How to Write an Effective Cover Letter

Defining the Goal

When I graduated from college and was thrust into the professional world for the first time, I would see all these articles about how to write and structure my resume and cover letter.  In school, I was taught how to create an effective resume multiple times through various methods.  One thing I was somehow never taught though, was how to write a cover letter.  I wasn’t even sure what a cover letter was honestly.  So today, I want to take some time to talk about methods of improving your cover letter to gain access to more interviews.

The reason why a good cover letter matters is because of the way applications are looked at.  When hundreds of applicants apply for a job, the main thing that might actually differ from application to application is actually just the name.  A lot of times, applications blend and meld together in a flurry of average and similarity.  A good cover letter is the first step to breaking that boring chain of looking over applications for the hiring manager.

The key to writing a good cover letter is to understand your audience.  Your cover letter should appeal to the specific person reading it.  The point of the cover letter is to make yourself seem like a candidate worth interviewing.  This essentially means, marketing tactics are great ways to sell yourself as a worthy investment of their time.  In this article, we are going to take a look at what kinds of marketing tools you can use to get yourself more interviews.

Relate To The Reader

As a business owner and someone who has interviewed candidates countless times, it is easy to almost fall asleep while reading cover letters and resumes.  When you submit your cover letter, realize that dozens of others have googled cover letter structure and come up with something that probably looks exactly like yours.

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION!!

Maybe not in the way I just tried to grab yours above, but, depending on the job you’re applying for a simple thing goes a long way.  Here’s a few simple ways to do so:

• Refer to the job posting you are responding to.  If you want the employer to take your application seriously, invest time in the cover letter so they will invest in you.  A cover letter that is obviously specific to the job you’re applying to, speaks volumes for the reader.  That little extra effort is not something most people are willing to put forth.
• Add a splash of color.  Since so many applications are screened online in 2020, it’s important to make yours physically pop out at the hiring manager.  Color can be used sparingly and as a professional tool to market to your readers.  When they see a splash of color, their eyes will be drawn to it and if you can capture their intrigue with the first few sentences, your application will be looked over more than others in the pool.

These 2 things alone will go such a long way in terms of getting your application looked at longer than others, which is what you want.  If your cover letter stands out, you are more likely to make an impact because now your resume has more context for the reader and they were curious to read more about you.  Just getting employers to think about you is a great first step.

Take Their Attention and Run With It

Now that you’ve got the attention of your reader, it is important to control it.  The goal is to get the employer to look at your resume and place it in the pile of people they will interview.  This means the next logical step once you have their attention is to turn it to your resume so they read it.  Many people will tell you how important your resume is for finding a job but in my experience, I have found that it unless you resume has the most outstanding credentials, it is not ALL important in choosing a candidate for a job.  As a business owner, I do not see my partners and teammates solely as qualifications and credentials.  I see them as teammates and people I can rely on.  So for, the hiring manager you are writing to, how can you convey to them that they can rely on you?

The first step is to give them proof.   Show Don’t Tell.  The expression we heard in English class all the time applies to professional writing as well.  When responding to the job posting, look at the requirements and things the employer wants.  Be specific about how you can fulfill the needs of the company and more using past experience.  A few sentences in the main paragraph should tell the reader exactly what you’ve done and are capable of.

Include what makes you unique

Understanding what makes you an ideal addition to a team is more than just the qualifications on your resume.  If you want to stand out among those around you, show off your personality.  Personality comes from more than just the colors on your application. Tell the story of how you came to where you are using past experience as story events.  The story itself is a great marketing tactic because everyone likes to cheer for a character they relate to.  If you have succeeded in relating to your audience, they will want to be in your corner and will also have more context and details to associate with your application overall.  Get your name in their heads so they can remember it without having to look directly at your application.