How to Write a Great Cover Letter
The dreaded cover letter.
Every time it comes to writing one, you probably browse generic templates and samples online, begin to feel overwhelmed, and think to yourself, “who actually reads these? I mean, isn't my resume enough? It has all of the necessary information already! Isn’t the cover letter an unnecessary addition?”
Wrong.
Most hiring managers believe that a cover letter is the most important part of any job application. Yes, you can try and let your resume speak for itself, but you are missing out on a crucial opportunity to tell prospective employers who you are, give deeper insights into the accomplishments listed in your CV, demonstrate why they should hire you, and why you stand out amongst all other applicants.
So if you’re ready, let’s dive into how to make sure your cover letter is as amazing as your CV is!
START FRESH
While it’s certainly easy, quick, and painless to take the cover letter from your last application and change a few details around before submitting it, it’s not going to yield the best results.
You can certainly use templates such as previous letters, but each letter should feel fresh and unique to demonstrate to the employer that you are truly excited about the company and the position. Definitely use a few strong sentences and carry that over from one cover letter to the next, but do not use intentionally vague sentences such as, “Dear manager, I am excited to submit my application for the open position at your organization.”
This approach will absolutely increase the number of applications you’ve submitted, but this sends an immediate signal that what you’re really doing is CV-bombing every open posting available to you with little thought to the fit of the position to your skillsets, and will result in your applications ending up in the trash.
INCLUDE THE HIRING MANAGER’S NAME
If and when possible, always try to include the hiring manager’s name. A generic greeting, such as, “dear hiring manager,” or, “dear hiring committee,” doesn’t do much for the recruiter in question. Conduct a quick LinkedIn search and see if you can find their information. If that doesn’t turn anything up, utilize a classic recruiter tactic for your own purposes. Call up the organization’s reception, and ask to speak to someone in that department, and see if this yields any information.
GO BEYOND YOUR RESUME
The most common mistake I see in cover letters is that they are simply a regurgitation of what is already listed in your CV. Like your CV, always strive to go beyond simply listing what you did, but show how your accomplishments and achievements translate into you being the employer’s ideal candidate.
If you’re having some difficulties with this, ask yourself some basic questions:
If you were to tell someone a brief story of something you accomplished, what details would you include to demonstrate maximum impact?
How did your personality, work ethic, or passion result in you being especially good at getting the job done?
Don’t be afraid of bragging either. With your application, both the CV and cover letter, you are effectively trying to sell yourself as the ideal candidate to the recruiter and organization. If you’re having difficulty with this, try to think of how a former boss would speak of you were they do a reference check for you, and then write from that perspective.
ASK NOT WHAT THE COMPANY CAN DO FOR YOU; ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THE COMPANY
Another common mistake is rather than demonstrating what they can offer the organization, candidates repeatedly emphasize what a great opportunity working in this position at this company would be for them. They tend to forget that the employment agreement is an exchange of money for services provided.
What you want to do here is focus on your skills. Your past work experience is great, but it doesn’t sell you as the perfect individual for the position, especially if it’s not a straightforward transition from one organization to another. In most positions, you will end up picking up a plethora of transferrable skills, so by focusing on that instead, you can position yourself as their ideal candidate.
In order to do this, you need to establish three criteria:
You have the skill you claim
You understand how the skill is useful to the new industry or role
You can show how you would apply that skill to the new industry or role
I’ve seen many cover letters only establish the first condition, but not follow-up on the rest. As much as they would like to be, recruiters are not psychic, and cannot discern examples that do not exist in your cover letter. It’s entirely upon you to not only establish that you have the skills, but demonstrate how they can be of value to the organization, understand the role well enough to explain this, and to share an example of how you can apply these transferrable skills to your new work environment.
A great way to do this is to:
THROW IN A FEW NUMBERS
Recruiters love to see statistics, as it shows you’ve had a measurable (and hopefully) positive impact with your current/former employer. This can be anything from having increased revenue by X percent year over year, improved customer satisfaction rates, or made the work process X percent more efficient. These are all things that make your cover letter stand out, and demonstrate what you can bring over to your next position.
LESS ON EDUCATION
Another mistake is that oftentimes students and new graduates will overemphasize their educational background. While this lends some credibility to your application, in that you know the theoretical aspect of the role, recruiters and hiring managers are more interested in your work experience.
Don’t ever feel like you have to apologize for any missing experience. It really is tempting to use lines like, “during my brief time in xyz role,” or, “despite my limited experience as xyz…”, but all these do is serve to highlight those weaknesses in your application. Instead, focus on your strengths.
Remember, most people will learn more on the job by doing than they will by going through training. For instance, if you only have volunteer experience as a student, that’s okay! You’ve likely picked up many transferrable skills along the way, so focus on drawing the recruiter’s attention to those instead. This can look like, “I’m excited to translate my experience in [insert your previous work/volunteer experience] to a position that’s more [what you’re hoping to do next].”
A FEW MORE THINGS TO CONSIDER
Do research on the organization, so that when you do draft your fresh, tailor-made cover letter, you can include things like how your experience and personality are a great fit for the company’s mission, vision, and values.
Keep it short and sweet. It’s tempting to draft a cover letter that’s heavy on the copy so you can cram just about everything you think is relevant in there. Just remember, that less is more, and you can expand even further during the interview.
And lastly, make sure that you thoroughly edit the cover letter (no, spell-check is not considered editing). Once you’ve gone through it, give it to a friend or family member, and have them review it as well for any grammatical errors or slightly weird sentence structures. Remember, one spelling mistake is all it takes for a recruiter or hiring manager to be turned off - especially if writing is considered to be a key part of the job description.
With a little luck, you’ll be able to quickly get the hang of writing truly effective cover letters that showcase how awesome you are for the role you’re applying for
And if you haven’t already checked it out, I’ve written a comprehensive post on how to write a great CV as well!
