Forget Cover Letters - Write A Pain Letter, Instead! Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. If you haven't been on a job search...

One aspect of strategic planning is to develop a strong team of people. Discovering and retaining top talent may lead a company to success. Your goal for this discussion is to showcase why you would make a good candidate for an organization. To stand out from other candidates, you will want to write a cover letter for each position in which you apply. Cover letters allow you an opportunity to highlight your skills and competencies for potential employers.

For this discussion, you will develop a cover letter, reflect on your most relevant skills, and assess what action steps you can take to make your cover letter stronger.

To write an impactful cover letter, you should answer the following questions before you begin composing it. Starting with these questions will help provide a clear and concise message for the person reading your cover letter.

• Why are you interested in the position? Consider what makes the position, organization, or company interesting to you.
• What three skills or competencies do you possess that match the skills the employer is seeking in a candidate?
  • You can find these skills by viewing the job description. These specific skills are the reason every cover letter should be unique for each job for which you apply.

Begin by reviewing the following Forbes’ articles:

• Forget Cover Letters – Write A Pain Letter, Instead!
• Stop! Don’t Send That Cover Letter
• Tips For The Perfect Resume And Cover Letter

Once you have reviewed the articles, identify a position of interest as a potential job opportunity. You may use any job search website. Two popular employment websites are: www.indeed.com and careerbuilder.com. After you identify a position of interest, use the job description to identify three skills or qualifications that match your background. Next, develop a cover letter by creating a three to four sentence paragraph highlighting your matching skills.

Paste the link of the job description you are interested in and the paragraph that you developed for this job application into the discussion forum.

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