I’m often amazed that more people don’t take advantage of the “free real estate” available in a cover letter. While a resume gives part of the story, a cover letter is another opportunity for a job seeker to market themselves. It’s also a place to address any non-sensitive topics that a potential employer may have questions about that aren’t covered in a resume. And, through their writing, a place for a job seeker to introduce a little bit of their personality.
Let’s look at it from an employer’s perspective. One reason I always request a cover letter is to see how well an applicant follows directions. I’ve received cover letters that ranged from nothing at all (or a sentence stating ‘Refer to Resume’) to finding only five well-written letters for every 100 I’ve read! As a workforce development professional, all of the job seekers we work with should be in that handful of well-written cover letters.
So, what makes a good cover letter? Gone are the days of formal cover letters that sound like they are written for aristocracy. A good starting point is to have job seekers obtain the hiring managers name vs. just using Sir or Madam. It’s about making it more personal! I think the cover letters I’ve seen that have had the biggest impact are ones that connect with the hiring manager in some way. They aren’t just regurgitating what’s in the resume. They are talking about a real issue the hiring manager or company may be facing and how the job seeker can solve or alleviate that issue.
The other area where immediate improvement can happen is in customization. I remember being hired to do a file audit several years back. In addition to seeing formally written cover letters, I also saw “fill in the blank” letters that contained absolutely no customization at all. In fact, these were form letters where a name was handwritten in and all the letters were the same! Even if someone is applying to similar jobs, there is always language or tasks that vary. Just like with a resume, job seekers need to take the time to customize their cover letters. The goal is to stand out (in a good way!), not to blend in.
One of the things we teach our job seekers is that unless a job posting specifically states not to send a cover letter, they should send one, even if it isn’t requested. Why? My response is—why not? If we go back to the real estate analogy…we can look at the resume as a job seeker’s “house” – it provides the foundation. A cover letter is what goes inside or outside the house to give it personality or bring it to life. Don’t let your job seekers miss out on that opportunity!
I spent some time researching examples of good cover letters as well as poorly written ones. I’m including two links for you to check out.
Resource #1: http://www.killianbranding.com/cover-letters-from-hell/
This article contains some of the most outrageous cover letter examples I’ve ever seen. The title – Cover Letters from Hell – should give some indication as to the content. Our team has used examples from this article in the past to educate our job seekers on what not to do. We’ve also used it when facilitating training with workforce professionals. If anything, it may provide some much-needed laughter during your day!
Resource #2: https://www.pongoresume.com/articles/54/good-vs-bad-make-the-best-of-your-cover-letter.cfm
This article provides a great side by side comparison of well written vs. cover letters needing improvement, and what’s included in them. It would be a great resource to share with job seekers (giving credit, of course!)
There are many resources out there. If you have a resource for cover letters you’d like to share, just respond back to this email. We will put them together and share them in another article.
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