Cover letter building.

Employee services at the Department  of Consumer and Business Services  

is dedicated to employee success. We think  that starts even before you join our team.

Here are some tips on building  a cover letter to get noticed  

and move to the next stage of  the job recruitment process.

Think about presentation and content. Hiring  managers look at how the letter is formatted,  

the organization of the topics covered,  if the sentences transition well from one  

thought to another, and if all the  requested information is included.

They also look at grammar spelling and punctuation  errors. Make sure you run the spell check.

Use the word I.

Tell the hiring manager what  you did and be sure to include  

your accomplishments and responsibilities.

Instead of saying we did or this happened, say  I did, or I accomplished, or I implemented.

Avoid vague language.

Responses such as I was involved in the budgeting  process do not provide enough information.

When creating your letter think about  the following: What were your duties?  

What was your level of responsibility?  What did you do to achieve results?

Jargon and acronyms tend to detract  from the clarity of your response.

Make it easy for your readers to  understand what you're telling them.  

Spell out acronyms the first time you  use them or just avoid them completely.

Be concise yet thorough, it is okay to  describe a scenario if it's pertinent  

but do not describe philosophies  or what experts say on a subject.

Make it easy to read.

Make sure your cover letter looks  professional and is easy to read  

use 12 point Arial or Times New Roman fonts,  with one-inch margins. A larger clear font  

is kind to the eyes of the hiring manager,  who's spending hours reading applications.

Unless otherwise indicated a typical cover letter  is two pages, use the two full pages to expand on  

the ideas in your resume. Use stories to talk  about a situation, task, action, and results,  

to address the requested skills and the  job posting and demonstrate your abilities.

Also unless the job posting  instructs you otherwise  

there is no correct number of  pages. Remember your audience  

if you are too brief or if you ramble too much it  could affect how you will rank in this process.

If the hiring manager has difficulty reading  your letter you may not be considered further.

If your cover letter is engaging and easy  to review it will get more attention.

Important! Attach your cover letter or resume  in the bottom of the My Experience section of  

your workday application. Cover letters  are an important part of the application  

process for some positions, if  a cover letter is requested and  

you forget it your application will  not proceed further in the process.

You have a lot to offer let your cover  letter tell that story, and we hope that  

someday you will be part of the team at the  Department of Consumer and Business Services.