Essential Know-Hows for a Cover Letter

Have you ever wondered how to craft an impressive write-up about yourself to accompany your resume while sending it to recruiters or hiring managers? If you do and feel stressed on how to write one, then you are reading the right article!

Recently, I received an email from one of my hires who was looking for a job change. She was confused about the use of a cover letter. She asked me a couple of questions, such as “why is it important to write a cover letter? Do recruiters really care about it? and If they do, then how should I craft one?” I answered all of her questions and highlighted the importance of writing a cover letter to support her resume. She followed all the pointers we discussed and finally got a call for an interview.

This reminded me why I should discuss this with you all. It may be useful when applying for a new job, starting a new career, or doing any volunteering work.

Let me walk you through the sub-topics that I’m going to cover in detail. First, when you need to use the cover letter. Second, how to structure your cover letter in just 3 paragraphs.

Now, first things first, when should you write a cover letter? There could be different scenarios:

The number one could be referrals. You should write a cover letter when someone referred you for a position, when you know someone already working for the company, or when you have some connection to the hiring manager.

The next scenario is when something on your resume might need further explanation. For example, if you have a gap over six months in your work or education history or when your professional background doesn't exactly match the job description, but you strongly believe you're the right fit for the job, then write a cover letter.

And lastly, when you're making a significant career change, your cover letter can be an opportunity to talk about why you're making that change and how your skills or expertise from your previous profession are transferable into this new one.

Having said that, now let’s see how to structure the entire cover letter in no more than 3 paragraphs.

Paragraph 1 Always has to be a short Introduction: Give a bit of an introduction as to who you are, your interest in the position, and how you know about the position. If someone referred you for the position, highlight their name in the introduction.

For instance, “I am writing to apply for the project manager position you have open on LinkedIn with the job ID 0011. I'm a certified project manager and confident that my experience and skill set would be a great match for this position.” OR

“Rohan Singh, a delivery manager, of Solution Integration department of your company recommended that I contact you directly about the project manager position that you have open at this point. Rohan and I have worked together in the XYZ company for 5 years, and he thought that this position would be a perfect fit for my experience in project management.”

Next, in paragraph 2, highlight your value by letting the reader know why you are the right fit for this position. For instance, show instead of telling what you did in the past that resonates directly with the position the company is looking to fill. Include keywords which are used in the job description and elaborate on them with the achievements you made. Also, do not go over 5-6 sentences in showcasing your skill sets.

For example, “I have gained 10 years of experience in project planning and execution working with cross-functional, international teams and stakeholders. I have used my expertise along with agile methodologies and project management software for efficient and cost-effective completion of projects in the last financial year. I oversaw the delivery of a tier 2, $11.7M program with the goal of improving service to XYZ members while reducing operating expenses. I drove the on-time delivery of 26 deployments in 12 months. Also, I managed 3 enterprise releases with 180-250 projects inclusive 50 FTEs.”

Finally, in paragraph 3, restate your eagerness in filling the position and include a call to action by asking to review your resume and reaching out to you via given email address or phone number. Also, you should avoid writing a lengthy cover letter by limiting paragraph 1 and paragraph 3 to max 3-4 sentences. Trust me: most folks hate to look over page-length writeups!

For instance, “I would be more than happy to discuss your team’s current and future needs on establishing effective and efficient systems of operation on a global scale. You can find my resume attached for review. If you have any questions, you can reach me at [Phone number] and [E-mail address]. Thank you for your time and consideration.”

Among all these paragraphs, the second one is the most important, allowing you to let recruiters know why you are the best fit for an open position, which help them decide if they should consider you for the given position or not.   

Next, as a bonus, let me tell you the three key points to remember while drafting an impressive cover letter:

First, always address the person who you are writing directly with his name to seek their attention. These days, everyone is on the web. Get the details from LinkedIn or from the company website.

Second, write an appropriate subject line with Job code if any such as “Applying for the Project Manager Position: Job ID 0011” OR “Applying for the Project Manager Position: Employee Referral”.

Finally, send your cover letter by writing it in the body of the email. I don’t encourage sending via attachment unless it is asked for. The reason is simple: quicker access. I experienced this personally. As a recruiter, I go over tons of resumes a day, and I can’t afford to spend over 60 seconds in scanning a cover letter. So, I’d recommend not adding a layer of work for recruiters.

If you consider all we discussed so far, I bet you will encourage recruiters or hiring managers not only to look at your resume, but also to reply to your cover letter.

So, let me end this by reiterating that that you should always craft a cover letter specific to the position you are targeting by creating your unique value proposition that should be compelling enough to land you a job interview.