{"id":227,"date":"2010-10-21T09:30:35","date_gmt":"2010-10-21T09:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/cover-letter-checklist-227\/"},"modified":"2010-10-21T09:30:35","modified_gmt":"2010-10-21T09:30:35","slug":"cover-letter-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/cover-letter-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover Letter Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"body\" id=\"ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_body_body_wacCenterStage_wacCenterStage_lblBody\"><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">&#65279;Many job seekers struggle with their cover letters, but writing a good cover letter is a skill that can be learned and perfected. The time and effort will pay off, because a well-written cover letter can increase your odds of getting an interview.&nbsp; <br><br>If you&rsquo;re wondering whether your cover letter is the best it can be, make sure you can answer &ldquo;yes&rdquo; to the questions on this checklist:<br><br><strong>Introduction<\/strong><br><\/font><br>\n<ul><br>\n<li><font face=\"Verdana\"><font size=\"2\">Does your cover letter have a strong <\/font><font color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">opening paragraph<\/font><\/font><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">, communicating your job target and key strengths within the first few lines of text?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\"><font size=\"2\">Does your cover letter conform to a standard business letter format? (See our <\/font><font color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">cover letter samples<\/font><\/font><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">.)<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Is your cover letter addressed to a specific individual, if the name is available?<\/font><\/li><\/ul><font size=\"2\"><font face=\"Verdana\"><strong>The Body<\/strong><br><\/font><\/font><br>\n<ul><br>\n<li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Does the body of your cover letter express how you would benefit the employer if you were hired?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Do you avoid starting every sentence with &ldquo;I&rdquo; or &ldquo;my&rdquo; so you can focus more on the employer&rsquo;s requirements and not your own?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Do you demonstrate your expertise by using industry-specific language?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\"><font size=\"2\">Do you include examples of your <\/font><font color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">accomplishments<\/font><\/font><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\"> so employers can see you have a proven track record?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\"><font size=\"2\">Is the content engaging and relevant to <\/font><font color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">hiring managers&rsquo; needs<\/font><\/font><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Is the cover letter succinct, containing just enough information to entice the reader to review your resume?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\"><font size=\"2\">Did you include all information that was requested, such as a job reference number, employment availability date and <\/font><font color=\"#7b4f90\" size=\"2\">salary requirements<\/font><\/font><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Is the content unique? Did you avoid copying text from your resume verbatim?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Does your cover letter sound genuine? Does it reflect your personality and make you seem likeable and approachable?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Did you proofread your cover letter to ensure that it&rsquo;s free of spelling, grammar, syntax and formatting errors?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Does the writing style and design coordinate with the resume, such as by using the same font and layout style?<\/font><\/li><\/ul><font size=\"2\"><font face=\"Verdana\"><strong>Closing Paragraph<\/strong><br><\/font><\/font><br>\n<ul><br>\n<li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Did you provide an easy way for employers to contact you, such as a direct phone line and email address?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Does your cover letter end with a call to action, confidently requesting an interview?<br>&nbsp; <\/font><br>\n<\/li><li><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">Did you remember to sign your letter if you&rsquo;re mailing a hard copy?<\/font><\/li><\/ul><br>\n<p><font face=\"Verdana\" size=\"2\">For more advice on writing a job application cover letter, check out these articles: <\/font><\/p><br>\n<ul><br>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/content.monster.com.hk\/article_hk.html?acid=193\"><font face=\"Verdana\" color=\"#673594\" size=\"2\">Cover Letter Tips for New Graduates<\/font><\/a><br>\n<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/content.monster.com.hk\/article_hk.html?acid=208\"><font face=\"Verdana\" color=\"#673594\" size=\"2\">Cover Letters to Recruiters<\/font><\/a><br>\n<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/content.monster.com.hk\/article_hk.html?acid=209\"><font face=\"Verdana\" color=\"#673594\" size=\"2\">Cover Letters That Sell<\/font><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#65279;Many job seekers struggle with their cover letters, but writing a good cover letter is a skill that can be learned and perfected. The time and effort will pay off, because a well-written cover letter can increase your odds of getting an interview.&nbsp; If you&rsquo;re wondering whether your cover letter is the best it can &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/cover-letter-checklist\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Cover Letter Checklist<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resume-cover-letters"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monster.co.th\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}