Should you include a cover letter with your job application? Yes!
Your cover letter is a chance to stand out from the rest of the crowd. Just by including a cover letter, you’re already a few points ahead of those who didn’t. But let’s do even better than that.
In this article, I’ll show you how to create a winning cover letter that makes an employer pay attention. The trick is to show your amazing fit for a role with 3 succinct paragraphs.
Using the same cover letter template, I’ve successfully landed interviews for roles in tech, education, healthcare, and other industries. I’ve shared these tips with many coaching clients and they’ve appreciated the balance between speaking to what employers want to hear (so they’ll advance to the next phase of hiring), while still being true to themselves (so job searching feels empowering, not disheartening).
I’m excited to share the strategies with you too! Read on to learn what to include in your cover letter and how to pull the pieces together for your final submission.
The purpose of a cover letter
Ultimately, the purpose of a cover letter is to show that you’re a decent human being who has the skills and desire to work in a particular role, at a particular company. It is NOT a summary of your resume. It should tell a story that is unique to you, which may include information beyond your resume, to describe your wonderful fit for a job opening.
Because your cover letter is the first impression you’re giving to a potential employer, you want to appear as professional as possible. In written form, that means making sure:
- Your formatting is clean
- Your spelling and grammar are flawless (technology can help you with this)
- Your thoughts are expressed clearly and succinctly
- Your tone of voice is positive
With these things in mind, you can start to build the content of your cover letter.
Cover Letter Template: What information to include
The template below follows a letter format with a date and address. You can skip straight to the personal greeting if you’re sending this via email.
Date
Company Name
Company Address (This can usually be found on the company’s Contact page or on Google.)
Application: Job Title (Spell it exactly the same as the job posting and include the job number if there is one.)
Hello FirstName LastName, (Try your best to find the hiring manager’s name and keep it gender neutral with a direct hello.)
Paragraph 1 (Skip mentioning where you found the job posting unless there was a special circumstance like a referral. Open with the strongest reasons for why you’re such an awesome fit for the role and try to insert top keywords from the job posting and company About page. If something from your personal experience makes you especially thrilled to join the team, this could be where you stand out with a unique story.)
Paragraph 2 (Consider what the job posting asks for and then work backwards to choose a few personal accomplishments to highlight your qualifications using language from the job posting. If you don’t have direct experience doing similar work, you can describe your transferable skills, education, professional development efforts, or even personal and volunteer projects – again, all described using language from the job posting.)
Paragraph 3 (Own the trajectory of your career by outlining where you’ve been, where you’re now, and where you want to go – and ensure that trajectory relates to the specific role and company you’re applying to. Help the employer see that you truly want the job and it makes sense for your goals. If you’re making a career switch, you could explain it from a positive angle or talk about broader themes in your career.)
Conclusion (Quickly close it up by reiterating your interest and sharing gratitude for their time and consideration.)
Kind regards,
Your Name
Find and explain your amazing fit in different ways
I know it can feel tough to talk about your fit for a role when you’ve submitted hundreds of applications and you’re desperate for job. You can’t just say, “I need money. Please hire me.” Instead, take a moment to pause, breathe, and think.
There are many ways to look at fit. I bet if you dig deep enough, you’ll find a few ways you’d be a great fit for a role!
In fact, when you identify roles that fit well with who you are and what you want to do next, the more excited you’ll feel about an opportunity and the more desirable you’ll become as a candidate.
Check out the categories below to see how you and a role might fit well together. You don’t need to hit on all the categories but do try to showcase a few matching points in your cover letter.
Skills
This is the most important category and you must address this in your cover letter. If a job requires certain skills and you have demonstrated those skills in a previous role, great! But you can still consider it a fit if they are skills you’re learning or are meaning to develop. That shows the role is aligned with your growth plans.
Also, your skills could be transferable from outside of traditional work, such as from your personal life or volunteer roles. The cover letter is the perfect place to talk about the time you planned a 10-day family trip for 20 people across 3 generations (event planning, budgeting, and project management skills) or the time you rallied a volunteer team to reach a fundraising goal (communication, sales, and leadership skills). Remember to use metrics to describe your accomplishments as much as possible. Numbers grab attention!
Knowledge
Don’t just think about formal education. Also consider certificates, part-time programs, on-the-job training, personal experiments, or the hours of YouTube tutorials you’ve watched. If you’re really passionate about something related to a job opening and you grab every chance to learn more about it, then bring it up in your cover letter. Your enthusiasm will make an impression.
Values
On most company websites, the About or Career pages will mention company values. Are there ones that match with your personal values? Name it. Show that you already operate in that way and hiring you will strengthen their company culture.
Mission & Vision
Does the company have a compelling mission and vision that you want to get behind? If you’re excited about what they’re doing, you can share why in your cover letter. A personal story could be very powerful as long as you’re not oversharing details or going off on a tangent.
Industry
Are you already well-versed in the industry? You can brag in your cover letter about all the experience, insights, and/or relationships you’ll bring. If you’re looking to transition into a new industry, explain what is motivating you, how you’re preparing yourself, and how your different background will add value.
Product, Service, or Customers
Whether in your personal or professional life, have you interacted with the company’s product, service, or customers before? Your lived experience could bring valuable insights because you’re already an advocate, you understand the customer pain points, or you simply care deeply about a service. If there’s something there, explain the fit in your cover letter.
Additional cover letter pointers
Keep your cover letter short and sweet
Your cover letter is not your life story. It tells just enough to show your relevance for a role. Paragraphs 1 to 3 should only have 4-5 sentences each. Everything should fit onto a sheet of paper with healthy white space all around using an easy-to-read font size.
Use the job posting as a guide
Much like tailoring a resume, your cover letter should be guided by the job posting and the research you’ve done on a company. More and more, a robot (the applicant tracking system) does the first screen and they scan for keywords from a job posting. That means, you must be diligent in applying the same language from the job posting to your cover letter.
Take time to analyze a job posting. If you feel Topic A is a central focus of the role, then make sure you share how you’ve done things (or learned things) to demonstrate you can deliver on Topic A.
Let AI tools improve your draft
AI tools don’t have direct access to your rich life experiences so you would still need to narrow down which accomplishments and/or themes from your career would be most important to include in your cover letter. Once you have drafted the outline of your three main paragraphs, you can use AI tools to improve the flow of the cover letter, to condense the content, or to insert more keywords from the job posting.
One thing to be careful with is that the end result still needs to be authentic to you. If the AI tool suggests vocabulary that you would never use, it’s better to use your own phrasing. One of the the worst things that can happen is when an employer reaches out to you and realizes you sound nothing like your application. An invisible trust is broken and your chances of advancing further in the hiring process is slim.
Save time with an adaptable foundation
If you’re applying to similar jobs, chances are there will be similar keywords from each job description and the accomplishments that would be valuable to highlight will be similar too. Once you have a foundational cover letter built, you might only need to tweak one or two lines in each paragraph.
Submitting your cover letter
If you are using an online application system, you may be prompted to upload separate cover letter and resume files. Save them as PDF files so that formatting is locked. Use the same fonts, colors, and headers across your cover letter and resume so that your professional brand is consistent.
If you are only prompted to upload one file, then save your cover letter and resume as one PDF file. For example, Page 1 is the cover letter and Pages 2 & 3 are your two-page resume.
Remember to save your files with appropriate and clear names, such as FirstName LastName – Cover Letter – Company Role.
If you are applying through email, then you can insert your cover letter text into the body of the email, and include your resume as an attachment. Make sure to review the job posting for specific instructions. For example, they might ask for the email subject line to be the job number. Always follow their instructions!
Want more help?
Storytelling is a key skill in the job searching process. If you’d like to discuss your work history and career goals in greater detail, let’s set up a coaching call. We can find a story arc that is unique to you and clearly outlines your fit for a job opening!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Crystal Lee, MPH, CPCC is a holistic career coach who helps mid-career professionals transform their work and life with clarity, confidence, and kindness. Let her know if you have a career question and join her newsletter to get the answer!
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