The Cover Letter Whisperer Tool Kit

Cover letters can be an ungraspable concept for many a writer, let alone a college student just breaking into the world of work. There are also folks who read cover letters day in and day out, seeing how real the struggle is, and want to help alleviate some of the stress surrounding cover letters. I’m one of those folks, and I’m here to help! I’ve written this blog and pictorial review to help you write a cover letter based on the “great greatness” you have to offer.

The Purpose of a Cover Letter

Many people find it hard to write a cover letter because they don’t know what to write or how. When mastering a thing, it serves you well to grasp the purpose of it. Like the resume, cover letters are marketing tools. The difference is you have a short space to tell a story about the “great greatness” you bring to the table i.e. what you do, how you do it, why you do it that makes you different and special than anyone else doing those same things. Writing cover letters, although tedious (no two ways about that), provides the opportunity to more than “cover” the resume, but to expound on the information in the resume that gets straight to the heart of an organization's expressed business need (and, by extension, what else you discover that could be helpful in making your case by researching online and tapping into your network, which is critical.).

The Anatomy of a Cover Letter

The essentials to be included in a cover letter are what I have found people tend to miss or misunderstand--and that sets them up for failure with content. What should be included, minimally, in a cover letter, and more or less in order of appearance is:

1. Contact information for where the letter is going (e.g. company/department name, street address, email, phone number)
2. Date of submission
3. Greetings to A SPECIFIC point of contact (no "To Whom it Concerns" or "Dear Hiring Manager" nonsense)
4. Your connection to the opportunity (How did you find out about the role? Who referred you?)
5. A one line summary of your interest
6. A two sentence summary of background, experience and relevant qualifications
7. TWO TO THREE detailed and poignant examples of how you demonstrate the expressed need and/or preferred skills and qualifications for the role (think STAR/BAR method), no more than two paragraphs, about 4-5 sentences each. Alternatively, in bullet format you can highlight more examples, but this section should not take up no more than 1/2 a page.
8. Closing line requesting an interview
9. Closing greetings and your contact Information

You should be able to tell a hiring manager or gatekeeper “read my freaking awesome resume to find out more about the amazingness that is me and my skills...,” or some tamer more polite version of that, in no more than three quarters of a page. Breaking up the content with bullets or information chunks and using design elements that match those of your resume are tie-breakers, if all else is equal.

Stuff NOT to Have in a Cover Letter (Just Don’t. Thanks.)

Stuff that’s too general or unsubstantiated…

• “I am a great fit for this position.” Let the hiring manager decide this, and give her something to make her believe it, but don't say it in the cover letter.
• “I possess many skills that would be useful for the role.” I should hope so, let's just concentrate on what those are instead of taking up useful page real estate with non-descript statements.

Stuff that’s obvious…

• “My name is…” 
• They'll know your name because it's on the page already.
• “Please feel free to contact me if you need more information.” 
• Why shouldn't they feel free to? Even if they don't feel free to, rest assured if they do need or want more information, they will contact you!

Stuff that’s not relevant to the job or job description…  

• If team work is a strength you have, but the job description describes the role you're applying for with words like “self-starting, self-motivated, minimal supervision, independent” then you’re barking up the wrong tree.
• Personal examples are typically much less powerful than professional ones or experiences within settings most related to what you’re applying. 
• For the cover letter, use the class project where you helped bring the team together with your negotiation and diplomacy skills versus how you settled an argument as the middle child between your siblings.

Stuff that’s just wrong…              

• Proofread the cover letter! Read it to a friend. Get a third opinion.
•  If you have typos and bad grammar in a cover letter, you may as well put "THROW THIS IN THE TRASH" at the top of the letter in 78 point font.
• Bank of America contact information on a cover letter going to a hiring manager at Wells Fargo is a big, BIG problem.
• VERBATIM TEMPLATE PHRASES!!!! I cannot properly emphasize the level of NO that goes with doing this so, I won't. 

Put the Cover Letter Whisperer Tool Kit into Practice

So how does all this stuff look in real life? Well, it varies depending on the job, the expressed needs in the job description, your experience and the particulars of your “great greatness.” That said, I've included a real job description excerpt and subsequent cover letter that I developed and actually submitted which got me the interview (click the image for full size). It is stripped of references to a particular organization or role and edited to be used as a template that can be adapted, NOT MERELY COPIED (see previous "Stuff that's just wrong...")!

JOB DESCRIPTION

Duties and Responsibilities: Assist in organizational development through the completion of special projects and assignments including: compiling research on topics within the mission of the organization; writing grants, annual reports and newsletters; developing educational materials; planning events and various fundraising activities; performing assignments related to marketing, website and social media management; providing financial administration services; preparing minutes for board and committee meetings.

Must possess strong oral and written communication skills. A working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Publisher and Excel are required. A working knowledge of social media applications as well as email marketing applications is beneficial. 

COVER LETTER TEMPLATE

Whether optional or required, take the opportunity as I like to say, to become to the reader a person and not just a piece of paper. Let your “great greatness” and personality come through. Have some tasteful/conservative color elements to set your cover letter apart from other submissions. You are now armed—permission to be dangerous granted (vanquish all the cover letter giants you have formerly faced!). Happy writing!

Additional Resources

• https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-8-cover-letters-you-need-to-read-now
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2014/02/06/the-cover-letters-that-make-hiring-managers-smile-then-call-you/#20ca2e0058f5
• https://careerservices.wayne.edu/behavioralinterviewinfo.pdf