For those who don’t know much about cover letters, yes, there was a time when email was not the primary choice of communication. A job seeker had to purchase higher quality resume paper, print their resume and cover letter, and bring them to job interviews. The other option was to mail them in to be considered for the job. These steps can also be applied for job fairs, but more about that later.
Cover letters aren’t as popular as they were in the past, but it’s still a good idea to have a well-written one on hand. Why? Because there is a 50/50 chance that a hiring manager will read it. The letter must be done well to avoid tarnishing your chances of being considered for a job when all you’ve got is a fifteen-second window for the hiring manager to scan your cover letter and/or resume. That being said, make sure to proofread everything before sending it out. You don’t want typos or other mistakes ruining your chances of getting the job! The letter must be short, concise, and address all the necessary points. Do not submit the cover letter if anything is missing because you are essentially saying that you didn’t care about applying for the position.
What Should your Cover Letter do?
Your cover letter should do the following:
- Get the direct hiring manager’s attention
- Contain a Call-To-Action
- Educate the reader
- Tie your story to their company
How Should You Organize Your Cover Letter?
Now that you know the purpose of your cover letter let’s iron out a good structure for organizing your information. Your cover letter will be composed of three sections: an Opening, a Middle, and a Closing. The opening section should include background information about yourself, the middle section is for action statements, and the closing section is for your call-to-action items. Let’s visit each section in detail.
Before you begin writing your cover letter, begin thinking about, prioritizing, organizing, and writing down the following information:
1. Based on the job posting’s keywords and what you know about the job, what is the company looking for in a candidate? What are they buying? What problem are they trying to solve? What experience, results, skills, approach, and abilities do they need?
2. To whom are you sending the letter? If you have the information, include the recruiter or hiring manager’s name and title, otherwise address it more generally.
The Opening
As mentioned above, this section is where you provide your background information to the reader. You should also add the exact title of the job, how you discovered the job, and why you are interested in this particular position or company. Here are a few questions to guide you:
1. What is the exact title of the job?
2. How did you discover the job was available? (e.g., job board, internet, placement center, professional meeting, referral, a person in a hiring firm, career fair, recruiter, etc.)
3. Why are you interested in this particular job and company? (e.g., type of work, location, reputation, opportunities, etc.)
The Middle
Most of your action statements will be contained in this section. Here you will highlight how you can match the company’s needs, determine and list 3-5 areas of high priority to the company that you align with, and create and include action statements with job description specific keywords. In this section, you should demonstrate why you are a good fit for this position. You can include previous work experience that pertains to it or even skills that relate, but make sure they are appropriate and truthful! Here are a few questions to help you start writing your middle paragraph(s):
1. What do you have that matches those needs? (Experience, education, results, skills, approach, abilities)
2. Determine and list the three to five areas that are the highest priority to the company.
3. Create action statements that include keywords from the job description.
The Closing
In the final section of your cover letter, you’ll want to incorporate a call-to-action and state what you want to happen after they read it. Make it clear to the reader that you are excited about the opportunity, the company, and the role, and let them know you look forward to hearing back from them and learning more. It is good practice to thank the reader for their time and consideration. Your final sentence can express hope for an interview with them soon. Here are a few questions to get you started on this last stretch of your cover letter:
1. What do you want to happen after you send the resume? (An interview, a phone call, an email, etc.)
2. What is the person expecting you to send? (e.g., resume, letter of interest, salary requirements, references, examples of your work)
3. What next steps will you take after sending your resume? (e.g., a call, email, a DM on LinkedIn)
Here is an example cover letter template to help you plug in your information from the work above in the correct format:
{Your First Name} {Your Last Name}
{Your Street Address}
{City, State, Zip Code}
April 5, 2021
{Name of Person you are addressing it to}
{Company Address}
{Street Address}
{City, State, Zip Code}
Dear {Hiring Manager or Company},
I would like to submit my resume for your consideration regarding the position of {Job Title}. I discovered the job through {Explain Job Board, Referral, Recruiter Etc}. The job interests me because of {Explain: Type Of Work, Location, Reputation, Opportunities}
I feel that my {Pick 1-3 Selling Points: Experience, Education, Results, Skills, Approach, Abilities} will be a great fit.
{Elaborate On Selling Point #1 ex. I have led developer hiring efforts, growing the team from 4 members to over 30, to establish a full-stack applications team capable of meeting enterprise demands in a timely fashion.}
{Elaborate On Selling Point #2 ex. directly contributed to the selection of fourteen developers hired through 250+ interviews.}
{Elaborate On Selling Point #3 ex. developed a standardized interview process to ensure interview consistency and quality, incorporating interview scripts and various coding challenges}
I am excited about the opportunity to interview with your company. We align on so many aspects that I think this can be an exceptional fit. Please find my resume attached for review, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
{Your Name}
Now you understand the importance of a Cover Letter and know how to write one. Even in this age of technology, Cover Letters are sometimes required to get the job, and now you are equipped to write one if you need to. If you are struggling with getting interviews or passing interviews check out our series on creating a modern resume that beats the ATS (Applicant Tracking System). You can also learn more about how to network with recruiters to start getting job leads here, and follow us on LinkedIn where we can really help you launch your coding career.
