Since I have never really needed to write a cover letter before, I found this weeks readings very helpful. I know I probably would have ended up doing some of the things that the reading said not to do. The most important aspect about writing your cover letter, in my opinion, would be to make sure that you tailor your cover letter to the company you are applying to. If you know something about how the company works and the business ethic within the company than you can write your cover letter to accommodate these factors.
Another tip that was presented in the Junk Cover Letters Kill Good Resumes reading that I would probably have never considered was to make sure that you write your cover letter with a conversational tone. This makes perfect sense to me. As I was reading this section of the reading I tried to put myself into the position of someone that would be reading my cover letter. I do not think that I would like to read someone’s cover letter that is trying to sound superior, I guess. It just seems better to talk to a person like they are a person and not try to impress them with fancy words.
Another important aspect would be that you pretty much have to include some information about the company that you are applying to in your cover letter. This seems pretty obvious, but I could see it as something that would get left in the dust as you are working on the other parts of your resume and cover letter. All of these factors mean that you will most likely have to have multiple cover letters for all of the different companies that you will be applying to. To me this seems like a lot of work considering the fact that you don’t even know if your cover letter is going to be read, but you never know when your unique letter will catch the attention of a recruiter.
Including Information about the Company
You make a good point that it is important to include information about the company in your letter, but I think we have to be careful about how we do this. Personally, I think it should be done subtly, which is hard to do. I've seen a lot of cover letters that rattle off a bunch of statistics about how great the company is, which I think both contradicts the purpose of a cover letter and probably annoys the reader. The purpose of the cover letter is to demonstrate how you are qualified to work at the company and to expand on your resume – not to tell the company how great they are. The company knows about its achievements. I think a better way to include information about the company is to somehow mention that you are qualified to do something that they didn't ask for in the job description, but you know is important to their company (perhaps by looking at their web site or mission statement) or perhaps explain an interest in their products, etc.
Kristin
The Subtle Approach
Kristin, you are very much on to something important here. The distinction I would make is this: rather than having your knowledge of the company result only in explicit references in the content of the letter, you can allow your knowledge of the company to inform how you write the letter (what tone to use, what experiences to discuss, and what language to use).
Extra Mile
I also think it’s very important to go that extra mile and spend some time researching the company you’re applying to. I think it really stands out to someone reading your cover letter when they see that you’ve put in that extra effort. This also includes tailoring your document to include and focus in on any traits that the potential employer might have mentioned somewhere as desirable.
On top of this, I agree with the importance using a conversation tone. I think that if you use too formal of a tone it could make the letter seem very distant and disconnected. On the other hand, you don’t want to speak too casually, as you likely won’t be familiar with the individual reviewing your submission. There needs to be a reasonable balance.
worth the effort
I definitely have to agree with you that I think this is a lot of work for something that may not even be read. However even though it seems like a lot of work, but you are also right, you never know when it might be your cover letter that catches a recruiter's attention and gets you an interview or a job offer. So even if it seems like it may be a lot of work for nothing, if even one of the cover letters you write for a job application gets you a job, all the time spent will be worth the effort.
Patrick Griffin
pgriffin@purdue.edu
Human
“It just seems better to talk to a person like they are a person and not try to impress them with fancy words.” That is definitely what the person reading your cover letter, if it even get read, would want the letter to sound like. They know you want a job, so being human and genuine with your letter will probably make you stand out in the end. I do not think this need to be said but sound professional and avoid using slang when writing your cover letter. You never know if someone out there might need this advice drilled into their head one more time.
Jeff
company information
I like how you mentioned including information about the company. I think the reading even said something about mentioning your employers name. The counter point you make for this topic is very observant. Researching information about all the companies you apply for and finding logical ways to incorporate that in your cover letter is hard to get motivated to do if you have no idea if your cover letter is even being read. However, if you are applying for a job I would hope that you already have information about the company and incorporating that information will be important if you are going to cater your cover letters to the position you are applying for. I guess I would have to say if you put in the extra work here than that is a good representation of your future work ethic.