A freelancer's guide on how to write a cover letter like a pro.
Most cover letters go like this:
"Hi, Im John, i have 3+ years being a Social Media Manager for VTCcompany and XYZ company. I graduated in University of blah blah blah..."
yaawnn
This example is one of the 90-99% of the cover letters that are written and sent over and over again to majority of employers.
It sounds boring right?
If you were the employer, would you hire this applicant?
Umm, meh, probably not.
The number 1 mistake, most employees and freelancers do, is that they write it like a resume, in an essay format.
Cover letters are NOT and should NOT sound or read the same as your resume.
Most employers screen employees and freelancers in 3 ways:
- Resume
- Cover Letter
- Interviews
A resume's job is to INTRODUCE your qualifications and work experiences.
A cover letter's job is to REPRESENT your skills and how you can be a valuable team member to your employer in writing.
And lastly, the interview is to DEMONSTRATE your knowledge, communication, ambition, confidence and loyalty, on the spot, by speaking.
Unfortunately, many people struggle writing cover letters and get nervous with job interviews.
So how do you actually write one?
Here's the thing, a cover letter consists of THREE important parts: - You need to RESEARCH your client's company.
- You need to EDUCATE your client about what you can do for them.
- You need to OFFER some valuable thing to stand out.
*Bonus: Add picture attachments of successful stats and percentages of your previous client. Demonstrate how you helped your previous client and show your new potential employer that you can do the same.
Here is a sample scenario:
Client:
ABCcompany is a medium sized construction business located in California, USA. They need a social media manager who can help them: - Build brand awareness through social media.
- Increase their traffic and revenue.
- Monitor ad spend and track its progress.
Please send a cover letter and a resume if you are interested in this job position. All the applicants who passed will be interviewed by next week.
-Bruno Mars
Former singer, turned VP of ABCroofingcompany
Cover Letter:
"Hi Mr. Mars, my name is John and I am applying as a social media manager for your company.
First of all, i did an overall background check of your website, social media pages, and did a competitor research in your industry.
I found out 3 main problems that you can easily fix by yourself or your marketing team in less than 1hr.
First, I noticed that your website isn't mobile friendly and the page load time is slow. This is a big problem because your potential clients may land on your site but couldn't even use it. It can drive away potential clients in the long run if it's not fixed.
Second, your homepage doesn't have a clear "call to action" and impact. You can fix this by writing a headline, subheadline and adding a video on top of the fold. This will help your clients understand clearly, what's in it for them when they land on your homepage.
And third, your company doesn't have a Facebook page. Facebook pages are so easy to setup and you will need it to promote your business.
As for my strategy, I can help you setup a Facebook ad campaign, local SEO to increase traffic to your site organically. I will help you strategize an effective fb ad campaign by creating 4-6 ad sets, targeting different demographics based on research. I will also do a keyword research using Google Keyword Planner to know search terms.
What i mentioned is just a short summary of my strategy. I can go deeper and i would like to discuss with you if you are interested to learn more.
You can reach me via (insert email) and (insert Skype id). For my portfolio, visit my (insert your website) and (insert your Linkedin profile)
Sincerely,
John Dela Cruz
Facebook ads and SEO Strategist
P.S. If i would be given the chance to be interviewed, i would be happy to offer you FREE in depth SEO strategy and 10% discount of the total project cost once i get hired. Thanks!"
-End
Goodluck and happy freelancing! :)
-Neil Ednacot's Fb