How this graduate got into PayPal through these cover letter writing tips.

Wondering how to write an effective cover letter to capture the eye of your future employers?

Then you’ve found the right article!

Being able to produce a strong cover letter is quintessential – it is the only way you can share who you are outside of your resume before the interview.

Are you passionate about the company? Is it your dream role? Did some amazing podcast inspire you and that is why you are here today?

Okay maybe not the podcast, but without a cover letter people would assess you as features, but you want to be uniquely assessed as you.

If you are struggling to writing a cover letter (cause we are too!), we sat down with Hongzhou who made it to Paypal as a Risk Underwriting Analyst using his cover letter!

Here are the tips that he had to share today:

1.?????Knowledge is free! Organizing it can come later.

Before starting your cover letter, it is important to have a strong base of information. Online information is free and Hongzhou made sure to utilize that!

Through our discussion with Hongzhou (and some of our own digging as well!) we found that the best sources to head to are: (1) Company’s official website, (2) Google news, and (3) LinkedIn/ Reddit/ Glassdoor.

However, sometimes the more you learn, the more you may realize that the company may not be the best fit for you. And that is alright!

But when you find something that truly resonates with you, then you should go even further; to customize your cover letter to the company’s theme – like this graduate who managed to achieve a 50% interview rate through customization.

Do not be too worried about crafting your cover letter yet until you have gathered enough information on the company that truly resonates with you.

Speaking of resonate, that is precisely our 2nd tip.

2.?????Alignment of goals and visions

You know that sense of delight upon meeting a new friend with the same mindset and values?

Yes!?That is exactly what employers are on the lookout for; employees with the same values and vision to join their team.

When you have finally found that company that truly resonates with you, expressing your passion for the industry and why you would love the opportunity to work alongside them comes easy.

But just knowing you have the passion to drive success does not mean your employers do. Therefore, Hongzhou encourages us to put our enthusiasm into words.

Use cover letters as a medium to drive across your passion and how your values are aligned with the company, proving yourself as a valuable addition to their team.

Find out in more detail how Hongzhou did it here!

Sometimes if finding alignment is too challenging, it could be that you are not align with the company and might be better off finding another. If you are looking for an internship, and struggling to find a wide variety of options to better align yourself, you can check out InternSG our partner.

3.?????Do not miss out on context and specificity

Sometimes purely expressing your passion just isn’t enough. But that is where your past experiences and skills can come to play!

Instead of just stating a list of your skills and knowledge, Hongzhou taught us the importance of context.

Eg. He elaborated in his cover letter how he could apply his skills gained from previous work experiences and things he learned in school, to help increase Paypal’s overall KPI and total sales.

Here, Hongzhou placed his expertise into context by showing Paypal how his skills were of value to them, and gave specific examples on how he was able to add more value to their company if he were hired.

Therefore, it is key to specify examples when selling yourself, and be the missing puzzle piece they didn’t know they were looking for.

4.?????Tailoring your cover letter to meet the requirements

Now that you have gotten the essentials of your cover letter down, the last step to take will be to look through your cover letter and re-edit your sentences where needed.

Tailor your achievements and skills to the job scope! Specifically look at the job description and ensure the same exact phrasing and wordings are called out.

If you want to take it to the next level, this graduate was sure to tailor his clothes to even meet the company that he was applying to. Spoiler alert! He went into Adidas…not wearing a suit and tie.

Hongzhou leaves us with this at the end:

?“Don’t take these rejections to heart and just keep going”

Applying for internships or jobs may be daunting, but rejections are part and parcel of life. However, know that you should persevere and do not let rejections or setbacks discourage you...even though we know it might be hard to do so sometimes.

If you found this article helpful, do share it with your peers!

To gain more helpful insights, check out our episode with Hongzhou here, where he shares with us in detail what it is like to undergo multiple interview stages at big companies like Paypal and Ernst & Young.

Be sure not to miss out on Hongzhou’s useful tips on 1 Foot In and get an insider’s view into the different work environments and cultures!

Otherwise, do follow our podcast on Spotify, and join us for Season 2 for more upcoming episodes, including VP of Brand in Love, Bonito.

Alternatively, check us out on Instagram for more updates & memes!