance of it, so we are here to clarify everything you need to know.

At Gradehacker, we’ve been helping students and ensuring a better college experience through our services and valuable tools, making us the non-traditional student #1 resource.

We made a guide on how to make a professional cover letter, from the beginning to the closing paragraph, full of examples with the right information you need while avoiding falling for a generic cover letter.

Are you ready for the fantastic opportunity you are about to create?

Let’s start!

What Is A Cover Letter?

It’s basically a personal statement.

While some people relate this type of letter to an essay, this is a very common mistake that couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, both pieces of writing have different formats.

A successful cover letter is a one to two-page document that you write to introduce yourself to the college committee or prospective employers.

And for what should you use it? One of the most common cover letter mistakes is using it to summarize your resume.

The main difference is that your resume is a precise and professional document describing your relevant experiences and the special skills that make you stand out.

It is not necessary to give a whole explanation of your previous role or previous experience unless it is in a way that helps you stand out for your abilities, but it shouldn’t be too extensive.

Your cover letter is simply your introduction, where you communicate your interest.

Why Is A Cover Letter Important?

The letter is the first impression the Hiring Manager or college representative will receive of you. It’s your chance to show them your interests and how genuinely excited you are about the opportunity of talking to them.

When evaluating how important it is for your career path, think of it as if the roles were reversed. Wouldn’t having a job offer with your name on it be great?

The good news is that if you know how to do a proper cover letter, the result will be the same.

That’s why you should take the time to write a letter from scratch. Now let’s see what simple steps you should take to make it the best possible.

How Do I Start my Cover Letter?

Writing a cover letter is not complicated, but still, it’s likely that you are wondering what you should be writing about to your future employer?

For the cover letter content, the first thing you should consider is to decide if it will be a one-way conversation or if it will be more conversational.

Don’t think you are good by just knowing their email address.

Try to find out the name of who will read your letter and see how you can write something that fits their company culture. These little details can be a game-changer since a personalized letter makes more of an impact on the acceptance chances or hiring process.

You can use platforms like LinkedIn or their business or school websites, which are great resources for finding people.

Your letter opening paragraph should state in the first sentences why you’re excited to apply and what makes you the perfect candidate for the job application with your professional skills or academic experience.

Remember to always include the cover letter attachment when sending your resume.

Is There A Format To Follow?

For an effective cover letter, there is no concrete style format that you need to follow, but if you want your letter to have a logical order and be easy to read, then we recommend these key rules:

Make your letter concise and clear
Keep short and concise paragraphs
Back up any statements you make with facts & figures
Choose a professional font like Arial, Cambria, Calibri, Times New Roman, or Helvetica, among others
Check for spelling and grammatical errors

And for correcting grammatical errors, we recommend using Grammarly. You can check our honest review if you want to see more in-depth how it works and why you should use it.

Keep in mind that when you are applying for a specific job title or college acceptance, you want to make sure you explain:

And like we previously mentioned, the letter should be one page, or two max, depending on the job description or the reviewer.

Do Your Research

You should be familiar with the job, college, and location of your desired position before you begin writing a cover letter.

You will also want to include all the relevant knowledge you possess with professional experience in your resume.

Professional Sample:

Let’s see some cover letter examples! Let’s start with what a professional cover letter should look like.

Academic Sample:

Here you can check how an academic cover letter sample is well structured and has the right information.

Use A Cover Letter Template

You can follow all the cover letter writing tips we have given you, but this is probably the most helpful resource you will get.

Don’t spend too much time finding the perfect layout for it when you can have a creative cover letter template.

Forget about creating a generic letter; here are some pages you can use to find modern cover letter templates:

Start Writing Your Cover Letter

Creating a good first impression is always important, especially when you want to generate the exciting opportunity to get into college or get that dream job you’ve always wanted.

Since making an in-person presentation can be logistically challenging, your cover letter should highlight your extraordinary personality and prove why you are the ideal candidate to be selected from all the job applicants.

Trying new things can be scary, especially when they are this important, but we hope that with this article, you’ll have a clearer idea of how to structure your cover letter and achieve your career goals.

And if you are still unsure about how to write a cover letter, be sure to contact us to get the professional help you need. Or, if you want to continue learning, here are different articles that may interest you: