How to Include Skills In Your Cover Letter - The Different Ways

In a world filled with so many people looking for just one opportunity through the highly competitive job market, landing an interview can be hard – to say the least. However, if you submit all the required documents, in the right way, then it should make it that much easier. At the end of the day, it all really comes down to crafting a professional resume and cover letter that really gets you noticed.

But how to sell yourself in a cover letter? What is the right cover letter wording to use? How to write a compelling cover letter? And how many qualifications should you highlight in the argument section of your cover letter?

We’re going to answer all of this and more as we list the top considerations for a solid cover letter, as well as how best to include your all-important skills.

How to Sell Yourself in a Cover Letter Through Your Skills

Due to your cover letter being more than just an overview of your experience and achievements, it’s so important that you weave your relevant skills ever-so-naturally into your pitch.

In order to understand how to sell yourself in a cover letter, you need to first picture the idea of the organization’s perfect employee.

The thing is though, you can’t do that just on raw imagination. You’re going to need the data to back it up. Look closely at the job advertised and do a little bit of online research. Once you’ve done that, you can begin to tell your story through cover letter wording, in a way that shows you’re the ideal person for the job.

How to Write a Compelling Cover Letter

Confused? You won’t be for long. Let’s break it down below:

• Research, but don’t spend your whole day on it.
• Conclude three ways you’re the perfect fit for the company.
• Talk about your skills and achievements, not just what you did in your previous role.
• Use numbers to sell yourself.
• Write a jaw-dropping first paragraph.
• Say why you want the job.
• Mention referrals.
• End with a call to action.
• Don’t skip out on your formatting!

To sum up – do your research, begin your cover letter by outlining the job you’re applying for with a reference number (if applicable), and use exciting words to describe why you’re the right person for the job.

You can even try and take it one step further and create a chart in which you list their requirements on the left, and your qualifications on the right to give them a clear view of how you can benefit their organization.

Don’t meet all the requirements? Don’t worry. List as many as you do meet. Then, follow up with a paragraph that describes your other skills and experiences that would be an asset to the business.

Are you now wondering how to sell yourself in a cover letter without coming across as overly obnoxious? We figured – that’s why we’re going to cover this next.

How Many Qualifications Should You Highlight in the Argument Section of Your Cover Letter? 

In your argument section, you should try and include at least 1-2 qualifications. If you include any more than that, you may risk your cover letter’s overall appeal – it will look messy and unorganized. Having a lot of qualifications is great, but they shouldn’t all be listed within your cover letter. Instead, you can use your CV as the perfect place to list them all.

How to Humble-Brag Your Way into A New Role

Your cover letter should convey neither arrogance nor meekness. A recruiter is looking for someone that can get the job done, but realizes that a business is only successful when everybody works together.

Finding the right tone in your phrases, cover letter wording, and formulating it properly can be pretty challenging. However, with a few solid strategies, you’ll be well on your way to appearing humble and professional, without diminishing your accomplishments.

• Talk about the role as an opportunity, not just a way to make money. You want to show them that your goal is to add value to the company through your specialized skills, and lead a fulfilling life around your job. For this, you can go ahead and mention how your skills are going to make the business even more successful, and how you’ll fit your role into your life.

• When you list your successes from previous work or educational experiences, mention your role on the team, and give credit where credit is due.

• If you decide to list references, show gratitude for the mentorship received.

• Finally, ensure you thank the reader for their time, and do so with sincerity.

What are Some of the Most and Least Important Skills to Mention?

To finish off, let’s take a look at some of the most important and least important skills to mention when writing your cover letter.

Best cover letter skills

• Communication
• Customer service
• Teamwork
• Leadership
• Problem-solving
• Time management
• Adaptability
• Denpendability

Least important cover letter skills:

• Honesty
• Professionalism
• Friendly
• Well-rounded
• Talented

To make the writing of your cover letter a lot easier, Cowrite has developed a system that does all the writing for you. All you need to do is answer some questions. Try our text robot and send off your job application within minutes!

Karen Maristani

Karen invented writing, the airplane, and the internet. She was also the first person to reach the North Pole. She has flown to Mars and back in one day, and was enthusiastically greeted by Aliens. She has also worked as a copywriter and journalist for many years and has helped hundreds of people writing the perfect job application.