How to Write A Great Cover Letter

iStockphoto.com | Molnia

Letter writing is a dying art, which is unfortunate. However, it is not unreasonable for people to question the importance of the cover letter in the seemingly impersonal modern job application process. Unless you know exactly to whom you are sending a cover letter, is there even a point?

The short answer: In many cases, yes, there is a point. Even though in this age of applicant tracking systems (employer recruitment systems) cover letters have diminished in value and usage, a well placed, well written cover letter can help you get an interview for a job you want.

So, how and when does a cover letter matter?

• Your resume may have to conquer an automatic tracking application system but there are real people on the other end of the process, and if you know exactly who that is and how to reach them, you owe it to them to demonstrate that you really want – and are qualified for – the job.

• Some job postings request a cover letter to apply. In this case, you have no choice; interpret this requirement as your first test from the hiring manager. A poor cover letter (or lack of one altogether) may eliminate you as a viable candidate.

• If a cover letter is not requested, submitting one that is professional in tone and format shows you’ve put in extra effort and can create a strong first impression.

• When you take advantage of the extra opportunity to detail your reasons for applying for a job and talk up your qualifications, you gain a competitive edge over those who skip this step or send a generic going-through-the-motions type of cover letter.

Now that you are convinced to write a cover letter for every application, required or not, you have to write it. Here are quick step-by-step instructions to write an effective and professional cover letter:

Step One: Format your cover letter like a professional business letter, incorporating the date, addressee’s name and title, the address to where it’s being sent, and salutation. For those of you raised exclusively on electronic communications, here’s a sample and guide from the kind folks at Purdue University.

Step Two: Format your cover letter and resume with consistency between the two documents, namely use the same fonts and headers. Deviating from this will come across as careless.

Step Three: If possible, find out the name of the recruiter or hiring manager and address your cover letter to that individual; mining LinkedIn can often help you deduce this information. If you do not know to whom you are sending the cover letter, the salutation should be, “Dear Hiring Manager:”

Step Four: Keep it concise and professional, without sounding personal in nature.

Step Five: Don’t exceed four or five paragraphs, or one page. Less is more.

Here’s a sample format:

• Paragraph One: Lead with your reasons why you are excited about the company and to apply for the job.

• Paragraph Two: Tell the story of your relevant professional background, how it applies to the job position requirements, and how you will add value to the company’s mission. This is your opportunity to market yourself with some sizzle.

• Paragraph Three: List two or three of your biggest accomplishments that tie into the job’s criteria.

• Paragraph Four: Thank the person for reading your resume, tell them you appreciate their consideration, and finish with an action item (e.g. I will follow up with a phone call on Friday).

While a great cover letter can help you, a poor one can hurt you. Bear in mind that you’ll actually hurt your chances of getting the job if your cover letter (or resume, for that matter) shows a lack of effort, is poorly formatted, or contains typos or misspelled words. Your cover letter is the first thing an employer will see, and they’ll make judgments about you from this.

Proofread your letter several times. Then ask someone else to proofread it as well to root out any typos you missed.

Lastly, if you get stuck, there are many online sites and books with great templates and examples of dynamic cover letters. You wish to invest your time and money in these tools to learn best practices.

---

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.

Do Cover Letters Still Matter?

This should convince them!

Every career adviser will tell you that when you prepare a resume, that you need accompany it with a personalized cover letter.

What exactly is a cover letter, anyway? It’s a one-page document that accompanies your resume, customized and addressed to the person whom you’re sending your credentials. Usually, it summarizes a few key accomplishments found in the resume, reiterates your excitement in the reader’s company and is intended to impress.

If the resume is your personal brochure, then the cover letter is the brochure for the brochure. In essence, the cover letter is the pitch to the reader why they should invest the time in reading your resume.

Cover letters were invented and became standard practice in the days when job applicants sent a resume to an employer as a letter by (get this!) the postal service. As in, paper mail. As in, you stick the resume and cover letter in a stamped envelope and drop it in one of those big blue boxes they used to have on every corner. The corporate mailroom would receive the envelope, it would mellow for a few days, and eventually the office delivery person would drop it in the recipient’s inbox (a physical tray which sits on the corner of a person’s desk, usually labeled “IN”) where it would sit for a couple more days. Eventually, the recipient would use a letter opener (a device which looks suspiciously like a dagger) to open the envelope, glance at the cover letter, and decide whether the resume was worth a read.

Got all that?

Incidentally, next time you complain about how nobody gets back to you the resume you sent to Company X, keep in mind that it used to cost real money - in postage and stationery - to send an application to an employer. I’m just saying that life wasn’t always better in the old days.

Times have indeed changed. People don’t apply for jobs the same way. In most cases, an applicant sees a job online and applies either through the corporate website or via a job board like Monster or LinkedIn. Often there isn’t even an opportunity to include a cover letter with your resume.

And here’s a dirty little secret of the recruiting world – most recruiters, who act as gatekeepers of the application process, don’t have the time or interest to read a cover letter. They usually take a look at first half of the first page of the resume and decide whether to keep reading. A cover letter, if included, is usually an afterthought. A nicety. An attachment, if you will.

And yet, there is a time and a place for a cover letter. It’s a valuable tool for certain situations, because it shows that you care.

A cover letter is appropriate – even essential - in the following situations:

• You are targeting a position in a specific company and you have the contact information of a particular individual or department. If you really, really want to work at Chester’s Advertising Agency, and you have the CEO’s contact information, you have a unique opportunity to make a positive impression. A cover letter allows you to show the passion for working at Chester.

• You are attending a career fair and want to stand out from the pack. You’ve done your research and identified five employers you would really, really like to work for. Handing the recruiters a cover letter customized to their company along with the resume would demonstrate that extra little bit of effort.

• Somebody has referred you to an individual at a company. Let’s say that your friend Moe provides you with the contact for their friend Homer who works at the nuclear power plant you’d like to work at. If you don’t include a cover letter with the resume, Homer might never figure out it was Moe that referred you. And you’d like to make Moe look good for referring you, wouldn’t you?

• You’re emailing a resume to a company. Sometimes job advertisements ask applicants to send an email resume. In the body of the email you should have something to say. A cover letter – even a brief one – helps interest the recipient.

A cover letter doesn’t matter so much when:

• You apply to a job through a company’s website or a job board. Often there’s not an opportunity to even include a cover letter. Even if you attach one, it’ll likely be ignored.

• You’re canvassing a job fair. You’ll come across a great number of employers you’ve never considered. They won’t expect a cover letter, and it would be impractical to provide one for every exhibitor.

Either way, it’s best to be prepared. Have that cover letter ready, you never know when you’re going to need it.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Three Weekly Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Job Hunting Tips – The Job Fair Edition!

Lemon Squeezy

Here are three simple job hunting tips for you to begin your week! As we get into the job fair season, please enjoy these career fair-specific pointers.

1. Know who the employers are at the job fair. Do your research as to which companies will have booths. Then make a strategic plan to visit the specific employers you particularly want to see - visit them at the beginning of the day, before everybody's too tired to care.

2. Have your cover letters ready. Cover letters? At a job fair? Yes, but not for every employer. Have letters ready for your targeted employers. It demonstrates that have you put some extra effort into your application with them.

3. Be concise, be brief. Recruiters at a job fair will meet with a seemingly-endless line of applicants. Respect their time - when it's your turn, give them your elevator pitch, hand them your resume, and smile. They'll take it from there. You'll have probably between five and seven minutes, then it's time to move along.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.