Hi guys! This is Cesc Derrill and welcome back to my newest article!
In one of my previous articles I went through how to produce a fresh and winning CV. But I never got to speak about her ugly stepsister (yes a CV is a she for me, girl please!). I am talking about the Cover Letter.
Is it necessary? Is it unnecessary? The answer is yes and yes.
When is a cover letter useful?
There are times in which you will be required to do a cover letter. In those cases there is no way around, just do it. But when is it really useful to do one? That is when you are applying to the company of your dreams (or sort of). I have previously recommended to make some extra effort for those companies you really want to work for. If you customise your CV you should add a cover letter, customised as well, otherwise it loses its point.
A cover letter is also useful when you are starting a career path for which you have limited experience. What a cover letter will allow you to do that a CV won’t is to go the extra mile and make it more personal. In a cover letter you are talking to the recruiter or company that you are sending your application to. This is specially useful when you have a knowledge gap, a CV won’t allow you to elaborate my dear.
Is a cover letter a guarantee of success? Absolutely no, but it will help improve your chances.
When is a cover letter useless?
When you want to find a job fast and do not care too much about the company.
As I said in the past if you want to find a job quickly you have to apply a lot and that means you will not have the time or the appetite to write a letter for each application.
To that you have to add that:
- Experience is more important.
- Not many recruiters read cover letters.
- Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) use mainly CVs
What should I include?
Ok, cover letters are a pain and mostly useless but the application is telling me I have to attach one… Ok, fine! If you need it girl I am here to help with the following tips.
Length: 3/4 side of an A4 page.
Content:
- Personal details
- Hiring manager’s name (if you have it otherwise address it to sir or madam)
- Name of the role and where you found the vacancy
- How you fulfil their requirements with evidence
- Closing statement with thanks
The key part, of course, is how you will fulfil the their requirements. Here is where you can easily pinpoint their requirements with your experience, achievements and qualifications as if it where a matching exercise. This will also give you the chance to explain the gaps and how you intend to compensate for them.
Farewell
Ok guys, this is it for now. As always, if you have any questions or comments so please leave them down below and I will try to answer you the best I can.
Have a lovely day and until the next article!