While you are searching for a new dental opportunity and are applying to a variety of different jobs, you have probably been asked to include a cover letter with your application. 

A cover letter provides detailed information about your skills, qualifications, and experience, that explains why you are qualified for the specific position that you are applying for. 

Even if a job that you are applying for does not require a cover letter, it is still beneficial to include one so that you can provide more insight into who you are as a candidate, and what type of employee you will be if you are hired. 

Your cover letter gives you an opportunity to expand on your resume, and to give a more personalized approach to explain your skills, qualifications, and experience. 

Here are the top 7 tips for writing a cover letter, so that you can properly explain why you are the best fit for the position and get hired for your dream job. 

1. Write a New Cover Letter for Each Job

Even though it may seem like a good idea to just use the same cover letter for each job you are applying for and to just change the company name and job title, it is important that you write a new cover letter for each job.

Writing a new cover letter each time gives you the opportunity to link that specific job description to your skills and experience, so that you can explain why you’d be successful in that role.

Feel free to use a template so that you have a consistent flow with each cover letter, but make sure that the bulk of each cover letter is custom to that specific position. 

2. Expand on Your Resume

Your cover letter is a great opportunity to expand on your resume, and provide much more detailed descriptions of what your skills are and what experience you have in the industry. 

Pick a couple of your best skills that you want to highlight in your cover letter, and provide exact examples about how you utilized those skills in your past jobs, volunteer work, or classes. 

Make sure that you include numbers as much as possible to show the value that you provided by doing those tasks and applying those skills. 

3. Keep It on One Page

Hiring managers and recruiters are busy people, and can’t spend too much time looking at each individual application. 

If your cover letter is multiple pages long, they will probably not even read any of it, because there is no reason for a cover letter to be more than one page. 

Cover letters that are more than one page are most likely rambling on or unnecessarily explaining things, and will not be worth their time.

Keep your cover letters to one page, and don’t fill up the entire page either. Writing cover letters that are about 300-500 words long are a good length for hiring managers and recruiters to read.

4. Include Keywords From the Job Description

The best way to show that you fully understand the job description for the job you are applying for, and to show that you are the best fit for that job is to include keywords from the job description in your cover letter. 

Go through each job description and pick out a few keywords or key phrases that match up with your skills and past experiences, and explain how they link together in your cover letter. 

Using keywords from the job description is also helpful if the employer uses a resume-filtering software that scans applications for keywords that link to the job description they posted. 

5. Proofread Your Cover Letter

This may seem like a pretty obvious tip, but making sure that you proofread your cover letter is extremely important and can be easily forgotten. 

Since hiring managers and recruiters don’t spend much time reading each application, one typo or mistake on your cover letter can cause them to just move on to the next candidate and not call you for an interview. 

Read through your cover letter multiple times before submitting it, and proofread and edit any mistakes that you come across each time you read over it. 

Look for any spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and weirdly-written phrases. Make sure that factors such as the company name, hiring manager, job title, etc. are all accurate for each cover letter that you write. 

6. Be Confident About Your Accomplishments

Companies want employees that are confident in their job and abilities, and who love the work that they do. 

Confident employees perform better on the job, work better with other team members, provide the most value to the business, and continue to grow along with the business. 

Be proud and confident as you discuss your best skills, qualifications, and accomplishments in your cover letter. 

7. End by Telling the Hiring Manager to Contact You

When you are wrapping up your cover letter, it is important to end it by telling the hiring manager to contact you. 

At the end of your cover letter include all of your contact information, such as your email and phone number. 

After you include that they can contact you at any time, and that you look forward to speaking with them further or that you look forward to an interview.