Cover Letters – What’s the point?

So you’ve (hopefully) got yourself an outstanding resume and looking to apply to various jobs.

Do you really need to do a cover letter too?

There’s no simple yes/no answer to this question. Sure, if the advertisement requests a cover letter it would be wise to include one. But when it doesn’t, is there really any benefit including a cover letter?

In short – yes there is. I’ll get to this soon but firstly here’s some insight.

INVESTMENT OF TIME

Quite honestly, in my recruitment career assessing numerous applicants for a clients’ vacancy I’d almost always go straight to the resume and bypass any cover letter that was included. I had to manage my time as efficiently as possible to assess many applications, short-list suitable candidates, go through screening interviews, then secure/present those that fit the bill to my client. And before my competitors did.

“Speed to Market” was critical. If I were to read all cover letters and the entirety of everyone’s resume, then contact everyone to work out who was suitable or not, there would be a big risk that my competitors would secure ideal applicants before I did. I effectively learned to “speed read” resume’s and quickly identify who I would invest my time in reaching out to. Invest wisely – I’d make placements. Invest unwisely – my competitors would.

This assessment process may sound confronting to a jobseeker but it’s common. Think about this. Let’s say you are searching on-line for a particular product or service you need urgently. Will you read through all the websites of the countless search results that come up, or will you quickly identify those that are very apparent they meet all your needs and focus on these to engage?

Wise investment of time is critical for jobseekers too. When you see a job advertised it can also be a case of “speed to market” wins. By the time you’ve put together your application with a lovely, carefully-written, extensive cover letter you’ve spent significant time developing, your competitors (other jobseekers) may have already gotten their applications in. Their applications and are now on-top of the pile ready to be assessed by an agent or hiring manager. If they find ideal candidates from the top of that pile, they may not look at the rest. And if they do get to your application to read your cover letter, your time spent writing multiple paragraphs of dialogue including buzzwords, cliches and ambiguous assurances may not help your cause one bit.

But yes. A cover letter CAN be a powerful addition to your application. Here’s why.

“YOU WANT THIS, I’VE GOT THIS”

Your resume needs to be a general but concise summary of all your experiences, skills and qualifications, presented in such a way that will appeal to audiences of a variety of jobs you may apply for. But here, it may not highlight your credentials for a specific role. And so if the reader can’t see specifics they require, you may miss the boat – even if you have what they’re after.

This is where a cover letter can be powerful. This is your opportunity to make it clear to your audience why they should invest their time in speaking to you about their vacancy. Here’s some tips and tricks that help you quickly formulate a cover letter that maximises your application, and your time invested in it.

• Develop a Cover letter template to use for all applications (this will help you save time in future applications).
• Be sure to have a brief introduction.
• Include personal information around your availabilities and mobility to relocate for the position if relevant (i.e. if you are interstate/overseas etc).
• For each advertised job you are interested in, copy + paste the specifics of the company/job into the template. This includes:
  Company name, Job Title, Contact name (if known – to address your letter to).
• Essential criteria.
• Desirable criteria.
• Concisely address all essential & desirable criteria requirements.
• Do this against each point (not in a long-winded array of paragraphs). A table or bullet-point format for responses is a great way to present this.
• Be specific. Avoid buzzwords, cliches etc.
• Where you may not have all the elements of an essential requirement, include something relatable to it you do have (sometimes “essential” really isn’t essential at all). Don’t just leave it blank or say “I don’t have this”!

Effectively, a powerful cover letter says to your audience “You want this, I’ve got this”.

Yes, you need to invest your time wisely. Once you have a template developed it will be quicker for you to customise your applications effectively as above. Depending on the extent of criteria to address, a cover letter could take as little as 5 minutes to develop.

STANDING OUT OF THE PACK

Developing a cover letter in this way has a number of benefits:

• Makes your credentials for a position extremely clear for your audience.
• Demonstrates the effort you’ve gone to in your application, which will be received favourably.
• Minimises your time writing, and rewriting, multiple cover letters.
• Enhances key word search results that “AI” (Artificial Intelligence) screening systems do – which many companies use these days. The more key words you have, the better your ranking becomes.
• Helps you prepare for an interview if selected.

Ultimately – it helps you stand out of the pack.

Earlier, I did say that I’d almost always bypass the cover letter and go straight to a resume. That is true. But I’d always review the cover letter IF the resume gained my interest. And anyone who had a cover letter like the format I’ve suggest above, effectively addressing key criteria, would ALWAYS get a call from me.

Of course different people will use different approaches to assessing applications. A hiring manager or recruitment agent may indeed read everything you provide in your application. They may read every application they receive from top to bottom. They may not. And then there’s the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence systems to screen applications. Your application may never be viewed by actual human eyeballs.

By providing a cover letter in the format above, you’ve maximised your chances. Eliminate “guessing” and them finding reasons not to consider you. Allow “AI” to pick up the key words they screen for. Make it easy for them and your phone is more likely to ring, rather than a “Dear John” email popping up in your inbox – if you get a response at all.

Finally, the suggestion isn’t that cover letters are always necessary to get you that interview. Be selective and invest your time wisely. And put yourself in the mind of your audience. They can only go off the words you provide them, which can be interpreted and screened in many different ways.

Guy Wilson
Founder – Sell Yourself.