Cover Letter DON'Ts

I have been going back and forth on whether to write on the topic of cover letters and finally decided to pull the trigger. People need to know the truth about cover letters because I think there is a common misconception that the information in your cover letter should be the same as that in your resume. WRONG. Why would I need 2 documents that say the same thing?

Your cover letter is an opportunity for you to show some personality and tell me what I can't get from your resume. It is an opportunity to take your list of accomplishments (your resume) and make it more personal. I want to hear a story, your story, and how your story relates to my company and the position you are interested in. If you do this well, your cover letter can help you.

That being said, I need to tell you the truth. I only read about 5% of cover letters. To me, your resume gives me the overview of your career history I need and from there I can typically determine if I would consider you for a position at my company. On the rare occasion (about 5% of the time) I am on the fence. That is when I turn to the cover letter. If you don't have one, you go directly into the reject pile, so you should have a cover letter. If you tell a good story and don't make the common cover letter mistakes below, I will usually interview you.

In no particular order..

• DON'T  Use a Template to write your cover letter. Every cover letter should be written from scratch. If I can tell you cut and pasted my company's name and and job title to a generic cover letter... trash can, here you come. I want to know specifics of how your background relates to my company/job. I want to know you did your research and you bring something unique to the table. Stand out!
• DON'T  Write a novel. Like resumes, I get a ton. I need to be able to quickly and easily read your cover letter. Avoid writing lengthy paragraphs; boring! Short, sweet and to a unique point. Keep me interested throughout and I might actually read to the end... which leads into my next point
• DON'T  Waste your first paragraph by writing a boring introduction. Use the first paragraph to grab the my attention. Treat this like a press release, excite me from the beginning.
• DON'T Spell the name of the person you are addressing and/or the company you are interviewing for wrong. You would be surprised. I would say about 10% of people spelled Burson-Marsteller wrong and don't even get me started with Qorvis. There is no "U". Strange, I know, but it is very clear on our website that it doesn't exist. Quorvis = Trash. Oh, and my name is Jessica, not Jennifer. I know, confusing, they both start with a J.
• DON'T Address the cover letter "To Whom it May Concern". Guess what, it is 2010 and don't act like you have never stalked someone online. Find the appropriate persons name to address the letter. Look on the website or on LinkedIn, it is there. I also don't want to be called "Human Resources Personnel" Vomit!
• DON'T Wait for me to take action to get back to you. The cover letter is a good chance to request action. Request an interview, and tell the me when you will follow up, and then follow up. It shows initiative.
• DON'T Focus on what you want. By me receiving a resume and cover letter from you, I can pretty much figure out what you want. Use this chance to tell me the value you can bring to me and explain why I want you.
• DON'T Appear desperate. This is like dating. No one wants to date someone because they feel sorry for them. I don't want to hear how you lost your job or how you haven't heard back from many companies. If you are telling me that no one else has wanted to interview you, why would I?
• DON'T Have any grammatical mistakes - 1 grammatical mistake in a resume or cover letter and your candidacy was over before it even started. This is your first impression, take your time and make it good.

So all in all, impress me! Be smart, clever, funny, whatever shows me who you are. 95% of the time I won't actually find that out by reading your cover letter, but if I decide to read it, it is there and was written well.