Cover Letter Openers

    

Cover Letter Openers

It's hard to start out a cover letter. You want to be professional, polite, enthusiastic, and engaging. Mostly, though, you want to hook the recruiter reading your resume. If you don't grab their attention in the first few sentences, you might lose your chance altogether. Different types of openers are appropriate for different openings or positions.

1. Standard: You want to be very careful with a standard opener, since they're unlikely to provide a hook. A standard opener should be used when it may not otherwise be clear what job you're applying for. For instance, when there are multiple positions open at the company, when your skillset applies to many possible roles, or when you're cold-calling.

 

Example: "I would like to submit my application for consideration as the Junior Tech Manager at ABC Inc.…"

 

2. Emphasizing Experience: The best time to emphasize your experience with an opener is when you're going after a difficult or hard-to-get position and you have the perfect history and qualifications. Opening with your title, experience, or certification underscores how ideal you are for the position right off the bat.

 

Example: "As the Managing Director for the ABC Corporation over the last seven years, I am greatly interested in…"

 

3. Emphasizing Transferrable Skills: If you're looking to land a position that you don't have direct experience in, you'll want to play up all relevant skills and experiences that you have. Make sure that they explicitly relate to the job you're applying for.

 

Example: "As someone who spends all day entering data, communicating with dozens of interdepartmental heads, and processing client information, I believe that I would be a strong fit as the Communications Manager at ABC Inc."

 

4. Repeating Keywords: If you have a written job description as a reference, make sure you repeat keywords from the company's posting as much as possible. Start your cover letter by describing yourself with the same qualities that they've requested.

 

Example: "For the past 12 years, I have focused on excelling at customer service, group management, and expert communication. Now, I would like to put those skills to use at ABC Inc. as the…"

 

5. Expressing Enthusiasm: There are a lot of jobs out there where passion is a key component to doing it right. It also helps to show a company that you know who they are and are excited about what they do. If you want to prove your loyalty and dedication to the position from the start, inject some honest zeal into your opener (without waxing poetic).

 

Example: "I was excited to see your job opening on Craigslist.org, as I have been reading and admiring your magazine since the 'What's Up?' issue in June 2011."

 

Index of Cover Letter Examples