If you’ve just found the perfect high-paying job for you and know in your heart of hearts that you can’t let this opportunity slip through your fingers, don’t just stop at creating an eye-catching resume. It’s time to learn how to write an unignorable cover letter to help you stand out and show the employer that you’re more than just what’s on your resume.
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Cover letters are typically needed when you have to explain a career pivot, a career gap from when you got laid off, relevant side hustle or business-owner experience that’s on your resume, or anything else from your resume that you think needs additional context.
However, 83% of managers say differently and actually prefer job applicants to submit cover letters for every application they submit. And when a cover letter is done well, it could be the deciding factor that pushes the hiring manager to give you a call.
Key points:
- Hiring managers only spend 1 to 2 minutes reviewing a cover letter.
- Avoid bells and whistles in your cover letter. You don’t need them.
- Talk about your accomplishments and results that align with the position and needs of the company.
- Don’t stop at the results, include some proof of those results with a link!
- You need a new cover letter for every job you apply to, but our template can help with that.
3-Part Cover Letter Structure
A cover letter is short, sweet, and straight to the point. It shouldn’t be any longer than one page.
After your contact details, stick to a simple 3-part format for your cover letter:
- Introduction: The “what, where, and why” you’re applying. Provide a brief statement that helps you stand out, along with what position you’re applying for, the company you’re applying at, and why you’re applying.
- Body: Provide a story of your achievements that align with the position, including results, metrics, and any other proof.
- Conclusion: Thank the reader with a call to action to meet and discuss.
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How to Write a Cover Letter Step-By-Step (With Examples)
The majority of cover letters are horrible. They’re generic, bland, and boring. That’s where you and all your unique qualities come in.
Get creative and flip the traditional cover letter format on its head by using it to show exactly what you’re good at.
Avoid anything unnecessary.
Common advice for writing a perfect cover letter includes a lot of things that you just don’t need. You don’t need to pull any design punches on your cover letter (unless you’re applying for a designer position, of course). Your cover letter also doesn’t need your picture, street address, nor the street address of the employer.
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A heading with your name, phone number, email, LinkedIn profile link, and date is all you need.
Start off strong and don’t waste any time in your introduction.
Your introduction should lead right into why the position is perfect for you and what you bring to the table. Talk about why you’re interested in the position and company and show that you understand the company and its challenges. You can even list 1 or 2 things you would do or past results from what you’ve done to address those needs.
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When crafting a cover letter, remember that it’s you writing it and not some corporate drone desperate for a job. As much as it may seem like you need to fall in-line with everyone else in a corporate landscape – or any work environment for that matter – and follow a set script, that’s not true.
While yes, employers are looking for people that fit into their work culture, they also want employees with diverse perspectives and creative thinking skills that will help them get the results they need. Start off any cover letter you write with that in mind.
Be short, sweet, and straight to the point.
Avoid giving a generic summary of your resume or adding excessive flattery and filler words. A cover letter shouldn’t be longer than one page.
Imagine you’re a hiring manager who’s short on time. They may review your cover letter in 1 to 2 minutes and judge from that short amount of time if they’ll be calling you for an interview. You’ll need to pull some creative punches in that amount of time to keep them engaged and curious to talk to you.
Write your cover letter with intention and purpose.
Don’t only talk about why you’re perfect for this position. Back up your claims with past results that align with the job description. Show them your value and why you aren’t like every other job candidate.
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This will also help you when negotiating salary and why your market salary is what it is. Your value illustrated in your resume and cover letter will naturally lead to the interview questions and answers, and will stay at the top of the hiring manager’s mind.
Put your unique spin on it
The secret sauce to writing an unignorable cover is not only showing off how you stand out, but also being able to grab the reader in ways they might not expect.
For instance, if you’re applying for a writer position, you know your target audience and how to hook them. They’re most likely a hiring manager that also has writing experience and will judge your writing throughout the letter.
You could start off by saying something along the lines of, “As a copywriter with 5 years of experience, the last thing I’ll do is make you read another generic cover letter. I am excited to apply to the Senior Copywriter role at Reddit, but not for the reasons you think. Of course, I love Reddit and use it in my everyday life, but I want to be a part of the continued growth of a platform I’ve used for the past decade while also growing in my own creative career. ….”, then you can lead into how you would do that with past results – as an example.
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If you’re a marketer, show that you know how to market yourself well for the position. Even refer to it when concluding the letter with something like, “I’m excited about this opportunity and know I’m the perfect fit for this position, especially from how well I marketed myself in this letter.” You can show your cleverness as long as you keep it professional.
For a few other examples, cover letters for designers that include an appealing design will help them stand out, while software engineers can include a code snippet they wrote that solved a past significant issue. This shows exactly how they solved a problem that aligns with the job description and the results it had.
Catch their attention and don’t let go.
Go above talking about your results and show them actual proof of your results. This can be a link to a public facing marketing campaign that you helped put together, a video you helped produce, published articles or designs, or any way that you can show results of your work and the quality of your work.
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Hiring managers love links where they can easily navigate to your results and see first-hand how you’ll fit into the role.
Wrap it up.
Briefly summarize why you’re a good fit and how you’re excited for the opportunity to possibly be able to contribute to their team. Also Thank them for their time and consideration, and a call to action to discuss further with contact details attached.
Cover Letter Template (With Examples)
Do you need to create a new cover letter for each job you apply to? Yes.
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It’s a good thing we have a template for that!😊
Use the below template and examples to put together your own cover letter:
Your Name
City, State | Phone number | email@email.com | LinkedIn
Month Day, Year
Dear Hiring Manager,
Introduction: [Start off with something that catches their attention, the position title you’re applying for, the company you’re applying at, and why you’re interested]
Example: “With over 11 years of experience in IT and technical writing, I’m excited to apply for the Lead Technical Writer position at Oracle. I’m passionate about closing the communication gap in tech and that is not possible without data – something that was revolutionized thanks to Oracle. With the type of influence and the values Oracle holds, I feel like I would be making a real impact while being able to take the next big step in my career.”
Body: [Go into a story that shows some of your accomplishments (2 or 3) and results that align with the position you’re applying for]
Example of accomplishment 1: “The reason I’m so interested in this position is my proven track record as an engineer and technical writer. In my current Technical Writer role, I was able to increase the company’s monthly tech blog output by 100% [link to tech blog], with some of them reaching the first page of Google search results and boosting web traffic. Not only that, but their top competitors that already had entirely built out tech blogs, are now outdated compared to the output quality and frequency of my technical articles. This also caught the attention from other teams to have me help with other writing projects, such as product guides and internal knowledge hubs.”
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Example of accomplishment 2: “My past role as a Lead Reliability Engineer, after I was promoted from a Senior Software Engineer, really shows my experience and results in documentation and process improvement. Having governed a team of 40 ITSM (IT Service Management) managers and assisted them in building out their knowledge article hubs, internal documentation, and incident response processes, I was able to help reduce incident durations and decrease financial impact by 50% in one year for that department.”
Example of how you would explain unconventional items on your resume, such as recent self-employment or employment gaps: “What might seem a little unconventional on my resume is my self-employment experience for the blog I run and the freelance writing I do: [link to a writing portfolio]. I still work on these projects part-time for only a few hours a week and it doesn’t interfere with my work as a technical writer. It was actually what helped me get my current job and grow my writing skills.”
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Conclusion: [Show that you’re excited about the opportunity and look forward to speaking with them. Include a call-to-action with your contact details to set up a meeting and then thank them for their time.]
Example: “I am excited about the opportunity to bring my expertise to Oracle and am looking forward to the possibility of contributing to your team. Please contact me at (XXX)XXX-XXXX or email@email.com to set a meeting to discuss the role further. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!”
Sincerely,
Your Name
Last-Minute Tips for The Perfect Cover Letter
When you think you’ve done your best work putting together your cover letter, it’s time to get a second set of eyes on it. You can ask a mentor or a colleague to take a look at it and provide any feedback they have.
If you keep in contact with any past managers on LinkedIn, it might be a good idea to message them and ask them to review it. It’s best to get a perspective from someone who regularly reads cover letters and is involved in hiring processes.
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Once you've submitted your cover letter, don’t forget to follow up!
Either way, you’re on your way to blow some hiring managers’ minds. We just know it.
Need more help with landing your next job and increasing your income? Browse our other resources, including salary negotiation scripts and myths, how to negotiate benefits, how to ask for a raise, and more!
That wraps it up for this week. Until next time, stay awesome, stay strong, and keep advocating for yourself no matter what! I’m Daniella, a writer, engineer, and creator of I Like to Dabble and Remote Work Bestie - my blog and podcast for leveling up your money, career, and side hustles. I’m extremely passionate about workers' rights and financial freedom, so it’s a pleasure to be able to bring you this type of content through the Salary Transparent Street blog (thank you for the opportunity, Hannah!) You can also follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Linkedin, and Twitter. Chat soon!
If this guide helps you land a higher-paying job, let us know! Send us an email ➡️ hello@salarytransparentstreet.com
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