How to Write a Great Cover Letter, Necessary or Not

How to Write a Great Cover Letter, Necessary or Not How to Write a Great Cover Letter, Necessary or Not Are cover letters actually necessary?Applicants dont know. Recruiters dont care. And hiring managers? Well, theyseem to be divided on the issue.But lets assume for a moment that you should, forany position towhich you are applying, include a cover letter. If that letter is read by your future boss, what should it say?For starters, it shouldnt look anything likethese three scary examples from David Silverman over at Harvard Business ReviewThe recap The resume in prose gestalt. Its redundant, harder to read than the resume, 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 its clearly a form letter where maybe they got my name and company right. If theyre lucky, I will still take the time to read their resume after being insulted with a form letter.The Im crazy This ones rare, a nd it expands on the resume 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 is a 17 percent chance a hiring manager will read your cover letter. With one minute and one page, a candidate can make or break their chances of landing the job. Heres how to aceyour cover letter, in case the hiring manager decides to read itKeep It ShortCover letters should take no longer than a minute to read. Dont write a story. The hiring manager doesnt care about your childhood dreams or the death of the family dog.Leaders are busy people dont burden them with wordy cover letters. Many applicants think that if they write long cover lettersor use a lot of $10 master of business administration words, a leader will be impress ed. They wont. If there is a shorter way to write it, do it.As for what youshould include a personalized greeting (To Whom It May Concern is gross), your professional skills, and why you are a good fit for the company. If there is room, point out why the company is a good fit for your dreams. As the head of an agency that works exclusively with HR technology, Id like to know if thats something that my applicants actually care about.Do What I SayFollow tradition and directions. Paper copies andWord documents aretraditional, but email is far more popular in todays marketplace. If someone sent me a paper resume, Id know immediately that they werent a fit for Red Branch Media. Conversely, someone who sees my job posting and applies solely via Facebook instead of my career site is elend going to be considered either.Read the application to see whether the hiring manager prefers an email cover letter or some otherform. Leaders notice if a candidate doesnt follow directions. The result a q uick rejection.Pay AttentionHiring managers look for reasons to disqualify applicants quickly. They receive a lot of applications (an average of 250 resumes for every corporate opening), and they cant possibly give them all the same amount of attention. So, they try to knock candidates out of the running as soonas they can.Phrases like the aforementioned to whom it may concern and the reason I left are ways candidates eliminate themselves from the race. HR departments in large companiesdont have time for candidates who dont at least personalize the salutation.As Ash Arnett of musicians PR firm PARTICULAR explained to Smashing Magazine, We trash generic inquiries (i.e. form letters) automatically. If you dont care to put in a little effort to tailor your communication to my company I sure dont care to read it.ProofreadTypos, like generic statements, will automatically disqualify you from the candidate pool. Seventy-six percent of hiring managers will not look beyond the cover letter if they find typos or grammatical errors. These red flags lead the hiring manager to think the candidate does not pay attention to detail or simply didnt care enough to edit. Neither of those aresought-after qualities in an employee.Give It a LittlePersonalityA well-written cover letter gives yourresume some context. Leaders want clear and concise language. They want to know why a particular candidate wants to work for the company and why they are a good fit for the position.Janet Albert of executive search firm Bridge Partners says, The best cover letterslet a bit of personality shine through, without being over the top but you really want to stick with how your experience lends itself to the job youre applying for.Cover letters open the door for candidates. Leaders want to see thoughtfully written cover letters. This means covering all the bases as seen above while remembering that despite all your hard work, a leader may never take the time to read your letter. However, the one s who dowill be very impressedA version of this article originally appeared on TalentCulture.Maren Hogan is thechief marketing brain atRed Branch Media.Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pace during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recruiters who want to further their career.