How to Write a Cover Letter

Writing a cover letter can be tricky as it needs to correctly echo your skills, personality, and accomplishments to match the job posting. Boring and impersonal cover letters never helped anyone, so keeping your brand consistent while bringing light to your relevant qualifications will help you bridge the gap between the open position and your skill set. Use your cover letter to reiterate your list of professional experiences by tying yourself to the job opening and showing a hiring manager that you are their closest match. When writing a commanding cover consider the techniques below:

Brainstorming

The most important first step is to evaluate how you can position yourself as a valuable candidate for a position opening. Here are some questions to ask yourself when you brainstorm:

• Why do you think you are a great fit for the position?
• Can you quote one sentence that illustrates your personality, career interests, and professional experience?
• What interests you to apply for the position?
• What are some examples that can relate to the job requirements?

When brainstorming ideas for a cover letter, here are some examples to help you create the perfect pitch:

“To improve the flow of the conversation with my clients, I insisted my team to test and implement new software that will eliminate (example 1,2, and 3) issues reducing the yearly support cases by (add %). I believe I would be a great fit as your next project manager as I can deliver similar results for (company name) by identifying and mitigating risks and address them systematically and proactively.”

Or:

“Breeding rabbits is my very first venture when I was eight years old and asked for funds from my parents. Cages and heaters were installed during winter to keep the bunnies warm with my father’s help. The local mom-and-pop grocery is where I volunteered to sweep the aisles for discarded vegetables to be taken home. At Easter, my hard work of months paid off. My posters which were advertisements hand drawn brought in local families with their kids lined up to buy the bunnies from me. I discovered my entrepreneurship passion when I first made my $50 that spring through breeding 5 rabbits. At your company for the position of (add position name), I will bring out the same creativity, tenacity, and enthusiasm.”

Or:

“On my way to Harvard, I remember looking out the window, a Red Line train surfacing above ground to the Charles River. Above the skyline of Boston, I would find the Hancock Tower every day, no matter how late or early and think “I will work for Ernst & Young in that very same building someday.” With this internship position, my dream can come true this spring as I prepare to graduate during the summer.”

For Better Success, Personalize

From brainstorming to a self-assessment, you can craft your story by writing a cover letter to match the culture of the company and the job opening. Here is an example:

February 25, 2019

(Hiring Manager Name)

(Title)

(Company Name)

(Address, State, Zip Code)

Dear (Hiring Manager):

Include Accomplishments in Bullets

When writing your cover letter, you can make your personality shine by adding key accomplishments to showcase your value, and why you would be a great fit for their open position. Here are a couple of bullet points that showcases specific accomplishments to build credibility:

Managed and directed joint product roadmaps, go-to-market strategies, and ISV engineering roadmaps with strategic partners to increase company revenue by 90%.Directed and managed the developer, ISV and partner programs which helped the company to grow from just over $100M to over $1B in revenue.

Story Telling is Key

Everyone loves a great story and stories can empower hiring decisions. When you are writing your unique story make sure it is relevant for the position opening and pay special attention to the sentence structure, grammar and spelling errors. Try spotting the sections that don’t flow smoothly by reading your cover letter out loud. Also, a respectful and conversational tone is what you should be checking for every time.

Need help crafting your cover letter? Click this link to email us your questions so; we can help you get started right away.