Once the star of the job application show, the cover letter is in an interesting place right now. For every manager or recruiter who swears by them and insists they’re a make-or-break aspect of hiring people, you'll find equally as many people claiming cover letters are an outdated convention, hiring managers rarely read them and they’re pointless to submit.
So, what’s a job seeker to do? As a career coach, I believe the answer lies somewhere in the middle — and that you should generally let the specific requirements of each job advertisement guide your strategy. If a job application doesn’t require a cover letter, chances are the hiring manager won’t read it, so you’re better off spending your time customizing your resume. However, for the many companies that DO require a cover letter, putting together a powerful, authentic and engaging document can make a huge difference.
If you’ve got an exciting new job opportunity in your sights and need to submit a cover letter, don’t stress — you’ve got this. Here are a few tips to help you craft one that reflects your strengths, takes a creative risk, tells a story and sets you apart from the AI-generated pack.
1. Don't Rehash Your Resume — Add Value
Thanks to AI or simply good old-fashioned laziness, many job hunters fall back on just regurgitating the same information already contained on their resume in their cover letter. To them, it’s simply a "chore" to plow through. Or they rely on tools like ChatGPT without realizing that AI merely summarizes the information it receives and doesn't add any new, interesting or creative content.
As a result, the first thing you should concentrate on when writing a cover letter is to answer the question, "What new information can I share with the reader regarding my fit with this job that they won't already see on the resume I 'm submitting?"
For example, you might mention some specific experience you have in using the employer's products and services, your connection with people working there or a recent development at the company your research has uncovered.
You can also call attention to a skill you have the company requires, such as specific advanced features of Microsoft Excel you've used to date — and the types of projects you've used Excel to work on — versus just claiming general Excel proficiency, as is typical on a resume.
2. Show Passion
Another surefire way to get hiring managers to notice you is to explain WHY you enjoy your field and why you’d be highly motivated to take on the challenges in your new position. Again, while AI tools throw words like "passion" around willy-nilly, they can't get to the heart of where one's passion derives from or state anything authentic about what might drive a person to excel in their field.
As a result, when writing your cover letters, you should include a few sentences explaining why the position in question is well-aligned with your current career goals, represents the type of challenge and growth you're after and stands out from other opportunities. If you're sincere, the reader should be able to tell, and you'll get extra brownie points as a result.
3. Get Personal (Sort Of)
We're also seeing a shift toward companies preferring cover letters that are more informal, candid and written in more down-to-earth language. Again, I believe this is due to the growing dominance of AI-fueled letters that are too perfect and stiffly professional.
Unless you're working in a formal industry, such as the legal field, I'd encourage you to let your creative juices flow. Replace your old stuffy letters with new documents that reflect how you talk. And don't be afraid to weave in some interesting themes, humor or trivia about your background and qualifications.
Sure, there's a line you don't want to cross in terms of knock-knock jokes and such, so be wary of it. But I've had multiple clients tell me that the first question an interviewer asked them related to a personal detail they shared in a letter, such as their lifelong obsession with Dungeons & Dragons or their role as an independent movie reviewer for the local newspaper.
This approach contrasts to a certain extent with the old days, when career experts advised people only to share information that was directly relevant to the job at hand. In today's world, however, I think the sands have shifted, and in the sea of qualified candidates, coming across as a "human being" rather than a "human doing" can make an indelible impression.
4. Address Potential Weaknesses
Another possible angle to work into a cover letter? You might directly address any potential weaknesses you have as a candidate and start laying the groundwork to change the interviewer's perception of these issues.
For example, if you haven't worked in the employer's exact industry, you might draw interesting and little-known parallels between their field and the ones you've worked in to date. Or suppose you never had the chance to complete an undergraduate degree. In that case, you might call out the reasons for not doing so and emphasize that you've committed to lifelong learning ever since — outlining a series of training, certifications or self-study activities you engage in to stay current in your field.
Along these lines, I recently had a client who wanted to shift from being a safety executive in the cruise industry to a safety leader in the high-tech field. On the surface, many tech company recruiters might gloss over somebody with such a background, thinking that maritime experience doesn’t relate to the demands of their field.
However, my client used his cover letter to explain that modern cruise ships are complex engineering feats — and essentially are "floating cities" that include state-of-the-art computing, engineering, navigation and communications systems. With this branding strategy, which he reinforced during the interview process, he was able to overcome the employer's concerns and help them see the relevant connection.
In closing, it’s worth noting that there will be cases where a cover letter is neither needed nor wanted by a given company, particularly among many large, well-known employers. But for many smaller organizations, cover letters still play a vital role in setting yourself apart. In such situations, I encourage you to go big or go home. Be fearless, take some risks and put some deep thought into crafting a letter that will enhance your resume rather than merely repeat it!