Landing an Interview: Ending Your Cover Letter on a Strong Note
Cover letter endings are tricky. In my PR courses, professors advised me not to leave the ball in the employer’s court at the end of my cover letter. So, I usually ended my cover letters with something like this:
I will contact you within a week to follow up on my application. However, you may contact me at blah, blah, blah. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
After starting law school and getting some feedback on my resumes/cover letters, I stopped being so “aggressive” and to the chagrin of my PR profs, ended my letters by gingerly placing the ball in the employers’ courts with the shamefully passive “thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you soon.”
Now, I’m rethinking this whole thing again.
I came across a post on The Nonprofit Times’ Jobs Blog about this very issue.
One of the most common mistakes people make when writing an ending is using passive language. Here are a few examples:
- “I look forward to hearing back from you in the near future.”
- “If you wish to discuss my qualifications further, get back to me.”
- “I think you will find that my qualifications really fit well with your position, and I hope to hear back from you.”
For me, the problem with these endings is that they show no initiative, no assertiveness, and no glimmer of perseverance!
On the other hand, I’ve heard that more assertive endings can give the employer the idea that an applicant is conceited.
The NPT Jobs blog suggests ending your cover letters on a confident and respectful note, like this:
- “I will contact you within the week to follow up on my application. Meanwhile, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or requests. Thank you for your time and your consideration.”
- “I have enclosed my resume, which will contain additional details about my qualifications. If you have any additional questions, please contact me. I look forward to discussing the job with you in the coming weeks.”
- “Thank you for taking the time to review my credentials. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have at your convenience.”
- “I appreciate you considering me for this position. I will contact you soon so we can discuss my qualifications further, and see if we can find a time to schedule an interview.”
I tend to agree — by keeping the ball in your court (can you tell I miss basketball? When will this lockout end?!), you’ve set yourself up with an opportunity to talk with an employer and make another good impression.
What do you think? How do you end your cover letters?