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Write an Amazing Cover Letter: 3 Golden Rules (Template included) - YouTube
Channel: Jeff Su
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- When it comes to landing
a first round interview,
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your resume might be more
important than a cover letter
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in all ways but one.
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A good cover letter evokes
emotion in the reader.
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Something even the best resume cannot do.
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So in this video, I'm gonna
show you the three key things
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my friend Amanda did in her cover letter
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that ultimately landed her multiple offers
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in management consulting firms
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and bulge bracket investment banks.
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And make sure to stay to the very end
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for our cover letter formatting power tip
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that I promise you've
never heard of before.
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Let's get started.
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Hi, friends. Welcome back to the channel.
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Before you even begin to
write the cover letter
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for a full-time job or
internship application,
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you might be wondering,
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is it even necessary?
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And the answer is always
gonna be the same.
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A good one won't guarantee you the job,
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but a bad one will ensure
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you don't even get the
first round interview.
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So let's break down the three things
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this cover letter got right.
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Number one, and this is
the most important tip,
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hook the reader in
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by mentioning a connection
with the company.
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If you do this right,
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it'll keep them reading
past the first paragraph
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and onto why you should have this position
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over the other applicants.
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Let's take a look at what
Amanda did in her example.
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"Everyone tells me the
entry-level consultant position
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in any of the Big 4 firms
is gonna be the same.
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However, after attending five career fairs
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and speaking with over 20 professionals,
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it has become clear to me EY
stands out from the rest."
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Let's pause right here.
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In this one sentence,
Amanda does three things.
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She first hooks the reader in
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by mentioning a common perception
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about the consulting industry
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that all entry-level
positions are the same.
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Then immediately contradicting
that very statement.
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Then she shows she's very proactive
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since she's been attending career fairs.
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And finally, she makes it clear
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that something about Ernst and Young,
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something about EY stands out to her.
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Aren't you just a tiny bit
curious as to what that is?
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In order for you to replicate
what Amanda has done here
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with her cover letter hook,
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there's no way around
doing some actual research.
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Number one, speak with a minimum
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of three industry professionals
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and ask them targeted questions
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designed to provide you
with specific insight
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into that role and industry.
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I've made an entire video
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on the best informational
interview questions to ask
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doing coffee chats.
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I'll link that up here and down below.
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But in a nutshell,
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you wanna stay away from
asking generic questions like,
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"Tell me about your day to day"
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and instead, reword
that to something like,
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"What do you find most rewarding
about your current role?"
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By making sales tweaks like this,
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you prompt the professional
to tell you concrete examples
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that you can use in your cover letter
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which in turn shows a recruiter,
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without a shadow of a doubt,
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you've clearly done your homework.
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Number two, if you're applying for roles
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where a software product is involved,
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such as Google ads, Facebook ads,
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Office 365, Amazon AWS, Salesforce CRM,
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you want to go to a website
such as G2 and Capterra
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to get a firsthand look
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at customer testimonials and reviews
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since this will help you get
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a basic understanding of the product
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in a very short amount of time.
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Final tip is to remember
the connection you mentioned
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has to be relatable with the reader
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who is oftentimes the
recruiter or hiring manager.
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If you're applying for
a position in Apple,
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probably don't say how
you're gonna come up
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with the next big iPhone idea
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and instead, perhaps bring
up their emphasis on privacy
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and how that's impacting
the advertising industry.
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And for all the fresh grads out there,
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the less qualified you
are for the position,
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the more important this first paragraph.
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You need to convince the hiring manager
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that your motivation,
energy, willingness to learn
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will make you a stronger
addition to the team
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than someone who might
have a bit more experience
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but fail to be interesting
in their cover letter.
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Okay, I spent a lot of
time on this first tip
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because if you don't get this right,
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none of other stuff matters
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because they're not gonna keep reading.
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Let me know down in the
comments section below
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what roles you're applying for,
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and maybe I can reply
with some hook ideas.
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Cover letter tip number two,
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be purposeful about the
information you include.
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Put another way, each
paragraph in your cover letter,
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or rather each sentence,
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should have a reason for being there.
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In Amanda's cover letter,
there are no wasted words.
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The first paragraph hooks the reader in
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and the second paragraph
expands on that hook.
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Too often, candidates start
off their cover letters
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by saying, "Hi, my name is John.
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I currently work here and I'm
applying for this position."
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Amanda skipped all that
because she realized
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her resume and online application
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already told the recruiter
all that information.
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And the focus of the cover letter
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should be on why she, in particular,
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should be considered for
a first round interview.
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In our third and fourth paragraphs,
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Amanda highlights relevant achievements
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that tie into the responsibilities
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of the role she's applying for.
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She spent two summers interning
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in management consulting firms
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and worked on a $2 million project.
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She developed problem solving
and project management skills.
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And she received recognition
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for always being on top of deadlines.
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She could have bought
up leadership skills,
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how amazing she is a PowerPoint,
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or a strong background in data analytics.
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But she knows to focus on
the most important factors
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the recruiter for this
role is looking for.
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Deal size, project management
skills, and reliability.
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The last paragraph can
be a bit more generic
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since usually you end the cover letter
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by thanking the reader for his or her time
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and reinforcing your strong
desire to join their company.
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Amanda adds a little
bit of personality here
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by mentioning again, she has
relevant work experience,
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differentiating her from
the other applicants
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and emphasizing her project
management abilities,
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a core skill of any capable consultant.
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Also, pro-tip.
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I just love how she uses
the word "asset" here.
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Not too cocky, not too modest, just right.
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Cover letter tip number three.
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Use a simple template and
pay attention to white space.
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Just take a look at
these two cover letters.
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Putting the formatting aside,
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which one do you
instinctively prefer to read?
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Probably this one,
especially if this person
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was able to include all
the important information
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in a concise and structured way.
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I especially like how the
name and address section
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is in a separate column,
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meaning you don't have too
much awkward white space.
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And if you saw my resume video,
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you know that I really
like having colored accents
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to give your cover letter
a bit more personality
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while retaining that overall
professional look and feel.
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And many of you might not know this,
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but including a relevant job
title right below your name
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is beneficial since your cover letter
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is usually scanned by
robots when you upload it
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and then look for these keywords.
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Finally, and here's my biggest power tip
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when it comes to cover letter formatting.
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You might notice the first letter
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up top in the header here
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are two sizes larger than the rest.
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This is by design.
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So let's bring this back
up to the same size.
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It's 26.
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Highlight the letters after the first one,
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press command + shift + comma twice
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to make it two sizes smaller.
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And now, you're left with a rather unique
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yet professional-looking
header for your cover letter.
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To reward those of you who
have stuck around until now,
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here's a link to download
this exact template
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so you can reference it
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when you're writing your
own amazing cover letter.
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So circling back to the emotion aspect
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I mentioned at the beginning of the video.
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After reading this cover letter,
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the recruiter might come to the conclusion
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that Amanda is witty,
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she has a relevant
skillset, and she's driven.
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All of which means that at least
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a first round interview is warranted.
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As a next step, make sure
to check out my video
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on how to write an incredible resume.
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And if you're interviewing right now,
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make sure to check out this playlist
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on common interview questions and answers.
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See you on the next video.
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And in the meantime,
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have a great one.
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