Writing an Interview Winning Cover Letter - Art or Science?

Let me say from the outset that there is not much that will make you as a job hunter’s shoulders sag quicker than being asked to submit a cover letter.

Often, you will have spent serious time [or money] on crafting a superb CV that contains everything you think the recruiter needs to know about in order to make them pick up the phone and get you in for an interview.

This is not always the case!

What the heck does this term ‘cover letter’ actually mean anyway? Well, allow me to sweep the cobwebs aside and tell you.

In the pre-digital era of job hunting, everything was either handwritten or typed up and printed out and in the latter case, the cover letter would form the front page of the application, stapled to the front ‘cover’ of the CV.

Hence the term.

As a side-point, it was not unusual for an employer to request a CV, plus a handwritten cover letter, thus being able to check out a candidate’s graphology skills.

So, here are a few tips to putting together a decent, readable cover letter.

Once you have written your cover letter using these general tips in this post, then you can make some slight adjustments for each application you make so that it is tailored to future roles.

The “Science” of Cover Letters?

I have to say that there isn’t really a magic formula that you should absolutely follow that will show your letter to be correct or incorrect, but there is a range of information that you should aim to provide so that your cover letter looks professional, and complete!

You should be trying to give the impression that you are responding favourably to the request for a cover letter, rather than including a begrudging response that comes across as a little basic.

It is surprising how far the minor details will go to making a good impression.

Introduction

Starting your letter is easy, isn't it?

‘Dear Hiring Manager’, or what about ‘To Whom it May Concern’?

Well, how do you feel about literal mail addressed to ‘The Occupier’ or ‘The Householder’? I am guessing that if you are like me, I view it as advertising or junk mail.

Even letterbox mail that I suspect to be a bit spammy that has my name on it will be at least opened before I shred it.

It’s the same with email – I get emails addressed ‘Dear Info’ – they have clearly added my email address to an email database and it gets deleted pretty quickly.

Get the Details

If you can do a little snooping around to get the name of the person who posted the vacancy, brilliant!

You might find it within the vacancy, or if it has been posted on LinkedIn, sometimes the person running the ad will be attached to the posted vacancy.

If you feel strongly enough, it might be worth a quick call to Reception, and if you just let them know you are submitting an application and would like to address it to the person, that might work!

Don’t spend too much time on this and if your efforts turn up little, you could opt for ‘For the Attention of the Recruitment Team’ or words to that effect. It’s professional!

Maybe stop short of waiting for the hiring manager in the car park…that might be a bit too aggressive. ??

Where Did You See the Vacancy

Stating where you have seen the vacancy may not do much for how you are perceived by the reader of your letter, but it allows them to measure their recruitment methods – if the applications are coming via LinkedIn, then they probably don’t need to list it on other job boards. It’s helpful and there may be some psychology behind it.

You should include the exact title of the role, plus any reference numbers.

By taking these steps, you know that your application is more sure of landing in the correct inbox.

Demonstrate Some Knowledge of the Business

Nothing says ‘this cover letter has been tailored’ [and you want it to say that] like a mention of the company you are approaching – it is good practice when interacting with ATS and it also shows your letter to be written with the business in mind.

If you want to include something that says you have done more research, then check out the company’s ‘mission statement’ page on their corporate website, or see what is happening there via their Social Media feeds.

?? Cover Letter Gold ??

If you can identify some challenge being faced by the business or sector and tell them why your skills or experience could be valuable in addressing that challenge, it looks amazing on the letter. Don’t overdo it though, suggesting that their business is likely to implode without you on the team may be stretching it a little far.

For example, if the sector is experiencing a bit of a skills-shortage, what makes you stand out from other candidates? It could be another language, some vocational training you have done or some work with a leading brand in your sector could tip the scale in your favour.

Accomplishments

You have likely included these in your CV, but now is your chance to include some other achievements – it may not be something quantifiable – it may be that you were promoted quickly to your current role, some award you were nominated for, or you may just want to draw some attention to something on your CV.

‘As you will see from my CV…’ is a great way to shift the focus onto something on your CV.

You may want to pick a specific example of one of your achievements that you are really proud of and do a mini STAR-style precis of that accomplishment.

Keywords

We have already mentioned ATS, so we should mention that the contents of your cover letter will be indexed when processed by ATS, so this is a good place to do some tailoring in addition to what you have done with your CV.

?? Cover Letter Gold ??

There may be something in the job description that you really wish you had, or maybe you have something similar. This is your chance to include that keyword, even though you can lay no claims to that skill or experience. Here’s how!

I’ve highlighted the keywords in this sentence.

“I notice that you are looking for someone who ideally has experience with Xero Accounting software. I have worked with QuickBooks for five years and have always responded to opportunities for continuous improvement, so I would be willing to undertake any additional upskilling to boost my skills”. ?

You’ve included the keyword without making any false claims!

Call to Action

It is always a good idea to close with some kind of ‘thanks for reading, I’ve finished now’ statement [obviously, don’t use this phrase verbatim].

Something along the lines of “Thank you for the time you have taken to review my application. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss my application with you in greater depth, don't be too pushy here by insisting that they contact you as soon as possible.

Additional Information

Aim for a single sheet, no more than 10- or 11-pt font, depending on how much you have to say, short-ish, concise paragraphs and obviously error-free.

There may be exceptions to the single sheet, for example, if the role is very niche, the employer may ask for “at least one side, but no more than three or four sides”. If this is the case, my guess is that they are looking for a bit more detail in the cover letter.

Perhaps you don’t need to fill all three or four, but half a page of text in 14-point font will probably not cut the mustard.

Go for a clean, neat format, and although it is tempting, avoid downloading a template. It will look like a template, and besides that, relying on someone else’s formatting may mean that the template does not make the best use of your letter floorspace.

I hope this was useful, and please feel free to reach out with any specific questions not covered here.