寫得多不如寫得好：不要寫進(jìn)求職信里的蠢東西

Crafting a compelling, convincing cover letter is not easy. The pressure to the capture the reader's attention without being annoying can be paralyzing. Concentrate on showing how you can contribute to the employer's success while avoiding these mistakes.

Don't ever say you are the ideal candidate for the job.

Here's a tactic you can use instead: Restate primary qualifications of the job and show how your past experience and skill set fits "hand in glove" with the requirements. You ask for ____; I offer ___.

Statements Indicating That You Are a “Hard Worker”

Career strategist Nicole Darling tells job seekers to eliminate references to being a "hard worker." My experience tells me that those who claim to be hard workers either 1) often yielding below-average results or 2) understate the intellect and creativity they contributed in their roles, attributing success solely to effort and long hours.

Nicole also recommends avoiding positive but overly used words such as "team player, motivated, excellent communication skills."

Get the name of the hiring manager or recruiter to personalize each letter. Likewise, use the company’s name and identifying details (location, industry, etc.) rather than referencing “the company”or “your industry" in a bland letter.

A fast-paced company is not the same thing as a "face paced," or even a "fast paste" company. The abbreviation for Assistant is Asst. Please don't ever forget that. When you drop the "t" from "Asst" you aren't offering much to be proud of.

Nicole also advises against saying, for example, that you will “follow up with a call on August 1st at 11:00 a.m.” when you won’t actually make that call. Even if your intentions are good, your availability may change, preventing you from being a person of your word.

Make the cover letter about the employer, not about you. Discuss how you can meet company needs and help solve its problems.

Revealing that you have little preference for job content is not inspiring to a hiring manager. Though being open to any job seems like a good strategy in times of high unemployment, this approach comes across as desperate and dull rather than practical when expressed in a cover letter.

You don't have to highlight or emphasize imperfections and disappointments with your past employers, coworkers, or economic conditions. Discussing what you have learned from positive and not-so-positive experiences in an interview can be meaningful to a hiring manager, but delete mention of failures from the cover letter.

Hiring managers view the career changer as inexperienced but seeking a salary commensurate with tenure in an unrelated field. Along with lack of industry knowledge and contacts, this job hunter will bring outdated approaches and mindsets to a new employer. He will need training to perform basic duties. Such a candidate is not attractive to an employer.

If you are truly in the process of building a career in a new field, state what you have done already to accomplish this professional transformation: list certifications and degree programs earned, research papers published, and internships completed. At this point, then, you are not relying on the hiring manager to help you make a dramatic change but offering your depth of knowledge and insights.