Cover Letter Tips: Show That You Are The Best Candidate

Cover letter writing is a fine art.  If you don't give enough detail, you can risk coming off as a weak candidate; give too much, and you might come across as too wordy.  Finding the correct balance to strike can be difficult when you are trying to prove that you are the best candidate for the job.  Everyone says they have the goods, but how do you set yourself apart from the masses?

• Don't be shy about showing off your knowledge.  Cover letters are meant to demonstrate your qualifications for a job, so you shouldn't be worried about coming off as bragging. 
• Provide a short anecdote that demonstrates your skills.  This should be near the beginning of your cover letter.
• Use the research you have done on the organization to show you are committed to them.  For example, if the nonprofit in question received an award for having a great workplace environment, you should mention that was something that attracted you to the job.
• Describe how your skills would help the organization.  If you feel comfortable doing so, you could list something specific you would do to make them better.  If you were applying for a job as a webmaster, for instance, you could point to a section of the site that you think you could help improve.

Interested in learning more cover letter tips?  I have written other posts like this, so take a look around the blog to find out more about this very important job search topic.