Cover letters

On why you should always, always send one.

Cover letters. To send or not to send, that is the question. Or is it? You’ll hear divergent advice on them. Some hiring teams swear by them, others are less enthused. Either way, a good cover letter still has the power to be the difference between making a shortlist and not. In my experience, I have seen that they are essential. Here is why.

You are in direct competition with every other candidate in your market. For every role you apply to, there will likely be hundreds and potentially thousands of people interested in the same role.

Why a cover letter counts

Let’s say a recruiter is reviewing the candidate pool and deciding who will make the shortlist. It comes down to two candidates competing for one more spot in that list. Both are technically and culturally appropriate for the role and company, but only one has written a cover letter which describes why they are interested in the role and how they see themselves contributing to the team. Nine times out of ten, the recruiter or hiring manager is going to pick the candidate that has written a good letter.

Now, this is not to say that the cover letter is the defining feature of an application, as we have discussed at length, it is the cumulative impact of your entire system working together that creates the type of impression that gets you shortlisted. But where two candidates are of similar calibre and one has written a cover letter and the other has not, the person who spent the time describing their why to the business is the one more likely to be successful.

It’s important to note here that a poor cover letter won’t convince a hiring team that you care. In that sense, there is little difference between no cover letter and a bad one. A good letter, however, demonstrates care and effort and perhaps even attention to detail. It shows that you are a fit rather than just leaving it for the recruiter to work out. You might get by without one if you are obviously, and beyond question, well suited for the role, but it is a risk. You do not want the reason you miss out on a role to be because you didn't take the time to write a cover letter.

Writing a cover letter is as much about demonstrating a baseline of effort and thoughtfulness as it is about creating connection and alignment. A good letter does both, and it makes it much harder for hiring teams to reject or ignore you. Even if the hiring team is one of those that don't weight heavily for cover letters, perhaps they place more importance on answers to application questions, you will still be more likely to progress and compete because the simple act of submitting a letter demonstrates that you want the role more than the candidates that didn't bother.

What a cover letter should include and what to avoid

So, what should your cover letter say? There is a structure that makes sense, but ultimately, what you say will be up to you. It will be unique and authentic to you. It will demonstrate some personality and confirm alignment. It may even create some connection. You never know how being your authentic self will resonate with someone else.

Your cover letter will be more powerful if you take some time to reflect before getting stuck into writing. A good place to start is with a few basic questions. Why am I applying for this role? What personal connection, if any, do I have to the company’s products or services? Is there something I admire or respect about the company and its people? Is there someone in particular I would really like to work with? How do I see myself contributing? Answering these questions will give your letter substance.

Yes, you need to indicate why you are appropriate and well suited, and that does require that you discuss your own skill set and experiences, but by the time someone is reading your cover letter, they will almost certainly have already seen your CV, and probably your LinkedIn too. The cover letter then is your chance to give them more, to flesh out the story of who you are and why they should hire you. It expands on the picture and perception that the hiring team is forming of you.

You’ll address your letter to the recruiter responsible for the role and, if possible, also the hiring manager, who is often the person you would report to if you were successful. You will demonstrate your why, that is, why you are interested in this particular company, team, and position. You’ll talk about why your experiences up until this point prepare you for the responsibilities of the position. Where possible, you establish some sort of personal meaning or connection to the role. Finally, you’ll tie together how your success in the role will result in success for the company.

The number one mistake I see people make is that they talk about themselves too much and neglect to draw a connection between themselves and the company. The hiring team will be looking to get more cues on your overall suitability. They will be interested to see what you understand about them. In the best-case scenario, they will get a glimpse of your personality. The cover letter will, beyond what a CV is capable of, give the reader a better appreciation of whether or not you are a technical and cultural fit and ultimately whether or not you are likely to be a happy and productive long-term hire.

A clear strategy makes for a more powerful cover letter

Your success in the candidate pool and then the following interview process hinges upon how cohesive and understandable your whole job search system is. That is, whether you know and can articulate your professional narrative, the accuracy with which you have mapped your market, and the cumulative impact of your CV, cover letter, and online presence. Your CV sells your skillset and experience directly. Your cover letter goes further to give a glimpse into your personality and what matters to you.

If you’ve mapped your market well and targeted your efforts towards genuine alignment, then the cover letter is quite likely to help you build connection and alignment with the hiring team before you have even spoken to them, which will encourage them to give you an interview. Recruiters often have similar conversations over and over again. Your individuality is a strength in this context. It will help you stand out. If you are concerned that showing too much personality or authenticity will harm your chances, then it is probably not a good job for you in the first place.

If you are skipping the cover letter, you may be saving some time, but you are leaving opportunity on the table and short-changing yourself. Do yourself a favour, write a good cover letter. It’ll increase your chances of making the shortlist. The added bonus is that the reflection required to produce a good letter is likely to make you a more convincing and charismatic interviewee. It will also inform how you handle and manage your online presence, which is essentially your cover letter in a social media format. More on that in the next piece.