Quick Tips: Strategies to Strengthen Your Cover Letter
Writing a cover letter can be daunting, both for those with or without a neurodivergent brain! And while the internet can be a useful tool to aid in improving your cover letter, sorting through websites and suggestions can also be overwhelming and time-consuming. Rather than falling into the rabbit-hole of the world wide web and trying to make ALL of the changes to your cover letter, we suggest finding a few trusted sources and focusing on those. Here are some helpful tips and places to start.
Check for Over-used Words
A quick and simple way to enhance your cover letter is to check for repeated words, and replace those that are used too frequently. Of course, all cover letters will have some repetition of words, however, if you find that you’ve used the same word more than once a paragraph, consider replacing it with a synonym. Some redundant words might include: experience, work, previous, and skills. Use the find function or check manually, and then swap in some synonyms for variation and readability.
Here are some synonym suggestions for ‘experience’:
(Source: https://cultivatedculture.com/experience-synonyms/)
Knowledge: Implies understanding gained through involvement or study.
Expertise: Suggests a high skill level or mastery in a particular area.
Proficiency: Conveys competence in specific tasks or activities.
Exposure: Emphasizes familiarity gained through observation or participation.
Background: Suggests prior involvement or history in a certain field.
Familiarity: Implies general awareness or understanding.
Competence: Suggests the ability to perform tasks successfully.
Insight: Focuses on deeper understanding and awareness.
Practice: Indicates repetitive engagement or honing of a skill.
Skill: Conveys the application of learned abilities in tasks.
Vary Sentence Beginnings
When writing a cover letter, it can be easy to get stuck in the habit of starting sentences the same way. For example, you may find you have a multitude of sentences that begin “I have”, “I am”, or “My past work experience". Read through your letter - if you see multiple sentences that start the same way, consider changing some of those sentences. The goal is to revise the beginning of your sentence, while retaining the original meaning, and to do so without getting too wordy. Here are some sentence starters you can use as ideas:
Having worked in finance for…
With my passion for the arts…
Creating a system for…
In my extensive…
My bachelor’s degree has allowed me to…
Empathy and patience are…
Boosting productivity…
With competent communication skills…
My position involves…
Along with proficiency in…
My familiarity with…
Here are some sentence specific examples:
The sentence:
“I work in the human resources department, assisting a team of 10 employees.”
Could be revised as…
“Assisting a team of 10 employees as the…”
The sentence:
“In my previous role as a front desk professional and customer service representative, I was responsible for providing comprehensive support to customers.”
Could be revised as…
“Professional customer service and comprehensive support were…”
Include Field-Specific Languages
Still need more word variation for your cover letter? Add language that is specific to the strengths and skills in your field of work. The College of Charleston has a fantastic list, where you can find action words divided into categories such as communication skills, organizational skills, technical skills, and more. This is a great PDF to keep on hand for inspiration.
Click here for College of Charleston: Action Verbs to Use in Resumes and Cover Letters
Check your Sources
When using the internet to refine your cover letter, be sure you are looking at a reputable, knowledgeable, and recent source. Websites of colleges and universities are a fantastic resource, as they are current, reliable, and likely written by a career counselor or someone in sync with the job search process.
There are many different opinions regarding what a cover letter should or should do; we hope these suggestions will give you a place to start!