When you read a job advertisement and plan to apply for the job, you need your resume. However, there is something more important than your resume which in fact strengthens your resume, and presents it effectively. This is your ‘resume cover letter’. The applicant can write this letter for every job that he/she applies for. The important part is that, this letter varies with the job that you apply. There is thus no standard or generic letter that you can use. The aim of this letter is to make your resume most relevant to the job you are applying for, and this makes it important to write a customized letter for every job that you apply. Thus, we get to see many different letters like teacher cover letter, acting cover letter, finance cover letter, etc.
A cover letter remains the same in terms of the format, and purpose of the letter. The content of the letter changes with the candidate, his/her skills and abilities and the applied job profile. Finance cover letter is also written on similar grounds. It follows the basics of cover letter writing. To further elaborate on it, read the points given below to help you write an effective letter:
Format: The format of this letter remains same, irrespective of the industry or job applied for. The format of the letter is as follows:
1. Header
Date
Name of the applicant
Address
Email
Contact number
The header of the letter and that of your resume should be the same. To avoid any mistakes, copy the header of the resume and paste it in the letter. The address will be aligned to the left hand side of the page
2. The header is followed by the receiver’s/reader’s name and address. Your letter should be addressed to a specific person. This makes your letter more impactful.
3. The font of the letter – Use Times New Roman with a font size of 12. Besides, Arial font can also be used. These two fonts are used for any formal letter writing or formal documents.
4. The letter should be justified, and a line spacing of 1.5 lines makes your letter more legible and neat
Content of the letter:
Header of the letter should be written as per the instructions given above. After the header, write the reader’s name and address.
The letter begins with a salutation. The salutation will read as ‘Dear Mr.________’ or ‘Dear Ms.________’
The first paragraph of the letter introduces you and clearly mentions the post you wish to apply for. Here you can mention your qualification and experience as well. For example, ‘I am Suzi John, an HR recruiter with 1 year of experience and I wish to apply for the post of HR – Asst. Manager with your organization’.
The second paragraph will elaborate on your application for the particular position. Read the requirements given in the advertisement and try to answer the requirements of the employer by putting forth your skills and abilities. Speaking of finance cover letters, mention the skills and knowledge required for the profile.
The employer would want to know your reason of interest in his/her organization. Answer this question in the third paragraph of your letter
In the last paragraph, request the reader to call you for an interview and close the letter by thanking the reader. Sign your letter at the end and mention your contact number and email address again to facilitate the reader.
Read a few sample finance cover letters and write an effective letter for your finance resume.
I am Felicia John and working as a job consultant.I am expert in Writing resume cover letters and provide guidance for the same. Read more about how to write finance cover letter here.