Cover Letter

Once your profile is set, then it's time to sell yourself to the clients. And by sell yourself, I don't mean pay them for the privilege of working for them. I mean convince them 

that they should hire you and pay you what you want. So, how do you do this? Cover Letters. Write a cover letter that proves you know what you're talking about, 

proves that you've read the job description and explains your costs and terms. And for goodness sake - don't send the same cover letter to each and every job posting. 

The clients always know. You aren't fooling anyone - so just stop.

Never beg for a job... It makes you look desperate, not professional. Never lower your hourly rate to a ridiculous amount in hopes of landing a job (or worse, offering to work for free). 

Again, it makes you look desperate and gives the impression that you don't deserve whatever amount you have posted on your profile.

Basic Guidelines About What to Include (and what not to)

- Don't include your contact information in your cover letter (your email address, chat ID, etc.). This is a violation of oDesk policy and makes you an easy target for an unscrupulous employer. When you are invited to an interview, then you are free to share whatever contact info you wish. - Don't start with a "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir" greeting. Neither adds any value and they may even offend some employers. If you do include a greeting, find a gender-neutral way to say hello, say "Dear Hiring Manager" or use the employer's name (if they've mentioned it). - Don't copy and paste the same cover letter over and over again, even if you 'fill in the blanks' with specifics for the job at hand. Just as you can tellwhen an employer posts a template job description, an employer can tell you're using a form cover letter. If you don't put in the effort to write a custom letter,they are unlikely to take the time to interview you. - Do try to use the same keywords the employer did. This shows you were paying attention to their job post. - Do answer specific questions or include special keywords the employer put in the job description to prove you can follow directions. That is, unless the employeris asking for your contact info or otherwise violating oDesk policy - in that case you should flag the job as inappropriate. - Do link directly to some relevant examples of your work whenever possible. Make sure you've added them in your portfolio as well. - Do state your availability (when and how much you can work and explain what kind of commitments you have to any other oDesk contracts, regular employers, etc.

Sample of what I think is a good and bad Cover Letter

Bad Cover Letter
I consider this a bad cover letter simply because not once did the contractor mention
anything about the job and why he is qualified for it. He kept on stating a lot of information
which were not relevant to the job. This is a good example of what a spam cover letter is.

Good Cover Letter
Not only did this contractor informed the employer about her background, she also focused 
on letting the employer know how interested and qualified she was for the job.

TIPS:

Quote:

Originally Posted by aimark13  Based on my experience, cover letters should mirror what the buyer has posted. Most of the time vague cover letters that just tell the employers that you're the best guy for the job got me the interview and/or the job. It still depends on the employer though. From my experience, I got interviews or got hired 7 out of 10 times using vague cover letters that don't really tell them much about you but suggests that you are an excellent person for the job. You might wanna try it out. I just started applying mid april and I already finished 2 article writing jobs, currently in another personal assistant job, a telesales job, and have 6 active interviews. In my theory, a lot of buyers, especially those from the US, are very straightforward and don't pay attention to minor details. Also what you should be keeping in mind with regards to your cover letters is the attitude of "I will deliver the best results" not "I am honored to apply, or I would love to be considered etc". Of course everything I said was just based on what happened to me. It may or may not actually work for others. I could've been just lucky.