In today’s job market, obtaining a suitable job requires good job-hunting skills in order to be successful. The foremost step in obtaining a meaningful and desirable job or employment is writing a cover letter and a resume. It is quite established that well-written cover letters and resumes are highly effective in seeking the attention of potential employers. An impactful cover letter builds your chance to obtain an interview opportunity for the position you have applied for. It is thus stated by many hiring managers and recruitment professionals that a clear and appropriately detailed cover letter paves the way to interviews and job offers.
If your resume explains ‘who you are & what you do’ specific to the job opportunity, then the cover letter explains ‘why’ you are applying for the respective job. The purpose of the cover letter is to catch the eye of the hiring manager so that they build interest and give full attention to your resume. The prime emphasis of a cover letter is to highlight the company and the job opportunity and showcase how you meet their requirements. Thus, the purpose of a cover letter is far more than simply ‘an introduction’ to your resume.
However, it is important to know the differences between a cover letter and a resume, to better understand their usefulness.
- Your resume tells that your skills, competencies, and experience match with the job opportunity that you are applying for. Whereas your cover letter shows that your profile matches with the company’s needs, business profile or corporate culture. Here are a few examples:
– If the company is into consulting business wherein there are a range of different types of projects being concurrently managed, then this company would be a great place for you to work if you are highly adaptable and swiftly match up to the new project requirements.
– If the company has a very flat organisational structure or hierarchy, with few (one to two) layers of reporting line managers, then this would imply that the company embraces a culture of autonomy. It gives freedom to employees to take decisions and hold accountability for their actions. This company would be an ideal place for you to work if you possess an entrepreneurial mind-set and value the result-reward relationship.
- A resume is a summary of your academic qualifications and educational accomplishments, whereas your cover letter explains how your qualifications are relevant to the company’s business and growth.
- While a resume showcases your past experiences and accomplishments, a cover letter offers a peek into your future career aspirations.
- A resume is typically written in short phrases and sentences. Whereas a cover letter uses properly constructed sentences that offer a glimpse of your written communication skills to the hiring manager.
What Are the Essential Parts of a Cover Letter?
A cover letter is as important as your resume, and thus it should be carefully drafted. A typical cover letter will have 4 parts that highlight specific aspects:
1) Start your cover letter with a header including the full name of the hiring manager, their professional title & name of the company, and the date.
2) Express your interest in the job opportunity confirming that you wish to apply for the given role.
3) Give the reference of the source of your knowledge about the given job opening, such as advertisement in a newspaper or LinkedIn or any other channel, via recruitment agencies or job portals, a referral from someone who shared about the vacancy
4) Explicitly state why you are interested in the job opportunity by relating with the company’s needs, business profile or corporate culture
5) Present a brief about your past work experience, current professional engagement, education, and skills, building a connection with the job requirements
6) Explain why you are perfect for the given job opening and best fit for the company.
7) Conclude the letter in a positive tone and express your hope to receive a call for an interview.
Quick Tips to Write an Effective Cover Letter:
- Find about the company: It is important to research about the company, its business, the role, and the department. This will help you to customize your cover letter and not use a very generic one. Highlight how your skills, experience, and qualifications are relevant to the company.
- Focus on the future: A cover letter should focus on what you want to achieve by applying for the given opportunity. It should highlight your broader career objectives and goals.
- Give a strong opening: When you write about yourself, start with a strong opening sentence or paragraph that highlights your strongest skill or a personality trait. This will strongly grab the attention and create a powerful first impression. For example, I am a digital media professional, I am an environmental fundraiser, I am a vocational artist, etc. This can be followed with 1-2 top accomplishments relevant to the job opening.
- Express enthusiasm: You should communicate very clearly about your keen interest in the given job opportunity. Express your willingness and explain how this opportunity will be a gateway to achieving your career goals and fulfilling your aspirations.
- Structure precisely: You should communicate just to the point instead of giving elaborated details. It is very helpful for the hiring managers to quickly glance through the cover letter and get the relevant information. It is advisable to limit your cover letter to a maximum length of one page.
- Address it to Hiring Managers: Take time to conduct research as to who is the most influential person in the hiring process. It is advisable to address your cover letter to the specific person and avoid using generic salutations, such as ‘Dear Sir/Madam’, or ‘To whomsoever it may concern. If you can’t find any specific individual’s name, then you can be specific by addressing as ‘Digital Marketing Hiring Manager’, ‘Business Analyst Search Team’, or ‘Account Executive Recruitment Consultant’, etc.
- Customise your cover letter: Every job opportunity is unique and thus, should be your cover letter and resume. A cover letter focuses on what you can do for the potential employer and their business, and hence it should be tailored for every job opportunity that you apply for. Here are some samples of industry-specific cover letters that you can use for reference:
- Avoid overlap with your resume: You need to ensure that the content in the cover letter and the resume are not repetitive, with no overlap. A cover letter orients the mindset of the hiring manager to your broader career objective and showcases your candidature to have a strong connection with the company’s business, values, and culture. However, the focal point of a resume is just ‘you’.
- Proofread your cover letter: Ensure that there are no mistakes and errors with respect to formatting, content, spelling or grammar. The hiring managers draw a reasonable amount of understanding about your personality, professionalism and communication skills while reading your cover letter and resume. Any error will poorly reflect on your capabilities and risk your chances of receiving an interview call.
- Conclude with an action statement: In the final paragraph, you can conclude by thanking the hiring manager. In a courteous tone, you can request the hiring manager to initiate some sort of action. You should hint that you desire further contact. For example, I’d like to discuss how my experience can be instrumental and can help your accounts receivables department.
- Close in a formal way: Avoid using casual ways to conclude your letter, such as ‘goodbye’ or ‘looking forward’. It is appropriate to end the letter using formal remarks such as best regards, kind regards, yours sincerely, etc.
Here are some links to some useful online resources on writing cover letters – Tips to write a cover letter and cover letter guidelines
It is thus imperative to prepare your cover letter as good as your resume. The above-mentioned tips to write an effective and impactful cover letter are broad guidelines. These tips can be helpful while spending time and effort to draft your cover letter, which can be one of the most challenging parts of your job-hunting process.