Cover Letter Importance

by Sheila Curran, printed in Duke Magazine 

Question: 
How important is a cover letter when you’re applying for jobs? 

Answer:  Great question!  Sometimes cover letters are neither required, nor desired.  At other times, they are a prerequisite for getting your foot in the door.  How do you know what’s right for your particular situation, or even what’s required?

When companies are recruiting on line, or through their organization’s employment websites, they will often state that they don’t want cover letters (or more likely, don’t provide you with an opportunity to submit one).  In this case, it’s not worth your time trying to get additional information to the attention of the organization.  Companies engaged in this kind of recruiting are usually using electronic means to identify key skills or job titles.  You will get screened out unless your resume or application exactly matches the job qualifications.  The fact that you graduated from Duke and could do the job with your eyes closed is simply irrelevant.

Luckily, few companies rely exclusively on electronic resume review – particularly at higher levels.  Therefore, you will usually have an opportunity to submit a cover letter to make your case about why you should at least get a chance to interview.  No longer is a cover letter simply a letter that says that you’re applying for a specific job and you’re enclosing a resume.  It has become a critical part of your own personal marketing strategy.

So what makes a terrific cover letter? A quick search on Amazon.com reveals that there are 312 books that include cover letters in their title or content, so this column will just scratch the surface.  Essentially, a good cover letter has four parts:
•    What you’re applying for and how you found out about the position.
•    Why you want this job, at this time, in this organization
•    What you have to offer
•    Next steps, e.g., you’d like to set up a time for an interview; you’ll follow up; how they can contact you.
The most important thing to remember is the difference between a resume and a cover letter: a resume tells what you’ve accomplished; a cover letter connects what’s in your resume to the requirements of the job for which you’re applying and to your motivation for wanting that job.