Cover letters to me seemed very insignificant. I assumed my resume would suffice no matter what job or organization I applied to. They had to know if I was qualified and had the kind of work experience they were looking for before they hired me. The resume outlined my entire career path in one page what more would anyone need? After attending the Rose seminar on personal statements and cover letters I understood that the cover letter is the key to getting my resume to the recruiter.
The development of technology led to many great things and the automation of many jobs that were previously carried out by humans. Similarly, I discovered at the seminar that in the recruitment process the first screening an applicant gets is a computer software. This software screens all cover letters for the “key words or terms” that the organization is looking for in all applicants before the resume is screened by the recruiter. Therefore, the cover letter is extremely important to get your resume screened by the recruiter.
After discovering the importance of a cover letter my next problem was what is the art of writing a cover letter? Is it like an essay version of your resume or is it just stating why you are applying for a specific position Dr. Hill provided us with one piece of advice that is crucial to writing all cover letters. Find a story about yourself or a ‘hook’ that relates to why you are applying to do what you want. Mention this hook and then go on to explain what drives or motivates you to apply to this particular position and then connect this story or hook that wraps your entire cover letter up into a nice story. This style of writing seems to be effective since it draws the reader in and it helps to make your cover letter stand out against all the other applicants. What it should definitely not do is mention all the things in your resume. It should clearly state what motivates and drives you and what you want to accomplish not what you “think” you’ll accomplish.
In conclusion, there are definitely many ways to writing a letter. However, since the cover letter is very crucial in the application process find a way to make it unique and effective and most importantly include the key words and terms that the position you are applying is looking for.