Words that are junking up your cover letter

Fast Company's Samantha Cole posted about the words that make your cover letter sad.

I am an offender of the really/very tic. Like often. Really often.

I'm not always a fan of the cover letter in general. It's not always necessary. I'm not sure that it's even frequently necessary as most of the time you should be creating relationships that allow you to forward on a resume without such a formal conversation starter. But Samantha's recommendations are good ones for any kind of writing related to your job search so apply these tips to your resume.

A few more words I recommend avoiding:

"Perusal" - this word is not commonly used in our modern American English so seeing it on a resume always jumps out at me.

"Til Date" - this doesn't even make sense. Aside from the fact that 'til is a contraction (requiring that apostrophe), the word date is used in place of "today". I prefer "Current"

"Helped", "worked on", "assisted" - weak verbs that lack ownership. Try "partnered" or "collaborated" and throw in some "owned" and "led" where you can

And also, keep in mind that long cover letters won't be read. I'd even bet that most cover letters aren't read. Anyway, keep it short and highlight the information that is most important to the audience on the receiving end of that communication. In the case of the cover letter, that's the fact that you are a candidate for the position (if it's for a specific position, make that clear) and what you do ("A Program Manager with a background in distributed systems). I'd also recommend demonstrating some knowledge of the background of the person to whom you address the letter (if it's to a specific person and it's someone you don't already know); something along the lines of "I noticed that you are leading ABC Company's open source initiative and I'm interested in exploring opportunities with your team". And a little sprinkle of company knowledge helps too. Something like "I understand your company is expanding it's development team in Seattle."

You can also use a cover letter to clarify any questions that might arise on a resume. For example, you can use it to explain a recent gap in employment or the reason you are making a career change.

And if you feel all grumpy and annoyed when you are writing your cover letter (and resume), just remember that nobody likes to write these things (I mean, I am seeing an ad for tequila on the Fast Company article and that can't be unintentional). Crank it out and then have friends or colleagues read it and provide feedback. Don't expect to have it perfect the first time you sit down to work on it.