How to Start a Cover Letter - 4 Tips for the Perfect Opening

How to Start a Cover Letter - 4 Tips for the Perfect Opening

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What Should Your Cover Letter Opening Contain

To successfully get started with writing your cover letter, you should include these 3 main elements: 1. The header with contact information. Includes your & the recipient’s contact information. 2. The greeting to the manager. This is where you address the cover letter by greeting the hiring manager, department, or company.

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What Should Your Cover Letter Opening Contain

3. An attention-grabbing opening paragraph. The opening paragraph of your cover letter is your chance to grab the recruiters’ attention and get them to read the rest of your cover letter.

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What to Include in Your Contact Information

As we mentioned, the first thing to add to your cover letter opening is your contact information. The header’s essential information include the following: – Full name and professional title (if applicable) – Phone number – Email (a professional email, that is)

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What to Include in Your Contact Information

In some cases, you can also add the following: Social media profiles. By this, we mean profiles that are relevant to the position. This includes websites like LinkedIn, GitHub (for developers), or Medium (for writers). Personal website. If you have a personal website you’ve created for your industry (i.e. you’re a writer with a blog),

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What to Include in Your Contact Information

then make sure to include the link to your website on your cover letter. After you’ve added your information, you should add the date and continue with the recipient’s name and address. So: – Manager’s name – Manager’s job title – Company’s name – Company’s street address

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How to Start a Cover Letter Greeting

Сonsider using one of the following greetings when you’re addressing the hiring manager: Dear [Department] Hiring Manager, Dear Hiring Manager, Dear [Department] Team, Dear Director of [Department], Dear [Company Name] Hiring Team

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How to Write an Attention-Grabbing Opening Paragraph

The last, but the most important, part of your cover letter opening is your opening paragraph. You want your opening paragraph to be engaging and attention-grabbing to ensure that the hiring manager will continue reading the cover letter. After all, recruiters receive hundreds of applications daily. Obviously, they can’t spend

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How to Write an Attention-Grabbing Opening Paragraph

all their working hours reading cover letters, so, instead, they simply skim your cover letter in a handful of seconds, and if it catches their attention, they re-read it more thoroughly. And the part of the cover letter that helps catch their attention is usually the opening paragraph! The opening paragraph of your cover letter should grab the hiring manager’s attention and 

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How to Write an Attention-Grabbing Opening Paragraph

make them want to read your cover letter. Some tips to write an attention-grabbing opening paragraph include being direct, starting with a strong belief statement, or leading with a relevant achievement.

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