BE FOCUSED: Target the needs of the employer/company and address them. Cater your letter to their needs.

BE CONCISE: Avoid repetition or long-windedness, but don’t short-change yourself. Keep the letter to one page maximum.

DIRECT THE LETTER TO A DECISION MAKER: Avoid the use of "Dear Sir/Madam whenever possible. Get the name and spell it correctly with the proper title.

ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY: Mention the name of the contact or mutual friend who tipped you off to the job/opportunity.

DON’T SEND OUT A FORM LETTER TO SEVERAL COMPANIES: Targeted and personalized letters are more effective.

DON’T USE POSTSCRIPTS: If it’s worth mentioning rewrite the letter to reflect it. PostScripts generally create the impression the writer is disorganized.

DON’T FOCUS ON NEGATIVES: If you lack strength in a particular area, don’t draw attention to it. Never apologize for not having a particular skill.

DON’T TALK ABOVE OR BELOW YOUR READER: Most people who are in a position to hire probably have a college or university education. Keep the language in your letter crisp and professional.

DON’T CLAIM THINGS THAT AREN’T TRUE: Most employers will cut you a bit of slack here and there but very few will be misled or lied to. In most companies, lying about your qualifications or deliberately misleading is dealt with by instant dismissal.

CHECK FOR SPELLING & GRAMMAR: Always proof read your letters before sending them out. Seek out someone with a good command of sentence structure to proofread and edit your work

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