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Cover letters are underutilized parts of job applications. The primary way that applicants fail to appropriately make use of their cover letter in a job application is by filling it with a summary of their resumes in narrative form. Fail.
Below are 3 elements that the best cover letters include. These elements do not mean that your letters should be scripted or formulaic—but they should cover the elements organically.
The best cover letters:
1. connect the dots on your resume.
Cover letters are a gift when you’re applying for jobs because it gives you the opportunity to explain the parts of your resume that may not flow so easily. Perhaps you have a gap in years worked, or you switched careers last year, or you are applying for a new role in your current field. Cover letters give you space to walk the reader through your resume. Take advantage of your chance of being your reader’s tour guide for the historic trajectory of your career.
2. infuse your application with passion.
Resumes don’t really have room for passion—even if you are very passionate about your work. That’s alright. Instead of cramming that passion awkwardly into role descriptions on your resume, write about it in narrative form in your cover letter. It may sound cheesy to write about your passion but when I’m reviewing applications it stands out—in a bad way—when someone with experience doesn’t offer any excitement for their work.
3. tell a story about your professional life that brought you to apply for this role.
Make sure your frame professional experiences in an easy to follow narrative. You could organize your cover letter chronologically—explaining what brought you to this work, what you’ve done in the field and why you’re applying for this role. Or you could reverse that—starting with your recent work and moving backwards. You could also focus the letter around a specific quality or responsibility and paint a picture of yourself as someone who exemplifies what they seek.