One of the most frequent complaints of employers regarding the applications they receive is the poor quality of cover letters. Today’s automated job search services make it easy for candidates to upload a generic cover letter and resume and shotgun them to a dozen or so firms in the hopes of scoring a match or two. Not a good strategy. The cover letter is your personal introduction to the person who is hiring. It needs to be customized to address the particular business of the firm and duties of the position you’re applying for.
Although it needs to be concise (less than a page; two or three short paragraphs, preferably), the cover letter should comprehensively convey three vital pieces of information: your career objectives and why you are applying for this particular position with this particular firm at this time; your knowledge of the company (its mission, areas of business, recent products or achievements, and its customer profile); and your qualifications for the position (i.e., why you are a good fit and how you will contribute to the firm), including, BRIEFLY, your education, experience and skills (specialty, technology and business). Refer them to your accompanying resume for more details. If appropriate, mention one or two notable achievements to date. Above all, be accurate and truthful.
Presentation is crucial. The cover letter should reflect your professionalism. It must be clearly written, well organized, and free of grammatical or spelling errors or typos. (Get someone to proofread it for you.) Use a font that is easy to read, and don’t try to crowd too much text on the page. Creativity and originality of expression are a plus, but don’t be flamboyant or cute. Imagine you are speaking face to face with the reader.
Contrary to what many candidates think, a cover letter is not a sales pitch. The object is to engage with the person who is hiring and entice them to want to know more about you in the hopes they will invite you for an interview. Take the time to customize each cover letter, and you will greatly increase your chances of getting that call.