How To Write An Effective Cover Letter: 6 Easy Steps

As the job market gets increasingly more competitive, more and more employers want to see cover letters in candidate applications. A cover letter is a way of introducing yourself to the employer and showing them more of who you are, beyond just your job responsibilities listed in your resume. Use your cover letter as a way to better explain why your experience makes you a good fit for the specific position. If you can, you should always write a cover letter to differentiate yourself from other candidates.

1. Familiarize yourself with the company and the specific job listing. Before starting any cover letter, it’s extremely important that you do your research. Learn more about the company, what they do, and what their culture is like so you can match that personality in your cover letter. Whether they’re a creative and expressive type of company, or more professional and firm, use this insight on culture to set the tone of voice for your cover letter. After researching the company, analyze the job description to the best of your ability. Get a thorough understanding of the job’s qualifications and expectations so that you can better write about why you would be a good fit.
2. Look at templates to familiarize yourself. Not every cover letter needs to look the same. In fact, the more unique yours is, the easier you will be able to differentiate yourself from other candidates. Check out these various cover letter examples for different types of jobs. Choose the template that you like best and that you feel is most fit for the position you’re applying for. Make sure that you keep your cover letter at or under a page. While you want to include lots of information about yourself, you still want to keep it fairly succinct or the hiring manager reading it will quickly lose interest.
3. Target the letter. Find out who will be reading your cover letter so that you can properly address it to them in your opening. Use LinkedIn or the company website to find who the hiring manager is or any human resource professional on the team. Oftentimes, the people reading your letters will have job titles such as HR Directors, HR Managers, Recruiting Coordinators. Sometimes, the job posting will even include who will be looking over your application. If you can’t find a contact that you’re confident on, then address it to “Human Resources Manager.”
4. Choose what you want to highlight. Choose the most important skills and traits for the job, and build your cover letter around them. Describe your relevant experience and specific moments in which you’ve shown these skills to show how well you fit the requirements of the job. Be specific, include details, and paint a picture that goes beyond a resume bullet. For example:

“The position’s emphasis on leadership skills and problem-solving are qualities that I have shown in my past role as a marketing manager. Here, I managed a marketing team, which consisted of delegating tasks, solving short and long-term problems, and leading a group of over 20 employees. I led the team in completely redesigning our marketing strategy to make it more targeted and comprehensive, and as a result increased sales by 20% for the year.”

5. Show that you want to work there. Not only should you highlight why you’ll be a valuable candidate skill-wise, but you also need to show a genuine interest in the company and the job. Employers want to see passion and heart in who they hire, and are much more likely to choose someone who already knows why they want the position and why they want to work for the company. Include phrases like:

“I really admire the collaborative and transparent culture of XYZ Company, and because culture is something I really value, I am very interested in pursuing this opportunity and joining the team.”

6. Incorporate your personality. While you want to sound professional, you also want to include a good opener to differentiate yourself from other cover letters. Try to think of something creative that introduces yourself further than what’s just on your resume, or what your past job was. For example,

“I have always valued the power of collaboration. In every position I’ve worked in, I have learned how important it is to be a key collaborator and be able to work in teams of all kinds of people.”

or

“Since high school, I have always been a people person. I knew that I wanted a career where I was constantly working with people and challenging myself. Once I learned about sales and the impact I could make as a salesman, I knew that I wanted to pursue a future in sales.”

Choose what you want to focus on, or what you are most passionate about in terms of the job, and turn it into an attention-grabbing statement. When closing your cover letter, always thank the reader and leave them with your contact information.

For more tips on all things job search, professional development, staffing, and hiring check out our Employee Tips and Employer Tips or contact us at mglenny@franklinprofessionals.com.