OK, so you've discovered that you have to submit a cover letter. And you're raring to get started. But, like any great writer, you first have to know whom you're writing for. So here are three important points about your audience:
It could be a recruiter (i.e, someone whose job is finding great candidates but who wouldn't have much contact with you, once you're hired) or a hiring manager (i.e., someone whose main job isn't finding candidates but who would be your boss or teammate, once hired). In many companies, it will be both. But the nice thing about cover letters is that it doesn't really matter. Because each will be facing the same situation...
Picture this scene: It's 6 PM on a Friday evening. The office is empty - except for one glowing cube. Here, the lonely recruiter or hiring manager sits, toiling away in search of the perfect candidate. In front of him or her is anywhere from 50-500 cover letters and resumes. Suddenly, the weekend seems very far away... As grim as this story sounds, it's the reality for many roles. And it's the reason why your cover letter has to be awesome: it simply needs to stand out!
Now imagine this: It's two weeks later and interviews are starting for the job. In comes a candidate who doesn't seem qualified at all. How does the cover letter reader feel? Humiliated. And what do they do about? Next time, they only offer interviews to the candidates with the best, most obvious qualifications.
The key takeaway here is that cover letter readers are both in a hurry but also cautious in picking candidates to interview. So start to put yourself in their shoes as you begin to write. Think, "How can I both catch their attention but also convince them I'm a safe bet?" Given that 90% of your competition will inevitably submit generic cover letters and/or fail to demonstrate substantial qualifications, recognizing this single insight will already put you in elite company.
Find Out: Why Write a Cover Letter?
One last question to ponder before we start writing: What's the point of the cover letter anyway?
Especially given all the applications recruiters and hiring managers have to get through, why would they ever ask for more material? After all, every cover letter they receive doubles the amount of reading they have to do per candidate (compared to just looking at resumes).
The answer actually has everything to do with that crippling workload. Because as painful as reading hundreds of cover letters is, doing hundreds of interviews is worse. And yet, without the cover letter, that's exactly what recruiters would have to do!
It all starts with the resume.
You see, resumes are a great idea in theory. They take really different, hard-to-compare candidates and they boil them down to one-page summaries that can be contrasted, side-by-side. This makes the recruiter's life easier initially. But the dark side of resumes is that, because they're so short and regimented, it's hard to really get a feel for each unique candidate. Plus, candidates can create one resume for 1,000 different jobs, so a recruiter has no idea how committed the candidate is to his/her particular company. As a result, resumes and candidates all begin to seem the same after a while - necessitating lots of interviews to sort candidates apart.
But what if there was a companion to the resume? A similarly short document but one that actually helped to distinguish good candidates from bad ones, committed job-seekers from those who could care less?
Enter the cover letter.
The cover letter has three important advantages over resumes:
- It can give recruiters a better feel for the real candidate. Instead of hiding beyond bullet points, candidates can fully express themselves and show off their personalities.
- It can signal how passionate a candidate is about the job. Because good cover letters must be personalized to the company and role, it's impossible to put together good cover letters for thousands of jobs like you can with a single resume.
- It can separate the wheat from the chaff. Since each cover letter will be relatively unique, it's easier to choose between applicants than with resumes - where each applicant seems similar.
Choose a Format
At this point, you've laid all the groundwork for a successful cover letter:
- You've determined that you actually need to write one.
- You understand whom you're writing for.
- You know why you're writing.
This can be one of the most fun steps in the cover letter development process - but don't overthink it! Unless you're applying for a design job (in which case the format represents your sense of style), your words still trump your design.
Open up Word (or your word processor of choice) and you'll likely be confronted with a variety of templates - including a handful of cover letters. Choose the template that best matches your desired company's style - Modern for a quirky startup, Traditional for a 100 year-old law firm.
If you don't have access to templates though, no worries! We'll walk through the entire process of designing your own in the following steps.
Enter Your Address
Believe it or not, many cover letters go awry at the very top. The reason for this is that cover letter-writers list an address that gets them disqualified right off the bat.
Specifically, they do one of two things:
- They list an out-of-town address. For some companies, this is a deal-breaker. They just don't want to bother with flying candidates in from elsewhere. But if you're prepared to fly in yourself, then don't let them rule you out! If you're getting ready to move to a city, list your future address (even if it's just a friend's place where you plan to crash). And if you don't have a place but would be willing to move, then don't list any mailing address at all. Why give them an excuse to kick you out of the process if you're willing to do what it takes to stay in?
- They list an inappropriate email address. Have you been checking your messages at sexymama85@yahoo.com since high school? Then guess what? It's time for a new address! Either use an alumni address (e.g., jdoe@alum.ucla.edu) or a professional-sounding personal address (e.g., jane.doe@gmail.com) - and be sure to check it regularly. Stay away from work email since you don't want your current boss seeing your correspondence with your future boss!
Jane Doe
123 Main St., Anywhere, AL 12345
jane.doe@gmail.com | 123.456.7890
Note that centering this information and putting the mailing address and email/phone details on single lines will allow you to save a few lines. And remember, every line counts - your cover letter is being read to next to hundreds of others, so you can't afford to waste the reader's limited attention.
Select a Recipient
Do you prefer receiving junk mail sent to everyone or personal letters meant only for you? Well, people who review cover letters feel the same way - they're much happier to get a personalized cover letter that speaks to them specifically than a generic letter that could go to any company. And one of the ways you deliver personalization is by choosing a person to send it to!
I know this sounds crazy, but most cover letters aren't really directed to anyone in particular. Instead, they're designed to be as generic as possible. Have you ever thought to yourself, "I need to send a bunch of cover letters so I'll write a general one and then use Find/Replace to change the company's name?" If so, the result has likely started "Dear Sir or Madam..."
Unfortunately, nothing says you could care less than not listing an actual name. This is especially true when the job listing has a name attached to it. But it's even true when no name is listed. That's because someone always reads the letter - and finding their name's not that hard.
Here's how to do it:
- Ask a friend. If you know someone who's working at the company, ask them to find the Recruiter or Hiring Manager for the role.
- Find it online. Do a Google search for the name of the company + the team + "manager." For instance, if you're applying for a job with the Global Accounting group at Granger, search Granger Global Accounting manager. Chances are you'll find a LinkedIn result or another similar page. Note, this is better than searching on LinkedIn directly, since you often won't be able to see the manager's name unless they're in your network.
- Ask the company. Send an email to the firm's general address (usually info@domain.com) or call the main line. Just tell them that you're looking to get in touch with someone on the team that's hiring and want to see who's in charge.
If you still can't find a name, you can always fall back on Dear Hiring Manager, which at least sounds more specific!
Also, unless you're applying to a very traditional firm, don't bother listing the company's address. It just wastes a lot of space on the page and you really don't want to go beyond a single page - again, out of the respect for the reader's time and limited attention. Chances are, any company that would ding you for not reminding them of their own address, is one that you wouldn't want to work for anyway!
Thus, including today's date, your cover letter should now look like the following:
Jane Doe
123 Main St., Anywhere, AL 12345
jane.doe@gmail.com | 123.456.7890
January 1, 2012
Jill Smith
Hiring Manager, Acme Inc.
Dear Ms. Smith,
Note that you should address the recipient formally, even at less traditional firms. It's just a professional courtesy and no one will ever judge you negatively for doing so. The only exception is if you know the recipient personally, in which case you can address as them you normally do.
Get Their Attention
There are three key goals of any cover letter:
- Get the reader's attention. As we've noted before, it's possible that they're reading your letter after hundreds of other ones. So you need to work hard to stand out.
- Get them to like you. People first and foremost hire people they want to work with. Your colleagues are going to spend more time with you than their families! So it's no wonder that many managers would rather hire a good, likable candidate than a great, unlikable candidate.
- Convince them you can do the job. As critical as likability is to the hiring process, you've got to be able to get the job done. And if you're coming from a different industry or function, it's doubly important to nail this part.
OK, but before you get to that, you've got to get their attention in the first place. If you don't catch their eye right away, they'll never appreciate any of your other points.
So how to catch a busy reader's attention? Simply put, start with something surprising.
Most cover letters start with: “I would like to apply for the X job at Y company. Blah, blah, blah...”
While this is straightforward, it's also a recipe for getting lost in a sea of identical cover letters.
So instead, try this format: Surprising Fact -> which leads to the reason you’d like to apply.
Here are three categories of Surprising Fact openers:
- Early adopter of the company - I still remember the first Google search I did in 1999. Even though no one had heard of it at my school, I knew right away that this would change everything. And so when I saw the Google Product Manager role listed online, I couldn't resist the opportunity to be a part of the next product that changes everything.
- Story about the company making a difference in your life - I'll never forget my bright red Nike Airs. Lining up on that cold, November morning with all the best X-country runners from around the county, I was so nervous. But looking down at that "Swoosh" on my shoe, I just knew I could win. And I'm just as confident today that I can help Nike win as it moves into the Latin American market.
- Why the company or job excites you - I've always been an engineer at heart. Whether it was tinkering with our broken toaster as a child or helping Target fix its supply chain issues system by system, I love making things work. So, it's with great passion, that I submit my application for the Data Engineering role at Fidelity.
However, as you can see, the Surprising Fact isn't just something unique about you (being one of Google's first users) but something unique that draws a natural connection to the company (being one of Google's first users makes you a natural to help them launch new products).
That's because as soon as you've grabbed their attention, you want to start making the case about your fit with the company...
But first, here's how our sample cover letter is looking:
Jane Doe
123 Main St., Anywhere, AL 12345
jane.doe@gmail.com | 123.456.7890
January 1, 2012
Jill Smith
Hiring Manager, Acme Inc.
Dear Ms. Smith,
December 14, 1985 was the day I first realized how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Going door to door, selling cookies for my local Girl Scout troop, I realized that I'd never been as passionate about anything as making the sale. Although my friends had long since gone home to drink cocoa, I kept trudging through the snow until I had knocked on every door. And from that day forward, starting as a sales professional with P&G and later as a regional manager for General Mills, I knew that sales was my life. So it gives me great pleasure to apply to serve as Acme's next VP of Sales.
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