Art of the Cover Letter
Posted January 11th, 2011
Too many people neglect to send cover letters with their résumés and applications. Or, they slap a generic, one-size-fits-all-jobs cover letter and send it along.
Both are big mistakes.
A cover letter helps differentiate you from other applicants. Most applicants don’t bother to send a cover letter (even a template or form letter), so you’ll stand out by the very fact of just including one with your application.
Yet, even if all applicants did send a cover letter with their résumé, a well-done cover letter truly will help your candidacy.
Here’s why: A cover letter basically acts as an ad for your product. That product is you. A good cover letter piques the reader’s (the hiring manager’s or recruiter’s) interest. A cover letter also differentiates you from the dozens (or hundreds) of people also applying for the position. A good cover letter highlights how your background, abilities and skills match (or, better yet, exceed) a hiring manager’s needs.
In addition, a cover letter shows a hiring manager that you cared enough to take the time to write it. You always should write a cover letter applicable only to the position to which you’re applying. Never send a generic cover letter. Each position, each company is different and so each job for which you apply requires its own cover letter.
A personalized cover letter also shows a hiring manager that you did at least a bit of research on his or company and the position. This is always a plus, because employers want to hire people who understand that companies hire people to solve problems. Someone who does some research on a company has gone just a bit further than other applicants in beginning to understand what those problems might be.
Speaking of an employer’s problems, a cover letter allows you to focus on how your particular background and skills will help an employer solve its problems. In the cover letter, describe in just one or two sentences how you helped a former employer solve its problems — you created a new database, you produced a record of 10 new technical papers, etc. Presenting concrete evidence of how you solve a firm’s problems will definitely pique a hiring manager’s interest.
Submit your résumé — and cover letter — to Bayside Solutions. We have dozens of terrific positions open in the construction, green, technology and scientific sectors at businesses in and around San Francisco. We look forward to hearing from you.
