Cover Letters, Who Needs Them? Me Actually
Addressing the part of the job application everyone loves to hate except for me apparently
Today we are continuing our convo on how to stand out when applying to businesses with 200+ other digital applicants and no one even knows if you’re a real human being or not — and this week we are talking cover letters. If you haven’t read last week’s newsletter, Crafting the Perfect Resume, I would recommend taking a moment to read that one first!!
And whether you’re a small business thinking about growing your team or a candidate who wants to have a better idea of how employers approach the hiring process, I hope you will find the information in these weekly newsletters helpful and if so — please subscribe below!!!! ILY
Okay! Cover letters! Whenever this comes up, the questions or comments I hear the most frequently are like,
“Do we NEED to include cover letters?”
“Do you ever actually read cover letters?”
“I don’t want to do a cover letter but I guess I will do it if I HAVE to.”
And while this may be only my opinion as a Recruiter, but in my experience, when you are combing through 200+ digital applicants online cover letters can be an extremely helpful and useful tool. And if it’s a tool that’s available to you, why not give it a shot to see if it works for you?
I think part of our hesitation with cover letters comes from 1. Not understanding their purpose. I know when we were taught to use them in school, I never really understood the point. Aren’t they a little overly formal? Aren’t we just regurgitating what is already stated in our resume? And 2. We sometimes think cover letters are an individual letter that needs to be reinvented every time you submit an application. To be clear, a cover letter’s primary purpose will be giving a brief description of YOUR professional background, which will be virtually unchanged with each application. So today we will talk about what a cover letter actually is, and how to create a template that you can reuse and revisit every time you apply for a job online.
First, what’s a cover letter actually for?
In my experience as a recruiter, a good cover letter essentially serves the same purpose as a good email. For example, I tend to include my email at the end of job descriptions I post to invite people to reach out to me directly if they are interested in the position. Even though I scan through the information of all of the applicants applying in the job portal, I always appreciate applicants that additionally reach out to me via email. This way, I get to see a glimpse into their writing style, learn about how they briefly explain their professional experience, and get to know why they are interested in working for our company specifically. If they were to just apply through the job portal online (without including a cover letter) I am not getting any of this info, and may be less likely to invite them to the interview as a result. And since many job postings do not include an email address to reach out to, the cover letter becomes your opportunity to address these areas.
So what’s the point of a cover letter? Think of it less like an official document that is probably unnecessary and regurgitating the information on your resume (it’s not, because you can’t address why you like the company, how you know about it, if you have any common connections or describe your professional experience in straightforward language in your resume) and more like a good email: make a common connection, talk about why you like them, describe your background, and say you’re looking forward to discussing more.
Now let’s talk about building your cover letter template below.
The key elements of a cover letter
First, logistics. Can it be on a blank paper? Does it need to be on some kind of letterhead? Should I include their company info: address, email, etc as well as mine? I am less concerned about these details and more concerned about what will get you to just do it. But if you would like specific guidance here, when I made my cover letter I used the same header as I did on my resume, meaning the top of the document used the same font, including my career title or background, and included my contact info and website. This means less info to change or edit when applying to multiple companies. See example below.
Next, the outline. In my opinion, a valuable cover letter (or introduction email) includes some or all of the following:
If you have a referral or connection to anyone within that Company
Why you like the Company i.e. you like what they make, the way they work, their reputation, etc
Why you connect to their company values (if they are the kind of company that makes this clear)
A brief and clear description of your professional experience that directly ties back to the available position, helping the employer understand why your skills and background are relevant
Remember, recruiters, hiring managers, or whomever is handling reviewing resumes, will be looking through hundreds of applicants to see who actually connects with their company and with the open position. With a cover letter, you have an opportunity to make those connections for them. So why not help make it especially clear?
Cover letters: a template
Here is a template you can use that fills in some language, addressing the elements I outlined above. I would recommend adjusting the language to fit your own human voice to establish a real-ish connection, but here is something to start!:
Dear (Hiring Manager’s Name),
I’m excited to connect with you about the open (Title) role at (Company Name). I’ve admired your Company (X Amount of Years, ideally)—ever since (Referral or Common friend) introduced me to your (IDK)—and have been a fan ever since.
I particularly appreciate the way you talk about and are committed to your company values in (Name their Values). This is important to me because (Why is it Important to You?).
Over the past (X Amount) of years at (Previous Company Name), I’ve supported (Role Specific) efforts doing (Example A), (Example B), and (Example C). I could really see myself excelling in this role for (Example Reason). I’d love to discuss how this experience could support your team and learn more about your current (Role Specific) needs.
I hope to hear from you soon!
Best,
(Name)
Ultimately, my goal when reading cover letters is to get to know the candidate, identify if they like and connect with our company, and confirm whether or not their professional experience and qualifications match the needs for the role. If you communicate these things, you are probably doing great! And remember, keep it brief and to the point! People (me) can’t read a bunch of stuff when they have 200+ applicants to get through :’)
I hope this dive into cover letters has been helpful in explaining why they might be a helpful tool for you to utilize in future job applications — cause they make our jobs a little easier on the employer side and help increase your chances of communicating WHY you are right for the particular role.
If you have any questions or need clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out via email or message me on LinkedIn. I’d love to hear what would be most helpful for you in future newsletters!!!
xx,
Devin
PS. If you are a business in need of hiring support, send me an email! I don’t take a salary percentage of the hire or have any hidden fees or contractual obligations, just a transparent hourly rate to help businesses find and retain the right new hire for their business. Hope to connect with you soon! Recruitment@devintrevino.co