Today’s episode eliminates the stress and mystery from writing a cover letter. I answer the pressing question, “Do I HAVE to write one?” (Spoiler Alert: Yes, you (nearly always) do.)
I give you my 3 rules for writing a winning cover letter and walk you through my cover letter recipe. You’ll learn exactly what to say to get yourself noticed and called in for an interview.
Now you can exhale. You’ve got this!
Today’s episode eliminates the stress and mystery from writing a cover letter. I answer the pressing question, “Do I HAVE to write one?” (Spoiler Alert: Yes, you (nearly always) do.)
I give you my 3 rules for writing a winning cover letter and walk you through my cover letter recipe. You’ll learn exactly what to say to get yourself noticed and called in for an interview.
Now you can exhale. You’ve got this!
Hello, everyone and welcome to the CareerSequel podcast! I’m your host, Dr. Lee Koles and today’s topic is something I hadn’t planned to discuss on the podcast. It kept coming up, though. I’ve had so many questions about it that I thought it was time for me to talk about it.
You know that I love to discuss all things career, from how to find your purpose, to using your strengths, getting yourself on a career path that’s going to be meaningful - and seeing the beauty of stepping off a career path and trying something new.
The nuts and bolts of just landing a job are important, too. There are certain aspects of the job search that are shrouded in mystery bc the rules keep changing. I get a lot of questions about the “right” way to do things, the best processes. It’s true that most of the time we have to jump through a set of hoops to get to the job we want.
This episode is about one of those hoops. Whether or not you’re looking for a new job in 2023, you are going to want to listen to what I’m about to share with you - you’re about to gain a lot of insight.This is another one of my episodes that you’re going to want to forward and share with friends and family members who are on the job market.
Today I’m going to give you the inside scoop on cover letters. All your questions will be answered! You’re going to know my 3 rules for cover letters and - I have a simple, easy cover letter recipe that I’m going to share - by the end of this episode you’ll know exactly what to write to make yourself stand out from the rest.
Are you ready? Let’s do this!
One of the biggest questions I get about cover letters is, “Do I HAVE to write one?”
Unless the organization specifically says, “do not include a cover letter”, my answer is - Yes.
And you know me - I like to bring in the data to back up my claims.
Resumelab recently conducted a survey of 200 hiring decision makers (hiring managers, recruiters, HR staff) to find out just how important it is to submit a cover letter in 2023. Get this:
83% of them said that cover letters are important for their hiring decision
In fact, 83% of respondents said that a great cover letter can get you an interview even if your resume isn’t the strongest.
This means that writing a cover letter can compensate for a flawed or weak resume in more than 8 out of 10 cases.
But what if you’re applying for a job and it doesn’t specifically ask for a cover letter? 72% of recruiters still expect cover letters even if the job ad states they’re optional.
And that optional cover letter can dramatically boost your chances of landing a job: 77% of recruiters say that they will give preference to candidates who send a cover letter over those who don’t.
You may be thinking, “Oh, great - one more thing for me to do - I really wanted Lee to tell me I didn’t have to write the cover letter.”
I have great news for you! No, you still need to write the cover letter. But the good news is, most of your competitors in the job market are NOT going to write one.
Recruiters reported that if a cover letter is optional, only 35% of candidates attach one to their application.
And get this: When a cover letter is required, only 38% of candidates submit a cover letter.
So just the fact that you’re writing and submitting a cover letter is going to give you preference over the great majority of applicants. Remind yourself of this while you’re sitting down to write.
3 Rules of writing cover letters:
One: Keep it concise.
Here’s some more good news: Your cover letter needs to be short and simple. These people have virtual stacks of resumes and cover letters to sift through - and attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. A cover letter with big, thick paragraphs isn’t inviting and you can count on a second page of a cover letter going unread. Keep it all to one page.
Two: Personalize it.
The only thing worse than not including a cover letter is including a generic cover letter. Believe me, HR people can tell if you’re using a template and are swapping out the name of the organization.
A cover letter should include key words and phrases that are important to the job posting. You can find these by reading through the posting and requirements - you’re going to notice that some words and phrases are repeated or emphasized. Write them down. Check out the company’s website - especially its mission and value statements - the “About Us” section. Add key words and phrases to your list. You’re going to want to use or reference these in your cover letter. It’s like learning the “language” of the organization. These words are important to the company.
Three: Spotlight the organization.
There’s a temptation to use the cover letter as an opportunity to talk about yourself - your wants, your needs, your goals. You may even want to cut and paste portions of your resume into your cover letter.
What the recruiter wants to see is that you’ve done your homework. You know the company. You understand it. You’ve read the job description, understand the challenges of the work, the objectives of the work and you have what it takes to help the organization meet these objectives.
That survey of 200 HR professionals revealed that 63% of recruiters said that cover letters are most useful for explaining the motivation to join a company.
So talk about the organization in the cover letter. What sets it apart for you? Why are you attracted to it? And, yes, it’s good to talk about yourself, but it should be in the context of how your unique strengths, skills and experience can benefit the company.
If you can’t cut and paste your cover letter to use for a different job and company, you’ve done it right.
So, those are the 3 rules. Now I’m going to simplify everything for you give you my cover letter recipe. Sit back and relax - I’m going to tell you what to write, short, concise paragraph by short, concise paragraph.
For my example, I’m going to be writing a cover letter for a job at ABC Hospital (I just made that up).
But first! Do you know the name of the person who will be reading the cover letter? Try to find out. If you can’t, I suggest you begin with:
Dear ABC Hospital Team.
In the past they’d recommend you say, “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam”, but that sounds really outdated now. So, say,
“Dear ABC Hospital Team”
In Paragraph 1, all you need are two sentences.
In the first, mention the name of the position you’re applying for, the company name and where you learned about the position. If you have a connection at the company who told you about the position, name drop here. You can say something like, “I was excited to learn about ABC Hospital's social media manager position from my former colleague, Alex Harris.”
Your second sentence states why you’re an ideal candidate to help the organization achieve its goals. For example, “My experience in the healthcare industry as well as social media marketing makes me uniquely qualified to help ABC Hospital share its mission of quality care and personal connection with the Chicago community.”
Note that you couldn’t cut and paste this into just any other job description. You specifically discuss two features of ABC Hospital’s mission statement.
That last sentence serves as a springboard to Paragraph 2. Here you write a couple of sentences about your experience. You may be tempted to list off everything you’ve done, but these people have your resume so all you need to do is give them an overview. Here’s an example:
“I have 8 years experience in the healthcare industry conducting research on hospital best practices. For the past 3 years I’ve worked in social media marketing, strategizing plans and developing content to help small businesses connect with customers.”
Then, add one more sentence to tie it back to how you could help the organization in your role. You can say, “I would love to use my combination of skills to share ABC Hospital’s mission across a variety of social media channels.”
In paragraph 3, share one story about something you did that relates to the job position. Again, keep it concise. Begin with the challenge you were faced with, explain what you did, and end with the results. If you can sprinkle data in the mix, that’s a bonus. Data makes things “real” and a reader’s eye will catch on a number in the midst of an ocean of letters.
Here’s an example for you:
“One of my recent projects involved helping The City Parks Department increase community engagement. I designed a year-long campaign to educate and excite potential patrons, created a YouTube channel devoted to park activities, and started a TikTok account where I wrote and filmed daily content. The City Parks Department reported a 60% increase in visitors and event bookings by the end of the initiative.”
I welcome a conversation with you about how I can bring my talents to the ABC Hospital to accelerate its media outreach. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Your name
So there you have it: All your cover letter questions, answered!
You know the 3 rules of cover letters:
And, you have a step-by-step template on exactly what to write.
I hope you’re feeling calmer and more relaxed now. You know all the cover letter secrets - and you know that the cover letter is your secret weapon to leap-frogging over the other applicants to land the interview.
I hope this was helpful for you. Definitely share this episode with your friends who are job hunting - my goal is to make everyone feel more informed and confident.
Thanks so much for joining me - and until we get together again, take good care and know that I’m cheering you on!