Get Noticed: How to Write a Great Cover Letter
While many people opine that cover letters may not be relevant any longer, many recruiters and employers still ask for a cover letter as part of an application. Hence, you have to make sure that you turn in your A-game when it comes to your applications.
Your cover letter is a great opportunity to sell yourself. Keep it short, leave out all the irrelevant standard language, and really dig down to the reason why the company should want to hire you for this job. Imagine a hiring manager taking 30 seconds to read the first half of your cover letter, will their interest be peaked and will they want to read the rest? If the answer is no, rest assured that they will never read the rest!
Refer to your resume where needed. For example: For your company X to be successful in the Y industry, it needs people that are Z. As you can see in my resume, I’ve taken on the responsibility to bring Z to every project I’ve worked on.
Maybe even more so for your cover letter than your resume, make sure it stands out from the masses! Again, this may mean you should take a little risk. Include something interesting, ambitious, thought-provoking that shows that you understand their company and the job. You can rest assured that if your resume doesn’t stand out, you definitely won’t get that invite! And remember, two really strong arguments as to why the company should want to hire you, is a stronger cover letter than a long letter with the same two really strong arguments and one mediocre reason. Keep it concise!
Important! If you apply by email, make sure to copy-paste the body of your cover letter in the email! As you’ve now written a great cover letter, you don’t want the hiring manager to waste the little time they are willing to spend on your application by reading something standard like “I wish to apply to your notable institution for the position of X. Please find attached a copy of my resume and cover letter for your consideration.” No, you want them to spend that time reading why they should hire you. You can still attach the cover letter as a pdf to the email as well, so it looks professional if an assistant receives all applications and prints them for the hiring manager.
While you are also going to need to tailor your cover letter for every role you apply for, having an initial template or outline prepared may save you time. But be very careful that this generic template doesn’t result in generic, a dime in a dozen cover letters, because that is the quickest way for your application to land in the bin. Here’s a list of everything your cover letter should include to get you noticed.
Checklist
Is your cover letter customized for each and every role you apply for?
Is your cover letter addressed to the hiring manager, recruiter, or human resources representative at the company?
Does it include your up-to-date contact information?
Is it as short as possible, with all nonessentials removed, and definitely less than a page long?
Is it broken up into three or four brief paragraphs or two paragraphs with a bullet-pointed section in the middle?
Does it clearly state what position you are applying for in the opening paragraph?
Does it show that you have done research on the company? (One way to demonstrate this is by including a mention of a recent company accomplishment or news story: ‘I saw that you were recently named one of the best companies to work for…’).
Does it highlight a brief section of my applicable career achievements?
Is it free of spelling and grammatical errors?
Is it completely accurate?
Does it stand out and do a great job of selling you for the job?