Cover letters can be a great way to get your foot in the door of a company. If done properly it allows you to convey the type of employee you are to potential employers. You can use your cover letter to summarize your resume, show samples of your work or to make a personal introduction if you have a specific person you are sending it to.
This article will cover 5 tips and things you can do with your cover letter to make it more effective for you. Take these tips and apply them to your specific situations; use your experiences to customize your strategy.
Keep it relevant and brief
Within max 4 sentences you should be able to include all the necessary information.
Make a list of the skills that make you a good candidate for the job. Also take note of any qualifications or specializations you have that make you stand out. When writing effective cover letters, planning and laying out all your skills is essential so you don’t sell yourself short.
Stay relevant to the position you’re applying for in your letter. Show how you would be able to excel and achieving the responsibilities for the position. Use words in your letter that show you are the type of person that takes action.
Send out custom letters for each company
Taking the time to send out custom letters to each company is well worth the effort. It shows the company you are the type of person that is willing to go the extra mile. Show them right off the bat that you are a self motivated and valuable employee.
In reality you don’t have to write every single letter from scratch; replace certain details so that your letter aligns with the position you are applying for. You should only be using templates that you can edit and save time. You should never send a letter to an employer.
Make sure the skills, personality traits and the way your letter is written is tailored to the company and position you are applying for. For example the tone of your letter should be completely different when applying to a pet store compared to applying to a bank.
How to write an effective cover letter
Provide evidence
Get the people reading your letter to refer back to your resume. Highlight skills relevant to the position you are applying for and supplement them with experience from your resume.
For example: “You can see on my resume that I have worked in both the USA and Canada in senior positions that highlight my leadership and management skills.”
By referring to your resume you are actively engaging your reader by getting them to do an action. This engages the reader’s brain and becomes a memorable experience. Make your letter memorable by getting the reader to engage with it.
On top of that, the more you can solidify what you’re saying the more impressive of a candidate you become. Refer to accomplishments and accolades, your resume or personal references in order to create a validated letter. By the time a person is done reading, at least 2 or 3 key things about you should stand out.
Show off your personality
Do this by choosing an appropriate tone for your letter. Find a tone ( serious, peppy, friendly ect) that best suits the position and company you are applying for. Always try to come across as friendly; write as if you genuinely want to help their team.
Do not use language outside of your normal vocabulary. It’s true you need to be professional and stay away from slang, however do not use a ton of adjectives just because “professional people” use them. Simply write how you would naturally speak and once your done review it and make changes so that it is appropriate to be read by a business.
Keep in mind to stay on topic and really only focus on this part if it makes you a more attractive employee. Don’t be afraid to write things then delete them later. Constant revisions are key if you want to write a solid letter.
You want people to read your letter in order contact you right? Make sure they have the means to!
Either include your contact info in the header/footer. Or end of your letter with your name and contact information.
Don’t be afraid to encourage people to contact you. Use words like “Please contact me at your convenience” or “Please give me a call” to entice people to contact you. Put it in their head that they should give you a call.
As said before make sure you decide what the goals are for this job hunting tool you’re creating. Decide if it is to get people to contact you or to convey the type of employee you are or to get people to read your resume. From there you can customize it’s components to suit your needs.
If you’re having trouble getting your letter to a specific person in a company there are a few things you can try. Always be very polite and courteous to the secretary. Remember their name and use it when addressing them.
If you’re unable to get your letter through in person or by calling and asking, try emailing the secretary personally. Explain very professional why you want to have the person you’re trying to reach read it. You can also try calling the company directly and asking to speak with the person you want directly.
By taking the time to craft a high quality, relevant and effective cover letter you are putting yourself ahead of lots of candidates. Use this guide to help you prepare and excel. Think in terms of pareto analysis. Focus on 20 percent of the most critical information which will have 80 percent impact.
I recently read articles stating that the Cover Letter is actually more important than the resume; considering that the Cover Letter is a selling document; while the Resume is a promotional document; I believe that this is actually valid. The way this author put is that “The Cover Letter sells; while the Resume informs.” At first this seemed a bit unconventional; however the more I thought about it, the more I thought that this author had a valid point. After all, it is that Cover Letter which entices that hiring manager to continue on and read the attached or enclosed resume. If they don’t find that covering letter interesting enough to be worthy of their time and a quick perusal; then it is very, very likely that they will not even give that attached resume even a cursory glance.
Conceptually it is an interesting shift in the work-search paradigm.
Thanks for your comment! I do agree with what you have to say. It’s hard to get someone to look over your resume if they don’t even find your cover letter interesting. As said in the article; cover letters are great ways to get your foot in the door and also garner some attention for your self. If done properly a cover letter can be extremely useful in creating opportunities for yourself.
How does one get those documents past all the “gate-keepers” into the hands of those with the actual power and authority to do the hiring? Too often, when responding to an advertisement, or even submitting a “cold application” one is automatically directed to the HR Department; yet for all their involvement, they are not the ones normally responsible for making such hiring decisions. I have found even when submitting one’s credentials to the actual people with “hiring authority,” someone; (i.e. another “gatekeeper” often an Admin Assistant or another individual is “filtering” and “screening” what is presented to that actual person with that authority to make a job offer. Any advice on how to avoid this?
It’s a little hard to get past the gatekeeper if you are applying formally for a job. Usually its their job to handle all incoming applications.
Look at the people on the company website then try and decide who it would be best to reach out to.
Usually everyone’s email is “name@comapny’sname.com” or “firstnamelastname@company’sname.com” try different variations of this until you get the correct one.
You can also email the gatekeeper and asked to be redirected to the HR manager. Something like “Hello I just had a few questions for your HR manager, can you please direct this email to them” can get you in touch with them.
You can also try phoning and asking the gatekeeper to speak directly with the person you want if you know their name.
If you can figure out their name you can also use the company’s phone directory to get in touch with them.
As a freelancer I tend to contact companies directly instead of applying for their jobs. As said above I either email the general email and asked to be put in touch with the right person or sometimes im able to find that information on their website.
Dear Ms. Viera:
Thank you so much for your prompt response to my inquiry and comments: as you could probably note from my tone my job search has been all too long and an extraordinarily frustrating exercise.
Thank you so much for you reply to my inquiry; my experience with such issues has been somewhat disappointing; far too often, it seems as though those “gatekeepers” are more interested in protecting their “turf” than they are in making relevant evaluations about a prospective candidate. My frustrations stem from unanswered telephone calls, messages left, e-mails unanswered: while I appreciate that often such individuals are extremely pressed for time: to me it is not only unprofessional but also the height of arrogance to be so cavalier about such issues. And, even though I do appreciate the facts that such an individual is also being over-worked while being pulled in too many different directions simultaneously; this is, however, the “gig” that they chose to sign on for. And, so, to me it is not asking too much for some sort of follow-up post interview; and even post application submission. I do think that often this becomes either “turf protecting” or a “litigation fear” issue. A company cannot really face too much in the way of legal litigation choosing to ignore such inquiries; the inverse is not always true; and, thus, for them it is a “win-win” by choosing to be so arrogant, and even, condescending.
My concerns with my prior inquiry are that often the Personnel Managers and the H.R. Personnel are truly not those with the actual ability to make those actual hiring decisions; from my experience, more often than not; they are merely acting as filters for the person or persons with that actual authority to extend an offer of employment.
I have read and been told that one should attempt to avoid those in HR at all costs when possible; yet more often than not, particularly for a larger firm; one cannot truly avoid being pre-screened by those in HR. As I mentioned, I have read in numerous books regarding job-hunting and job-searching, that one should avoid Human Resources like the plague when attempting to land an offer of employment. The rationales for this point of view are articulated stating that HR’s principle role is to “weed out” candidates; and even though, they are likely knowledgeable regarding generalities about particular positions and the needs for those openings, they more often than not are not the actual individuals responsible for making decisions regarding hiring. Their function is solely to open envelopes, read e-mails, and then pass along those individuals whom they believe to be viable candidates to that individual whom truly has hiring authorities.
Another issue I have faced is that when you attempt to “pin down” such individuals as to what the actual skill-sets that they are looking for in such applicants, they are more often than not, unable to do so. This leads me to my next question: “if even they are unsure about the precise skill-sets necessary for a specified opening; how in the world can they possibly evaluate a potential candidate’s background and credentials as they relate to satisfying those hiring needs? Their perspective is that they just know that they need a body; but, are totally clueless in too many cases when it comes to identifying those skill-sets required. Thus begging the question: if even they are unclear about what they want and/or need to satisfy such a position: then, how in the world can they expect to evaluate any prospective candidate?
In view of this: How does one best get their credentials to that actual decision maker? And, how does one achieve this while not offending others?
Dear Jung,
Thank you so much for your response and worthwhile advice; I find that my job-search has been stymied by not being able to get my credentials in front of the right people: not the Gate-Keepers, but to the actual individuals with hiring authority. Too often, it seems that contacting the HR manager or department leads only to a Dead-End. Your applications simply gets input to an HR Database and is later simply lost in the crowd.
Thanks for your advice; I appreciate your response to my earlier inquiries.
Keith R. Enste