You've personalized your cover letter to the role and company, written killer opening and closing lines, and even figured out how to give it something special.
But you're not done yet.
Before you submit it, double check to make sure you're not using any of these five words and phrases — they'll sabotage even the greatest cover letters.
"I think I'd be a great fit…"
When I was in my high school, my English teacher told us never to use "I think" in an essay because if we were writing something, well, it was obvious that was what we thought.
The same holds true for cover letters. Not only are "I think," "I feel," "I believe," and so on redundant, they also make you sound insecure.
The fix:
Get rid of every "opinion phrase" in your cover letter. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you won't even have to reword the sentence. For example, instead of saying, "I'm confident my communication skills would make me a strong Project Manager," write "My communication skills would make me a strong Project Manager."
It's shorter, simpler, and more convincing.
"Good"
Sure, you could say you're "a good writer," or "good at working with other people." But there are so many adjective options out there, and they're almost all more powerful than "good."
The fix:
Replace "good" with one of these descriptors:
- Skilled
- Talented
- Experienced
- Accomplished
- Expert
- Able
- Successful
- Apt
- Seasoned
- Thorough
- Capable
- Competent
- Efficient
Note: Make sure the alternative you choose accurately represents your skill or experience. If you've got two year's worth of recruiting under your belt, you'd probably want to call yourself a "skilled," "capable," or "enthusiastic" recruiter rather than an "expert" or "experienced" one.
"This job would help me because…"
Let's be real: You, your friends, and your family members care why this job would help you. But the hiring manager does not. All he or she cares about is finding the best person for the role. So if you find yourself explaining how this position would help you develop your leadership skills, learn more about your desired industry, or get established as a thought leader — hit the delete key.
The fix:
You do need to explain why you're applying for this specific job at this specific company.
Here's the magic formula:
Your abilities + the company's needs = desirable results
Let's say you're applying for a front-end engineering job. By following this formula, you'd get:
“My four years of experience with open-source JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3, combined with my passion for building responsive web applications, would allow me to create elegant, maintainable, and functional front-end code — and ultimately make Panther's products even more user-friendly than they already are."
Tell hiring managers what you can do for them, not what they can do for you.
"As you can see on my resume…"
This is a common filler phrase. But if the hiring manager can see something on your resume, announcing its presence is unnecessary.
The fix:
All you have to do is remove this phrase — no other changes needed!
So instead of saying,"As you can see on my resume, I've been working in marketing and PR for the last five years," you'd write,"I've been working in marketing and PR for the last five years."
Bonus: Your directness will project confidence.
"I'm the best candidate because…"
Confidence is good, but arrogance is not. And even if you're sure that you'd be an absolutely fantastic choice, you don't know you're the best. Imagine reading through six cover letters in a row from people who all claim to be "the best candidate." That would get annoying pretty quickly, right?
To stay on the hiring manager's good side, refrain from using "best." Along similar lines, I'd also stay away from "ideal" and "perfect."
The fix:
You want to choose descriptors that are in between "good" and "best."
Words like:
- Excellent
- Great
- Terrific
- Strong
- Outstanding
- Unique
Whipping a cover letter into shape isn't easy or quick — but being rewarded by a job makes it all worth it!
See more at:
Business Insider
