If you decide to make your cover letter online, then check out the inside tips about the potential problems of this choice.
The cover letter has become a frequently requested document in almost any industry of the labor market.
This paper reveals what qualifications a candidate brings to the forefront and what skills he or she is ready to offer to the employer. Moreover, this short text helps to understand the personality of a potential employee through the style of storytelling and writing. Given the importance of the cover letter, every applicant wants to make his or her copy perfect. That’s why plenty of online builders are ready to help them with this task and get a position, respectively. However, you should find out whether this help is a trap and what to expect from such “assistants.”
Common problems of online builders
1. Free advice is seldom cheap
How often do free products or services guarantee the quality? The answer to this question should also be taken into account when choosing free cover letter builders. The main pitfalls, in this case, are a limited selection of design templates and an overabundance of well-worn phrases, which together prevents the uniqueness of the document. Now imagine a recruiter of any company that considers dozens of identical letters for the same vacancy. There is a strong possibility that one of the subsequent copies will go right into the spam folder. Therefore, think twice before saving your time and money but getting the low-efficient paper.
2. Your position does not matter
There are many examples when professional strengths that are worth its weight in gold in one industry hold no value for another one. More specifically, not all positions require leadership skills, and there are plenty of duties that not only a strong communicator can cope with. However, many online builders do not take into account such features of the post when creating your document. As a result, you can get a copy teeming with benefits, but none of them will work for you. How to understand what skills and qualities will play into your hands? You can rely on your experience or find a short guide for your desired job on this website. Samples of cover letters and their diversity in this editor prove that each applicant needs an individual approach.
3. Focus on soft skills only
When a person cannot stick to the point, he begins to speak in generalities. The same goes for some cover letter builders. They do not provide the opportunity to choose the job and hard skills and thus do not include an essential part of the candidate information in the text. As a result, the employer does not receive significant competitive advantages of the applicant, but is content with a blurry portrait as “a strong team player, a born leader, and a great communicator.” Undoubtedly, such soft skills have not hurt anyone, and besides, many of them are appreciated by recruiters. But you should not rely on them only. Any employer put a specific list of job requirements. In this regard, he or she wants to know if you have dealt with them before, whether you have enough competencies to cover them, and how successful your performance experience is. Although soft skills are strengths, they will not help answer these questions. Thus, if your chosen website does not offer you to clarify hard skills for direct responsibilities, it is an occasion to think about the quality of the final document.
4. Mistakes in the delivery of the information
Most often, the applicant resorts to online builders if he or she does not have the inspiration, time, or knowledge to create this document independently. But the provided result can sometimes be either primitive or ineffective according to the standards of the cover letter. A primitive copy contains just a list of skills and does not reveal their significance for the desired position. An ineffective copy thoroughly and conscientiously describes the talents of the candidate but does not find a room for the company in this text. Such an omission relates to the blunders of a cover letter according to recruiters. It casts doubts on your interest in a particular company, and invite the assumption that your document is common to all potential employers. The poor presentation focuses on the question “what do I have?” while winning one highlights the issue “what can I offer?” Can you see the difference? So the employer knows it too and pays attention to your wording. However, online editors often neglect this rule, as a result of which a cover letter can have an exactly opposite effect. How to understand what text the builder offers in the early stages? Look for examples of cover letters on the selected website to evaluate how it presents the strengths of the applicants.
So is it worth counting on online cover letter editors?
These services for writing and formatting cover letters are a steady helping hand to any applicant who wants to play it safe when applying for a job. But it is well to remember that the desired result is achieved with a competent approach to choosing a builder. In this regard, take on board a few tips:
- Get an understanding of cover letter examples on the selected platform, their format, and content. Usually, they make it clear which text you can count on using this editor. So, if you have doubts about the quality of the document from the very beginning, you should continue the search.
- Look for reviews about the service, pay attention to what users attribute to the strengths or weaknesses of the editor. It is a simple but proven way to understand whether it is worth trusting your cover letter to one or another platform.
- Do not be afraid of paid builders, as the price is often justified by a wide selection of design layouts and a responsible approach to content. It increases the chances of hitting the target.
- Try to choose an online builder with the ability to edit the provided text. No matter how effective it is, only you can add relevant information about your achievements, experience, or motivation.
- In the end, start working with the editor to understand what options it offers. And remember, if the builder does not provide the ability to indicate your hard skills, then your letter will most likely be superficial.
They say that forewarned is forearmed. Keep in mind all the advice, and then no pitfalls will become an obstacle to your job-winning cover letter.
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