5 Things You Should Never Include on Your Cover Letter
Robert Morris
Robert is an experienced writer on career issues
Are you applying for a new job? If you are, chances are you need an amazing cover letter to go with your qualifications. Sure, you can always consult the internet and find much information on how to write this letter, but taking it all in is a difficult task. Even if you learn how to word the cover letter and what to include, you are yet not informed on what you should NOT use in a cover letter. This is why we have created a list of five things you should never include to your cover letter. Read on.
Age and Years
Employers want to know your professional experience and qualifications. They are not really interested on how long you have managed to survive in the world, so stating your age is one of the things you should not include in a cover letter.
In your cover letter, you should include professional experience that is relevant to the applied position. Additionally, you may want to exclude job experiences that ended more than fifteen years ago, except if they are highly connected and relevant to this job. This does not mean that you should give the impression that you are young, so pay attention to what you list. Age bias can cut both ways.
Negative Stories
If you have professional experience, you sure have dark stories related to a job you had in the past. Perhaps you made a mistake that resulted in a problem or your firm simply failed to continue working and let you go. Regardless of the case, there is no place for negativity in your cover letter. The only way to make someone hire you is to remain positive and do not try to explain yourself for everything. This is something you can discuss during the interview later on.
Personal Life
No hiring manager will care about your hobbies, marital status, relationships, sexual orientation or your race, except in cases where this information is important for the job position. This means that as a professional, you should leave your personal life out of the cover letter.
The purpose of a cover letter is to discover your abilities, not yourself. Collecting personal details relevant to the workplace is something human resources department focuses on after an employee is hired. Therefore, all the personal information an employer will need in the cover letter is your name, address and contact information. The rest of the cover letter should be based on the reasons why you are a good fit for the particular job.
Make sure to never include your social security number in your resume. There are many identity thieves on the prowl, ready to take advantage of such information.
Salary History
Unless your employer asks for your salary history, you should never list such information in a cover letter. The hiring manager should be allowed to base the hiring process on your qualifications, not on how much you have been paid in the past.
Perhaps you have left your previous job because they paid you too little. Listing that salary in your cover letter may leave the impression that you were happy with that amount because you accepted that particular job, which in term will make the employer unwilling to pay you more.
In other cases, you may have received a high salary, but do not expect to earn that much for the job you are applying to. Perhaps this is an easier job and you simply want to have some free time. Whatever the case is, a high salary may scare off the employer and they are very likely to decline your application because they cannot offer you a salary that high.
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Lie about Your Experience
Finally, the worst thing you can do when writing your cover letter is lie about your experience. Providing false information to a prospective employer is wrong, especially because they will see that you were lying at some point. This can cost you a job you could have gotten in the first place or even get you fired afterwards.
Many people tend to exaggerate in the cover letter, which is no less of a false experience either. Today’s technology advancement allows hiring managers to check everything you will write regarding your professional experience, so lying about it is out of the question.
When it comes to experience, you must learn what to include too. Not every true information is relevant to the job position you are applying to. For example, a bank will not be interested in your previous experience as a bodybuilder or a model. Be careful.
Your cover letter is somewhat of the most important part of the job application. Writing it perfectly can help you get the job you are applying for. Therefore, make sure that you follow these simple don’ts in writing your perfect cover letter.
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