About Cover Letters
Types of Cover Letters
The Invited Cover Letter is written in response to an advertised opening, whether in a newspaper, trade publication, on the Internet, or on the company's web page.
The Uninvited or Cold–Contact Cover Letter is a letter written to a targeted organization you are interested in working for but have not publicly advertised an open position.
The Referral Letter is an extremely effective type of cover letter that springs from networking efforts. The referral letter uses a name-dropping tactic as early as possible in the letter to attract the reader's attention and prompt an interview.
Functions of a Cover Letter
- Tells the employer what type of position you are seeking
- Gives you an opportunity to impress the prospective employer by showcasing your knowledge about the company and/or its industry and express how your skills, interests, and/or experience match the needs of the organization
- Entices the reader to learn more about you by reading your resume
- Provides or expands your resume objective and shows how well you express yourself
- Serves as a small window into your personality that makes the employer feel he or she simply must get to know you better
Salary Requirements
Because employers sometimes request salary requirements to eliminate the job seeker from the pool of qualified candidates, we suggest that you not respond to this request. For example, if you are making too much and would be willing to take a pay cut to do something you love, you may not have the opportunity. On the other end of the spectrum, if you are not making close to your earning potential, but are qualified to do the work, you may eliminate yourself because you have indicated a salary that is much lower than what they intend to pay. Instead of responding with the requested information, learn more about the opportunity and determine if it is a good fit before discussing salary.
If requested, tell the employer your salary history or salary requirements in the last paragraph of the letter. Be sure to give a $3K to $5K range. Examples of statements are as follows:
- "In the past three years, my salary has been within the range of $45K–$50K."
- "Being a recent college graduate, I have not established a salary history. However, in researching the field, the average salary for my skill set and the position for which you are recruiting is between $40K–$43K.