Sometimes I get asked by my clients about when it’s appropriate and/or necessary to write a cover letter. The general answer is that it almost never hurts, “almost” being the key word there. Getting a job is all about scoring more points than the next candidate. Lucky for you, it’s really not that hard to win, because many candidates go in with nothing more than an average resume. Everything else that you do above and beyond the typical resume shows that you are polished, prepared, and that you have a real passion for the job you are applying for.

A well-written cover letter scores you more points. A poorly-written, misinformed letter hurts you. Cover letters are especially useful when you are applying for a job with a company that you don’t currently work for. It helps you build a conversational relationship with your hiring manager and helps you highlight the top few things that set you apart from the other candidates.

Here are nine tips to guide you as you write your cover letter:

1. Keep it short. I can’t emphasize this enough. Long and wordy paragraphs will not get read by your hiring manager. Don’t go any longer than three-fourths of a page. If you can keep it to half a page, even better. Don’t use a small font to cram everything into it to still meet the length restriction. 🙂
2. Put your contact info at the very top. Just like everything else that you give your hiring manager, it needs to have your name, phone number, and email on it. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to call you at any time.
3. Be gracious. Be assumptive, but not pushy in the letter. You want your hiring manager to know that you’re very interested in the job, but don’t let it feel like you have a sense of entitlement or that you deserve the job. Let them make the decision. Thank them for taking the time to read the letter.
4. Introduce yourself. Briefly. Take one or two short sentences to tell them what you’re currently doing. Include your name and job title.
5. Highlight your top three qualification for this specific job. Quickly state why you’re the top candidate for the position. Focus on the results you’ve achieved, rather than just on the things you’ve done. Use phrases like “I increased online sales revenues by 325% in under six months by integrating A/B testing into our email marketing strategy.” Keep it concise.
6. Show that you know the company and their industry. This is where it gets a little more difficult. You want to show him or her that you have done your research. Google the company. Read some of their press releases. Find out about their industry. Find out who their competitors and allies are. Try to summarize this briefly in a few sentences. Don’t speak like you’re their next CEO. Just keep it simple and show you’re informed.
7. Give them a couple suggestions for improvement. This is the most difficult part. It’s a fine line between criticizing and showing that you want to contribute what you’ve learned in the past to their organization. Just be careful that you’re not stating the obvious. If you are not 95% sure that you have a solid suggestion, just skip this section.
8. Restate that you hope to get an interview. If you’ve shown you have what they’re looking for, you know their company, and you have something valuable to contribute, this part should be easy. Tell them you would love to work with and grow with their company. Tell them you would like to talk more about how you can contribute to their organization.
9. Sincerely, you. Sign it. Easy peasy.

Cover letters, more than anything else you submit during the application and interviewing process need to be specifically written for each particular job. If you’re applying to a lot of jobs and don’t have time to write cover letters for each one, in my opinion, it’s better to not submit a cover letter at all. If it’s generic, it’s probably not going to get read.

If you would like suggestions or help writing your next cover letter, give me a call or send me a text.