Whether you’re applying for an existing vacancy or making a speculative application, you are likely to need a CV/resume and a covering letter (or email). The covering letter is your opening pitch to the employer. If you can catch the employers eye at this stage with a job and employer targetted letter your CV/resume is far more likely to be read.
It should be no surprise therefore that its important to write a compelling covering letter that will help you stand out. In this post I detail how you should structure your covering letter and what you should avoid if you want to make the shortlist.
Address the letter to the right person
This might seem obvious but if you are applying for an unadvertised vacancy or making a speculative application this is likely to take a bit of research to get right. Ask friends and family if they know anyone who works for the company. Existing employees are probably the most useful source of information. Sometimes, the people who sift the applications for a job are not who you would expect. I’ve spoken to employers who task their PAs and secretaries with sifting applications before shortlisting. Some do this even if the company has an HR department. If you cant find out this kind of information through friends and family search online.
LinkedIn is a great place to start. A simple search could identify current and previous employees of the company. You could try messaging people if you feel comfortable doing this. Always be polite, even if your request for information is rejected or ignored. Don’t contact more than one person at a time and limit the number of people you contact to 2 or 3. Otherwise it may come across as spamming. Think carefully about what you are going to say. You want to come across as proactive, not desperate and bear in mind you may be messaging the organisational contact you are looking for. If you get a name, look at the person’s other social media accounts for as much information as possible before drafting your covering letter/email.
Alternatively, you could look at the website for any information about department heads and search online for any articles that might name members of staff.
Length
You’re not sending a essay. Although you might feel there is a lot you want to say in a covering letter the purpose is to grab the employer’s attention. Its your opening pitch, your page turner and it should be brief and concise.
The structure
Introduce yourself
By this I don’t mean your name. There’s nothing wrong with mentioning your name here if you want but, since this will be written at the end of the letter, its not necessary. Before starting the covering letter you would have researched the employer and the role with this particular employer. Think about a sentence that draws a picture of your character in terms of the type of person who might fit the job and company culture. For instance if you are applying to Google for a job as a robotic engineer you would want to put across your ability to use your own initiative, work as a team and have fun. For instance, “I’m a keen amateur musician for the musically deaf and when not jamming with friends I’m developing my own team of servant bots called Jeeves, beavis and butthead……” You might equally have mentioned your sky diving, or involvement in any other kind of sport or anything else. The point is not to let the employer know you have hobbies and interests but to portray a little of your character in the description.
This is the kind of information an employer rarely gets from a CV/Resume. It adds value to the application and if written thoughtfully, may get you an interview.
State why you are writing this letter
Try to avoid generic statements about admiring the company, always having wanted to work in the industry, blah, blah, blah. Think about a sentence that relates directly to the specific company you are seeking work with. For instance “I’m interested in the development of autonomous robots using neural networks ………a field I know Google is taking a lead in…”
Explain how your skills and experience apply to the job description
Don’t just write “I feel my skills and experience would be a good fit for the advertised position” or something similar. Don’t just list your skills and experience. That’s what your CV/Resume is for. Think about you skills and experience in relation to the company and job you’re applying for and select the hightlights. Just keep it short and sweet, about 1 or 2 sentences in total.
Conclude with a request for an Interview or a link to further information such as your LinkedIn page.
Your final sentence is your call to action. You want to ask for an interview. Make sure you include a link to your email, social media accounts and telephone number. You would want your social media accounts to fit the character you’ve portrayed in your covering letter.
What you should avoid
Using generic templates and examples
If you want your covering letter to grab the attention of a potential employer you need to write something unique to you. There are a plethora of templates and example covering letters online which many people, not just you, might use. This is great if a generic covering letter, for a uncompetitive job, is want you’re looking for. But if you want to stand out from the crowd you need to think differently.
Below is a typical example of a covering letter. Its polite, brief and acceptable but it isn’t outstanding.
My name is ____________ and I am interested in the position of _______________. I am a college graduate with experience in ______, and I believe that my skills would be a valuable addition to your team. Please let me know if you would like more information about my qualifications or if there is anything else I can do to enhance my application. Thank you for your time.
And finally…….
The best covering letters take a while to research and craft and just a matter of seconds or a few minutes to read. They grab the eye of the employer almost immediately and encourage the reader to find out more. If your covering letter is predictable or similar to the one you wrote for your last application you’re missing the point. The time you put in at this stage could pay off in the longer term so it really is worth the effort.