Should You Have a Professional Cover Letter?

If you are applying for a telecommuting position that allows you to work from home, you may wonder if you need to use a cover letter. The answer is “yes”. Telecommuting jobs are still jobs, and using a cover letter will communicate the fact that you are a professional.

Aside from helping you look professional and capable of performing the job you are applying for, a resume will also let your prospective employer know that you can communicate effectively.

Your resume will give the potential employer the basic facts about your employment history, education, and your skills. However, a resume cannot tell a prospective employer why they should hire you, or why you want the job you are applying for, anyway. A cover letter, on the other hand, can do all of that and more.

When you send a cover letter to a potential employer, you have the opportunity to include a paragraph that explains why you want to work for them. For instance, if you have always admired Widget Corporation for their community activism and scholarship program, let them know. If Widget Corporation was started by a stay-at-home mom and you read a story about her that inspired you to find a way to work from home, include that in your cover letter.

Your potential employer may see hundreds of resumes each week; some people may have better qualifications than you. But if you show passion and excitement, that is going to give you an upper hand against another candidate. Your potential employer can teach you the skills you need to do the job; they cannot teach another candidate how to have passion or excitement.

Using a cover letter will also give you the chance to explain the things you can do for the company. Perhaps you have a knack for online marketing, and you noticed that the company doesn’t show up very high in Google searches. Maybe the company doesn’t understand the importance of reaching an online market, or maybe they don’t know how to improve their SEO. If you have ideas on how to improve something, reduce costs, or increase profits, let them know. This again, can help you stand out amongst other candidates. 

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