Cover Letters Suck
74% of recruiters don’t find cover letters to be important, but 90%+ of executives use cover letters in their hiring process. Guess who doesn’t make the hiring decision? So while cover letters indeed suck, they can land you the job. This blog post will guide you through the critical elements of a strong cover letter that grabs attention and increases your chances of landing an interview.
Show Your Company Knowledge
Begin your cover letter by showing the reader that you are interested in working for them…and only them. This is the best way to show you are serious and your cover letter isn’t some copy/paste job you found during a Google search. Use the job posting and the company website to create the first few sentences of your cover letter.
Example: Understanding the transformative power that community-based organizations (CBOs) have when working towards collective impact goals is a shared value.
Tie-in Your Background
Show the hiring manager why you are the perfect fit for the job using specific language that aligns with your career history. Include the job title of the position you are applying to.
Example: Helping to create a more just, equitable world leads to my interest in the Community Partnership Manager position with Shared Value Media.
Showcase Your Accomplishments
Begin the second paragraph of your cover letter explaining your most recent role (or the role from your background that is the closest match) and present your job duties concisely. These should align directly with the job posting you are applying to. Pull three bullets from your resume that you want to highlight.
Example: As the Manager of Food Recovery Operations with ExtraFood.org, I was passionate about positively impacting the world. I believed that local communications, delivered by trusted community leaders, inspired behavior change. In fact, I cultivated critical relationships with nonprofits and businesses in Marin County to successfully offer 250 food deliveries per week, reaching 8,000+ people per month. Over the last year, my key challenges were to meet the needs of those affected by COVID-19 and reduce administrative costs. Here we are in the present time:
30% reduction in administrative costs attained by directing the implementation of new technology to improve efficiency and expand outreach.
Expanded services to meet the needs of those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by rallying the team to come together and adopt a new reality of delivery and maximizing the efficiencies of rolling out the new program.
Stretched volunteer reach and increased productivity by spearheading a project to implement a new outreach system.
Reinforce Your Skillset
The third paragraph is where you add more related experience. Pull this directly from the job description.
Call to Action
End your cover letter with a specific call to action: interview request, phone call, email exchange, etc.
Example: Out of respect for your time, I will keep this letter brief and welcome the opportunity to discuss my background as a Community Partnership Manager and how I believe I can bring value to Shared Value Media.
Additional Tips:
Address the cover letter to a HUMAN, never “Hiring Manager” or “To Whom It May Concern.” You can find a name by searching the company on LinkedIn and then looking for someone in recruiting or the hiring manager of that department.
Keep your cover letter to no more than 3/4 of a page.
