When you are writing a cover letter, it’s important to make sure that every word counts. Your cover letters should enhance the employer’s appreciation of your qualifications so you can move from applicant to interviewee.
Keywords are a vital element of a persuasive cover letter which portrays the candidate as a highly qualified applicant for the job. These words fall into three general categories: skill words, results oriented words, and words which show recognition for achievements.
Keywords work in a couple of different ways. First, the keywords you include in your resume and cover letter will be used to match your application with the skills required by the employer. Secondly, keywords that are incorporated into a cover letter will show the hiring manager how and why you are highly qualified for the job.
Skill Keywords
Job seekers should carefully analyze the skills required to excel in their target job and incorporate them into their cover letter. Those keywords should also be included in your resume. It will be more genuine if you paraphrase the skills mentioned in job ads as opposed to listing them verbatim. Skill words are most effective when connected to a specific role or project where the skills were crucial to success.
For example, instead of saying “Quantitative stock analysis is an asset which I would bring to your firm.” you could say “I utilized quantitative stock valuation techniques to create a portfolio for high net worth clients which beat the market for three consecutive years.”
The skills keywords included in your cover letters (and your resume) will help your application get selected by the software employers use to select candidates for further consideration. They will also show the hiring manger, at first glance, what skills you have that are related to the job he or she is hiring for.
Examples of skill keywords include wrote, analyzed, quantified, planned, programmed, designed, created, built, taught and trained.
For assistance incorporating keywords into your cover letter or resume, contact one of Experts with the experience beating the keyword software.
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