How I write cover letters

A friend who's job searching for developer jobs asked me recently:

"What points do you try to cover in your cover letters?"

Here are some of my main objectives with the cover letter.

What's the goal of it?

First, understand what the cover letter is doing for you.

Its goal is not to land you the job. Its purpose is to get you an interview. Approach writing one with that angle.

Network

Before even laying hands to the keyboard to write a cover letter at all, seek to network with someone to get a referral.

Probably 9 times out of 10, I don't need to write one because my referral or recruiter is my cover letter.

When seeking a referral

Make sure that:

1. They have a positive reputation (and some respect, gravity, and influence at the company never hurts)
2. They know enough about you to vouch for you (reach out to them for a quick call if you don't know them that well yet or haven't spoken with them in a while to talk about how you are qualified)

It's still usually a good idea to have a person to reference in the first section that you spoke to about the position. Having a positive existing relationship with someone that they know is a positive step to get what you want from the cover letter anyway -- your foot in the door for an interview.

Plus, they referred you, so you want them to be contacted and given credit for a kickback when you're hired. That's a great way to say "Thank you!", indirectly.

You're applying, so write a cover letter

If given the option to write the cover letter, write one.

Things I do:

• Match the title and contact info header from your resume

• Address the person by name (I like to show personality, so I use a waving emoji with my "Hey" but I understand if you want it to be professional)

NB A little hack I learned: call the HR contact person to find out who by full name reads the cover letters, find out insider information about the position, and let them know that you'll be applying. I cannot overstate this, but making contact with a human at the company and knowing them by full name, again, it increases your chances of getting your foot in the door.

• Mention your referral as I detailed above

• Explicitly mention the full title of the position with job id number if used and known (including whether its listing has a location, hybrid, or remote)

• Offer in one to three sentences max list why you want the role and/or why you're a good fit for the role with the value you bring to the company (specific team if known), especially if you can include things not already stated in your resume

• Have a line that says "Here's my qualifications:" (optional, but I always do this because it's great to demonstrate that you meet most if not all the qualifications)

• Share 5-10 bullets after that colon that goes line by line down the job description and tells them your passion for learning something, the number of years experience that you have with it, or detailed explanation of how you are qualified (again, optional, but I think it's helpful to tie things in here that aren't spelled out on your resume)

• Say thank you with a salutation

NB I've also literally stopped saying "Looking forward to talking with you soon". Instead, I have been referencing this article for months now, 7 Clever Alternatives to I Look Forward to Hearing from You.

• Add a P.S. that says "I'd welcome an opportunity to talk about what you have in mind for filling this position at [company name]. If you wish to schedule a video interview, I'm free at 3 p.m. Central each weekday the next couple of weeks and please email me at [your email]." (optional thing again get a feel of whether this is helpful for that company)

• Keep it short and concise (cut out optional bits if too long)

• Triple check for typos and grammar

• Ask a friend or family member to read it

• Save the letter as a PDF to fix the formatting in place

Things I don't do:

• Continue to apply without at least researching the company and trying to speak with someone about the company

• Forget to validate that it's a real position, at a real company, and that it's still open (how deflating to work up a cover letter and the role is closed)

• Reference the wrong job title and/or job id

• Misspell someone's name or the company's name

• Fail to demonstrate that you want the role with reasons

• Fail to thank them

• Have large blocks of text few will want to read that so bullets help here

• Forget to proofread

• Use an unprofessional sounding or off brand email

• Send a word document (Only send those to your 3rd party recruiiter)

Hope this helps you. I offer this entirely as my opinion from my experience, and I'm open to others thoughts. Please leave a comment with your feedback.