5 tips for a practical cover letter

I think many recruiters would argue the inclusion of a cover letter within a job application is dead, but I wanted to share a few reasons why it’s important to include one, and how to do it effectively.

How did we get to a point where I feel the need justify cover letters?

The desire to optimise the job application process is no different to any other. LinkedIn allows for “one-click” apply, where the applicant can browse positions and share their resume with the recruiter in a button click. I’m surprised they haven’t implemented the Tinder model… Swipe right to apply, swipe left to move on.

The problem is that you’ve now reduced an important position to simple action, meaning more candidates will apply, and there is less to differentiate yourself from the larger candidate pool. You are a far less valued and more expendable applicant in this one-click world.

Secondly, both recruiters and applicants see the cover letter as a burden. The content is time consuming to write, and time consuming to read, especially if there is also a lot of content in the resume. We typically make this worse for ourselves by dropping generic content into the cover letter that makes it even harder for the recruiter to extract relevant content.

We need a model to reduce the effort to produce the cover letter, and ensure we’re maximising the value of the content to justify consumption.

1. Target the content

Your cover letter is the opportunity to map your experience to the position. It should never the same between applications.

This is distinctly different to your resume, which is only about you, and typically consistent between job applications.

Too often I see “generic” cover letters, which repeat the content in the resume (in paragraph form), dramatically reducing the cover letter’s value. The only repeat content in the cover letter should be the template from which it is created.

2. Keep it succinct

Keep it short to reduce the burden, but force yourself to carefully consider the content, and enhance the likelihood the recruiter will actually read it.

Use bullet points, and highlight key terms. As the reader of your cover letter, I am not judging your ability to write a letter; I’m scanning for relevancy between you and the position. Succinct points are the most effective way to communicate this.

3. Draw from the position requirements

Help the recruiter do their job: Use the cover letter to show how your skills and experience map to their requirements. Not only will it highlight the most important content in your resume, but it demonstrates your understanding of the position, and will be a powerful exercise for later in the application process, when you talk with the recruiter about yourself and the position.

You can also present examples of past experiences which highlight your relevancy to the requirements. However, keep these short. Consider these as “experience summaries”, that could be elaborated in future discussion with an interviewer.

4. Share your passion

Make yourself human. Be relatable. Tell the recruiter why you admire the company they already work for, and love the position on offer.

If this exercise is hard, perhaps this isn’t the right position for you. Ultimately if you’re not excited by the opportunity, it’s far less likely to work out.

5. Don’t overthink it

Again, we don’t want this to be a burden. Let’s create a template that captures the types of content we believe are important to highlight, and populate this content efficiently with each application.

Here’s an example. Remember to keep the content targeted, so let’s assume Align has stated they are looking for an experienced software engineer, and the company is a leading company in distributed file storage with a large user base and reputation for exceptional talent.