How to Ask for an Interview in a Cover Letter
A cover letter is a brief form of correspondence that accompanies your resume when you are looking for employment. In many cases, your cover letter may be the difference between whether your resume gets looked at it or not. A poorly written cover letter can cause a prospective employer to make judgments about you, your job skills and qualifications before she even looks at your resume. Learning how to properly ask for an interview in a cover letter can play an important role in your employment future.
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Instructions
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Format your letter properly. A professional cover letter will make a better impression. Your name and contact information should appear at the top of the letter, either centered or left justified. The company name, address and contact person should appear in the upper left portion of the cover letter. Be sure to address the cover letter's recipient specifically, even if you need to call the company and request the name of the person in charge of giving job interviews.
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Open the letter with a formal salutation. "Dear Mr. Smith" is acceptable. You can also use the person's first and last name. Avoid opening the letter with a first name only. This can often lead your prospective employer to feel as if you are getting too personal. It isn't considered professional regardless of how friendly it might be.
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Introduce yourself briefly in the first paragraph. State that you are sending your cover letter, along with your resume. Indicate what the letter and resume are in response to, such as a newspaper advertisement or online posting. State one or two reasons why you feel qualified for the position being offered: add a couple of selling points, such as your strong work ethic and your ability to work as a team or with minimal supervision. The goal is to persuade a prospective employer to look at your resume.
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Request an interview as obliquely as possible in the body of your letter. Assume you will be getting the opportunity to interview for the position. You might phrase your request, "I have included my contact information for your convenience." Keep the tone of the letter conversational without lapsing into overly-friendly chit-chat.
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Close your cover letter by thanking the recipient for considering you for the position. At this point, state that you look forward to the opportunity to meet with her for an interview. This solidifies your intent and demonstrates a confident nature that some employers find an appealing quality in prospective employees.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have Microsoft Word or OpenOffice, you can use one of the many cover letter templates either program has to help you format a proper cover letter.
