Do you really need to
write a cover letter?
And if so, how do you
write one that stands out
to recruiters that
are scanning hundreds
of applications at a time?
In this video, I'll explain
what an employer really wants
from a cover letter, the ideal
cover letter format, and three
key strategies to boost
your cover letter's impact
and quality.
Be sure to stick around
for the last one,
because it's an insider look
on how to amplify your cover
letter so that it ends
up in the hands of people
that can make a real
difference in your job search.
All right, let's get into it.
What do employers really
want from a cover letter?
Well, let's start
with your resume.
Your resume provides a ton of
great information about you,
but at the end of the
day, it's just an outline
of your professional history.
Sometimes, though,
employers and recruiters
want you to connect the dots
for them, explaining not just
your professional
history but why
you are the best, most qualified
candidate for the role.
So therefore, a
great cover letter
serves both as a
professional introduction
of sorts and a sales pitch,
leaving the recruiter intrigued
to learn more about you.
Now, in terms of when to
submit a cover letter,
I think we all know,
don't submit one
if an employer does not ask for
one or says no cover letters.
We all know it's probably
important to submit one
if it says cover
letter required,
or you're directly
asked for one.
However, it can be kind of
tricky navigating the cover
letter optional statement.
So here's a few quick
things to navigate or think
about when you are
deciding whether or not
you should go through the effort
of writing a cover letter.
The first thing to know is
that most, though not all,
cover letters do go unread.
So obviously, that's
something to consider.
It's a lot of time and
effort for something
that may not help you
actually get in the door.
That being said,
even when it comes
to first rounds of interviews,
the second interviewing
enters the equation.
A lot of people find that
having written a cover letter
is really beneficial for their
performance in an interview.
That's because you're having
to consciously think about,
what's my angle in terms
of how I'm presenting
my professional history, and why
am I best suited for the job.
So keep that in mind.
It may not get you
in the door, but it
may help boost your
performance once you're there.
The second thing to know is
that submitting a cover letter
is often considered a extra
step of commitment and interest
to the role.
So that means a lot
of people will default
to cover letter optional, oh,
I should write a cover letter
in every single case.
Where this rule falls
apart is that although it
does show commitment, it's
never smart to submit a cover
letter that you haven't
been able to give
your full attention.
So maybe if you didn't
have time to think about,
how am I strategically
angling myself for this role?
Maybe didn't have
time to proofread,
or maybe it's just a
generic cover letter
that's not tailored to the
job application in particular
at all.
In that case, it's far better
to submit no cover letter
and let your resume speak
for itself rather than maybe
hindering your application
by submitting a cover
letter that's less
than representative
of your professional standard.
And the last thing to
know is that if you
are making some kind of
change in your career,
be it re-entering the
workforce after time off,
you're changing
industries, you're
looking for maybe a
more senior job title
than you have had in the
past, cover letters are
a great opportunity to
supplement your resume
and give additional context
to those kinds of changes.
Look at it as an opportunity to
tell your professional story.
So if you're someone that's
making that kind of change,
keep in mind that a cover
letter is a really useful thing
to provide.
All right.
And finally, I'm going to be
moving on to the ideal cover
letter format.
But before I do, if
you've watched this far,
please give us a like,
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important career advice.
Here's the optimal format
for writing a cover letter.
Step one is to start
with your header.
This should include your
name, contact information,
and the employer's
contact information.
And pro tip here,
whatever you do
in terms of formatting and font
styling, so font size, the font
you select, et
cetera, try and keep
it consistent with
what's on your resume
so that your
application as a whole
looks thoughtful and cohesive.
Then include a greeting.
It's best to be specific
here if possible.
So do your best to
do some research,
if it's not obvious based
on the job application,
and try to find the exact
name of the person that
will be reviewing
applications for this role.
If you can't find their
exact preferred title,
whether it's Mr. or Mrs.
or some other title,
just say dear first
and last name.
And if you can't find who
the hiring manager is at all,
just go with Dear
hiring manager.
It's best to stay away from
overly formal language,
so that would be to
whom it may concern
or to whom it may
concern at company X.
That's just because it
feels a little dated, so
better to stick with
those options instead.
So then you can write
the first paragraph.
And the goal here is to grab
attention from that first line,
and explain why you're
interested in this particular
role and company.
And you also want to
explain the key experience
or qualifications that you
believe make you the best fit.
Now, there are two critical
tips for nailing this section.
Tip one here is to grab your
reader from the very start.
Instead of having this more
generic self-focused opening,
try really boldly stating a
selling point, something that's
different, unique to
you, and will set you
apart from a ton of
the other applications
that they're reading.
So an example would be
instead of saying something
generic like, I am a
detail-oriented people
person who is capable at
problem-solving with out
of the box solutions,
try something
the boldly states that biggest
professional offerings.
And I've got three quick
examples if you're curious.
The first would be in my last
position as an English teacher,
I inspired hundreds of
students to love reading.
How can I spread that love
of reading and learning
throughout your school?
Or sales increased
over 30% when I
took over the print
media department
at my marketing company.
What would 30% do
for your sales goals?
And finally, I've
hired, onboarded,
and trained a dozen customer
service representatives
in the last six months.
I can turn individual
contributors
into a team of rock stars.
The second tip here on
nailing that first paragraph
is to express your
motivation and explain why
this company should hire you.
Be explicit about
that key offering
and why you're so
excited to get the job.
For example, you
could say something
like every time I see your
products at the grocery store,
I pass by all the generic
versions, and grab that one.
I'm already a loyal
fan, and would
love to bring my
enthusiasm to this team.
Now, if there are personal
experiences not highlighted
in your resume that
are applicable here,
go ahead and mention them,
again highlighting that
as part of your key motivation.
So, for example, if you
lived in another country
and this job requires
international exposure,
go ahead and briefly foreshadow
that personal nugget.
Next up, follow with
a second paragraph.
And the goal here is to
highlight the key achievements,
skills, and
specialties that make
you very well-suited for
this particular position.
Now, don't fall into the
big trap of this section,
and it's applicable to
cover letters in general,
but most people fall into that
in this second paragraph, which
is do not simply restate
or narrate your resume.
What's the point?
It doesn't add anything.
You're just wasting space.
The goal is to add more
professional color here,
and make a strong
case for yourself.
So instead of
narrating your resume,
I really encourage you
to focus on two or three
key professional accomplishments
or experiences that directly
tie back to that job description
and speak to the role
and that really impacted the
bend and shape of your career,
Finally, finish it out
with a closing paragraph.
If you're changing careers,
this is a great opportunity
to explain how your former
experience really well equips
you for this new
opportunity, as well as why
you're making that change.
But regardless of your
circumstances, briefly--
that's the keyword
here-- briefly
summarize why you're
interested in the role,
and why you're extremely
qualified for it
and think you'd be the best
fit, as well as finally making
a last call to action
for the employer,
sharing that you're
looking forward
to hearing next steps in
the job process from them.
And then make sure to include
your signature at the bottom.
If you'd like to learn how
to create a standout resume
to accompany your now
amazing cover letter,
then I highly recommend
this video right here.
We explain the key steps to
writing a winning resume.
Now that we know what to
include in a cover letter,
I'll quickly breeze through
three really impactful
strategies on how to make your
cover letter an incredibly
successful one.
So the first strategy is
to tailor your cover letter
to each job application.
Now, this is generally
true for resumes as well,
but it's especially
important for cover letters,
because it's all about making
a case, making your argument.
And if you don't have a
specific audience in mind
that you're speaking to, you're
just sending a general cover
letter out, you're not
making a very good argument.
It's really important to
go ahead and make sure
that you are thinking
critically about
how you're going to frame
your past experience to most
convince this particular
employer as to why you'd
be a great fit for this role.
If you don't, you're
just sort of talking
about your past experience
without connecting
the dots to this
role in particular
and explaining how that
past experience sets you up
for success in the future.
Now, of course, doing
this successfully
requires a lot of research,
both in terms of the job itself
and the company.
And my next tip here actually
is a really great example
of how to implement that
research in the cover letter
itself.
Strategy two is to transcribe
exact phrases from the job
description and put those,
reference them in quotes,
in your cover letter.
Now, this cannot be the sum
total of the way that you
tailor your cover letter, can't
just be a plug and play game,
because you've got to actually
think about the overall
structure and argument
you're making as well.
But by doing this,
you're making it
really clear to the
recruiter that you're
targeting this job
specifically, and it
allows you to
speak more directly
to the exact wants and
needs of this particular job
application.
So, for example,
if the job ad says
must be collaborative and work
seamlessly with a distributed
workforce, pull that out by
saying in my current role,
I work with a large team of
colleagues across time zones,
so I understand what it takes
to succeed in this role,
since it requires experience
with a distributed workforce.
Refer to that phrase
from the job description.
Finally, to really get
noticed, strategically
share your cover letter.
And what I mean by
that is don't just
stop at attaching this cover
letter to your job application.
Instead, think strategically,
and use all that great research
that you've done to identify one
or two individuals who you can
reasonably assume will have a
impact on the hiring decision
here.
And using the cover letter
as the basis for your email
or note, message them directly.
For example, in terms
of finding someone,
if you are applying for an
HR coordinator position,
it is very reasonable to
assume that the head of HR
may need to sign
off on that decision
or may have some pretty big
sway in making that decision.
So in order to find their
contact information,
you can look at the company's
professional website,
their professional social
media profile, or even just
a broad internet
search using their name
to see if you can
uncover their email.
And if your cover letter is
short and informal enough
to have that be
the entire email,
great, go ahead and use that.
Or if it's more lengthy
and a bit more formal,
not appropriate for an
email, try and cut it down.
Then, finally, end with a
call to action, something
like I look forward to
discussing further the assets
that I can bring to your team.
Please reach out to me.
And give them your phone
number and your email address.
This can be kind of a
nerve-wracking strategy,
because it does put
yourself out there a bit.
But, especially when
you weigh out the fact
that they have a ton of
applicants and probably
some applicants that have
personal connections,
this can be a really great way
of pulling your application out
of the stack and
allowing yourself
to rise above those who didn't
show that same initiative.
If you liked this video
and found it helpful,
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like down below.
Subscribe to our
channel right here.
For more interviewing
advice, as well as
cover letter and resume advice,
check it out right here.
And if you want some information
on the most common mistakes
that people make
writing their resume,
highly recommend
checking out this video.
Thank you so much for watching,
and I'll see you next time.