FranklinCovey Blog

Tips For Writing Great Cover Letters

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 | FranklinCovey News, Great Work, Great Career | 3 Comments

I’ve been asked, “Isn’t it a waste of time to write a cover letter for every resume I send out?”  My answer is:  Only if you want to get a job.

The purpose of a resume is to obtain an interview, to start a conversation with the employer. Your cover letter is your opportunity to begin that conversation.  To say, “Hi, here’s why you should talk with me.” 

The worst thing you can do is write a “one size fits all” cover letter.  Just like your resume, you need to target your cover letter to the specific needs and values of the prospective employer.  Ideally, your cover letter is a one-page proposal to fill an important business need at your target employer.  This will require you to research your target employer—on the web, by asking if anyone knows anyone who works there, by reading blogs that mention the employer.  Your cover letter should include four things:

 

  1. Start by summing up the problem or opportunity your target employer faces and describe how you plan to help solve it. Use numbers that are meaningful to the organization.
  2. Give evidence that you can solve the problem and, if applicable, that you have solved one like it in the past.  That evidence could include work and educational accomplishments—facts that would lead your prospect to conclude you’re right for the challenge.
  3. Provide contact information.
  4.  Request a meeting.

What tips have you used when writing cover letters? I would love to hear from you.

Author: Jennifer Colosimo, Chief Learning Officer at FranklinCovey

You can also follow Jennifer on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jencolosimo

3 Comments to Tips For Writing Great Cover Letters

Ashley
January 19, 2010

A couple items I would add :
- After requesting a meeting, give a specific day that you will call to follow up – then follow through! Even if you don’t speak directly to the hiring manager, you’ll make an impression on someone. Don’t say “Please call me if you’d like to schedule an interview” or “I look forward to hearing from you.” Take responsibility for the next step at every point.

- Find a specific person to target your resume and cover letter to, when possible and appropriate. It isn’t always the right course of action, as you need to show you can follow directions, but when you know it is a local office that is hiring and you can find out the hiring manager’s contact information, why not also send them a resume packet specifically addressed to them? They may be impressed enough with your effort to request that HR bring you in for next steps. Don’t be a creepy stalker about it, but the closer you can get to the decision-maker, the closer you are to a job.
- Be passionate about the places you’re applying when at all possible. It makes a difference.

I learned these tips from 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller, and that book changed my life more than I ever thought it would. I didn’t even like the book much after reading it; I was a skeptic! However, I used the techniques to pursue a job at a company I was excited about, and things have gone better than I ever expected. It was almost comical how well it worked.

David
January 20, 2010

@Ashley; that book (48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller) looks interesting, and it seems to have a lot of religious/spiritual overtones as well. Would you recommend it even to someone who is leaning more agnostic/not Christian? I wouldn’t want to rule it out because of the references, though on the other hand I wouldn’t want to feel alienated because of a religious perspective.
http://www.48days.com/products/seminarGroup.php

Jennifer Colosimo
March 18, 2010

Ashley, Thanks for your comments! Really great advice. David, if you check out the book let me know if you recommend it.

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