COVER LETTERS: WHAT’S THE POINT?
It’s been asked time and time again: is it even worth writing a cover letter?
Cover letters are tedious to write multiple times over when job searching. The value placed on them is divided, with one group of the mind that when recruiters only spend on average 6 seconds looking at your resume, will they even take the time to look at your cover letter?
The other group will say that in the off-chance they do, the cover letter is how you’ll differentiate yourself from the crowd and get your application sent to the hiring manager. It’s a chance to tell a story and add personality to a resume that only has enough room to tell the facts. Real people reading your application may want to see one and they’ll be able to pick up on nuances that buzzword seeking AI is unable to detect.
At the end of the day, it’s a mixed bag and you don’t truly know unless it’s explicitly stated. As a result, why risk not including one? It’s always better to take the time to write one even if it’s optional. Especially for something as important as landing your dream job.
WHAT TOPICS DO WE COVER?
Now that we’ve established their importance, it’s time to craft one to go along with your resume. A reminder that the cover letter needs to answer:
CAN: Do you match the needs and requirements of the job
WANT: What are the reasons for you wanting the job
FIT: Does your personality and values align with the company culture
In this module we walk you through the entire process:
- The cover letter’s purpose and what employers are looking for
- What to look for when conducting research
- Proper formatting
- Each section of the cover letter broken down
- Pointers to make your cover letter more persuasive
By the end, we hope to leave you with not only a personalized cover letter, but also the best practices to creating a cover letter that will consistently get you into the ‘YES’ pile.