Top Cover Letter Mistakes That Ruin Your Job Search

By Angela Wahome,
Most people know that a cover letter is the introduction for your application for a vacancy. There is a pretty good chance that it is the first thing the recruiter will see. Cover letters can either help your or hurt your job application. Here’s how;
1. You forget to proofread your cover letter
I think while you were in school you learned to proofread your work. “I have been accessing (assessing) the various strategies your company has been using in marketing the products…” will land your cover letter in the trash.
Check your cover letter, then check it again, then get a friend to check it, and then finally proofread it again.
2. Copy pasting
Dear Sir,
I copy pasted the words of this cover letter from a bunch of other people and I hope you will choose me. Never do this, show your uniqueness.
You simply repeat the information on your CV. That is a great waste of a good opportunity that you have been given to standout /catch the Human Resource Managers eye. Use this chance to show a certain skill you have that can benefit the hiring company for this particular job.
Use your unique selling proposition. Pick up the one thing that makes you different from all the other applicants and use it to sell yourself to them. Take some time to think about these, and then phrase them in a way that the hiring organization can make good use of you. Be the solution to the need that they advertised. Don’t just mention it, quantify it.
e.g. If you are applying to an advertisement for a Senior Manager in ICT.
You may have experience in ICT as a Systems Administrator at Safaricom, with experience in sales and management. You can mention that not only do you understand the ICT specifics of the job as required by the advertising company but your experience in Sales and Management enabling you to understand the market and client needs can help the organization achieve there goals.
3. You highlighted your weaknesses
“I do not have any experience in Executive Administration, but my degree in Aeronautical Engineering, has given me the skill and confidence….” Instead of this spend time on showing how your experience (how ever irrelevant) can translate/ be transferred into this new role.
4. What can you give me?
How much leave can I get? Do I get lunch? What about benefits? This approach is wrong. The purpose of the application is to convince the management that they need you. Focus on what you can do for them. This really puts HR managers off; you look difficult, pushy and high-maintenance.
One more reason HR Managers don’t spend much time on cover letter. Just as the CV is not a static document a cover letter should not be one. Take advantage of that one page of space that you have to sell yourself.