Cover Letter

Cover Letter

Whether you are applying to a job posting in Canada or anywhere in the rest of the world, you must ensure that a cover letter accompanies your resume when you send it out to a potential employer.

A cover letter is that vital first impression. This is the best chance you will get to explain to the reader why you are the best fit for the role.

Research

Before you begin crafting a cover letter, read up all you can about the listed job posting and the employing firm. Including a few relevant details will show your seriousness regarding the job to the reader.

For this, you can check the company’s website to check their policies, vision and mission statements, recent developments, and more.

At the top

The header of the letter should have:

• Date
• Your name and address
• The employers name and address

If possible, address the letter to a specific person; else, you can just say Sir/Madam and address it to the HR (Human Resources) department of the company.

In the Middle

Moving on to the body of the letter, here is where you explain your interest in the post, your skills apropos the job, and your relevant experience.
Remember, you dont have to repeat your resume here as the potential employer will peruse that anyway. Here, you just have to emphasize on your skills and explain how they match the requirements.
Towards the end of this, add a short note on your soft skills to show your complete fit for the post.

At the End

Bring this to an end by stating your resumes attachment and thanking the reader for their interest in your candidature.

Sign off by saying ‘Sincerely and place your full name after that.
For a paper copy, sign the letter. For an online application, you can omit it.

Factors to remember:

1. Keep consistency and professionalism in mind while creating the letter. Use the same header for your letter and resume.
2. Keep the length of the cover letter short – just one page. You wouldnt want to overwhelm the employer with pages upon pages of text.
3. Dont load up your application with text galore. Leave blank or ‘white space so that the reader can pay attention to the important parts. For this, you can use lists and headings.
4. Use the same font style and size throughout. For emphasis, use an enlarged size or bold the font. Consistency is key here. Use the same bullet point style throughout so that the reader is not confused unnecessarily at superfluous variety.
5. You must remember to use Canadian spelling in your cover letter and resume. For this, you can set a spell-check in Canadian English in your software.
6. The entire world prefers online applications these days. In case there is a specific file format the employer prefers, you must use that. If this hasnt been mentioned, just combine your cover letter and resume into a single PDF file and submit that. This is standard practice as it can be easily opened by most programs.
7. Name your file in a professional manner. Add your name to your file name.
8. Some employers may ask for a hard copy. Print your cover letter and resume out on good-quality paper and submit them in a large envelope without folding them up.

Sending a cover letter is important as it adds weight to your application. If possible, you should write a new cover letter for each position you are applying for. Also, try to customize it for each company. This will help the employer to imagine you in the role and jump-start the process of interviewing.

We are ready to help you with the crafting of a superb cover letter and resume so that you can apply to your dream jobs in Canada. Just get in touch with us and see your career soar.