HIRING
The Best Cover Letter | Ever
Received
by David Silverman
JUNE 15,
009
In my last post | talked about how to make your résumé more likely to catch the attention of a
hiring manager. As a follow up, I'd like to discuss cover letters. Here’s my basic philosophy on
them: don’t bother.
‘That’s because the cover letters I see usually fall into one of three categories:
The recap: The résumé in prose form. It’s redundant, harder to read than the résumé, and
provides no additional insight.
The form letter: This says, essentially, “Dear Sir or Madam: I saw your ad in the paper and
thought you might like me.” And it’s clearly a form letter where maybe they got my name and
company right. If they’re lucky, I will still take the time to read their résumé after being insulted
with a form letter.
The “Pm crazy”: This one’s rare, and it expands on the résumé of experience with some personal
insights. Examples range from the merely batty (“I find batik as an art form has taught me to
become both a better person and project manager.”) to the truly terrifying (“I cast a pentagram
hex and the central line pointed towards your job listing. I know you will find this as comforting
as I do.”)
There are really only a few times to use a cover letter:
1. When you know the name of the person hiring
2. When you know something about the job requirement3. When you’ve been personally referred (which might include 1 and 2)
Under those conditions, you can help your cause by doing some of the résumé analysis for your
potential new boss. To illustrate, here’s the best cover letter I ever received:
Dear David:
am writing in response to the opening for xxxx, which I believe may report to you.
Ican offer you seven years of experience managing communications for top-tier xxxx firms,
excellent project-management skills, and a great eye for detail, all of which should make me
an ideal candidate for this opening.
Thave attached my résumé for your review and would welcome the chance to speak with
you sometime.
Best regards,
XXXX XXXX
Here’s what I like about this cover letter: It’s short. It sums up the résumé as it relates to the job. It
asks for the job.
The writer of this letter took the time to think through what would be relevant to me. Instead of
scattering lots of facts in hopes that one was relevant, the candidate offered up an opinion as to.
which experiences I should focus on.
And that means the writer isn’t just showing me skills related to the job, he’s showing me he'll be
the kind of employee who offers up solutions — instead of just laying problems on my desk.
What do you think? Have you ever secured a job thanks to a cover letter? What’s your view on the
value — or lack thereof — of cover letters?
This content was adapted for inclusion in the HBR Guide to Getting the Right Job.Editor’s note: For a different take on whether you need a cover letter and advice on how to write a
great one, read our Best Practice “How to Write a Cover Letter”
David Silverman has had
business writing professor, He is the author of Typo: The Last American Typesetter or How | Made
careers so far, including entrepreneur, executive, and
and Lost 4 Million Dollars and of the April 2011 HBR article, Synthesis: Constructive Confessions.
This article is about HIRING
@ Fouow tis toric
Related Topics:
BUSINESS WRITING | CAREER PLANNING
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12 COMMENTS
Erin Just 2 months ago
You know I call companies asking whom I should address my cover letter to. | get the "they can't release names
over the phone" or that's private information. There is no winning
REPLY oop
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