But, well, what if you don’t exactly have that perfectly trodden path?
For many of us, tying together three tangentially related experiences, a side gig, and some outside-of-work interests or volunteer work to explain why we could do the gig is more the norm. So, how exactly do you do that in a tidy one-page cover letter and thoughtfully showcase why you’re the right one for the position?
12 comments:
Writing a cover letter is, in my opinion the most daunting part of the application process… I never know where to start, and generally feel like a bumbling idiot while attempting to promote myself in essay form. This doesn't even start to address the ongoing internal battle I have with myself when sending out a resume, what the hell do I say in the email body that I don’t say anywhere else, is it like a mini-cover letter? The template outlined in the article does a fairly decent job at providing you with an idea of where to start. I’ve spent days trying to come up with a solution for a cover letter, now I might use this for a jumping off point, and as the author says…add some personality and creativity along the way. After all I think what the writer says about highlighting your transferable skills in relation to some of your past experiences is at least a better approach than listing your resume credits, that they’ll have seen on your resume already. My question is, who reads the cover letter and when? The average hiring member looks at a resume for what, 5-10 seconds…when would they take the time to read a full page letter?
I agree with joe that writing your cover letter is often the hardest part about applying for jobs. Youre trying to get across so many aspects of your personality and work ethic on a simple piece of paper, and if you screw it up, they might not even make it to your resume, which is often where you really shine. I think this article in particular has some good ideas about what to include in the letter, but i think it formats them in a very generic way. From what ive heard, you should try to make your cover letter really stand out from the rest of the pack, and I think the type they are suggesting is pretty lack luster.
I agree with Joe & Trent, the cover letter is the hardest part and takes the longest to write. The article provides some tips, but the format of it may be a little long. At the same time, they are looking for content, even if they don't read it, which is just dumb. I think cover letters make more sense when applying to something non-standard or applying in a non-standard way, such as getting an in through a connection. Lastly, like Trent said, generic formats is not the way to go if you want to be successful/get someone to look at your resume again and consider you for a job.
I had never written cover letter until a couple weeks ago. I had never applied to a job that required one before. I am applying to work as an intern at a strategic consulting firm. I talked to a lot of different people about the cover letter and what I was told by people in and out of the company was the same thing this article says. It’s about the transferable skills. They are not going to bother to figure out why what we do is actually stunningly similar to a lot of consulting. I was told to spell it out, to explain why working in theater gives me the skills to be a good consultant. I was completely stumped at first until I made my elevator pitch. I realized right afterwards that it was almost exactly what my cover letter needed to say Hi, I’m Isaac I want this position this is what I’ve done and here is how it applies (obviously a little more formal). I have been terrified of writing the letter this whole time and in the 3 hours it took me to work out my pitch I realized I had done both.
Obviously I have to agree with everyone else when saying that the cover letter is one of the most difficult parts of applying for a job. I'm sure it's because not only do you have to change it for every company you apply to, but you also have to make sure you write in a manner that conveys your personality. I personally think that the "template" that they provided will make the cover letter a little too cookie cutter like. A cover letter should be personal and show the employer who you are. A cover letter is a way for the one hiring you to figure out who exactly they are hiring and what they're like to work with.
Cover letters are not easy to write, they need to have so much in them in such a small space. It is overwhelming to sit down and think of what to write, how to write it and how long it is. Every person I have talked to about resumes says that if it isn't short sweet and to the point the employer won't even look at it. How can you put so much of yourself, skills and abilities into something that someone will want to take the time to sit down and read. This template definitely can help get you on the right path but you need to put some of yourself into it and something that sets you apart.
I think this is a really great way of thinking about writing a cover letter and I've used a similar approach several times. While the format itself may be a little generic, the framework is, at its heart, exactly what a cover letter should be. I've been the person to comb through resumes for (non-theatrical) job openings a couple of times in the past, and innovating a cover letter for the sake of being different is a personal pet peeve of mine. When I look at a cover letter, I'm looking for three things: whether the person can write coherently, whether they and their experiences seem genuine or inflated and whether they seem to be looking for something at all similar to what we're looking for in a candidate. For those three things, structuring a cover letter around the skills that you possess is really useful, because it shows a)that you have a firm enough grasp on writing to understand differences in structure, b) you're more than the job titles you've held, and you understand how to communicate that and c) whether you have skills that we want. These are are really important things to communicate if you ever find yourself trying to break into another industry, particularly one that with less standardized job descriptions than theatre.
I had a lot of trouble preparing my cover letter last year, but Dick was a great source of wisdom on the subject. However, It was specific to that job, which is a good thing, but I wan't to come up with a better format/template that I can continue to use and not have to completely overhaul between applications. With that in mind, I rad this article. It had some good information about not talking so much about jobs but about the experiences/skills you gained from them, but I didn't really like the ample letter at the bottom. It read very much like a formulaic cover letter. In the end that's what I hope to have, where I only need to add some information about the company, but I hope it doesn't sound repetitive within itself like the sample one did. Your cover letter is the first thing that most people who hire you see, and it's important to make sure it gives the impression that you want it to give. Also, I think it's really important to make sure that it matches your resume.
Sell yourself. That's the point of a cover letter right? To really share yourself with a potential employer and show that you really are the one for a job. I think that just spewing your employment history is actually the worst thing you could do in a cover letter. Your resume basically covers that for the most part. I think explaining relevant skills and experiences is definitely a great way to sell yourself. But you want them to be able to get a sense of who you are and how you would be right for the job. My one point of contention is the term transferable skills. I think the word he's going for is relevant skills. Skills you develop in one job and how they are relevant and useful in other. Transferable is also like leaving a self imposed blockage on a job. Things get lost in translation right?
The cover letter IS the most daunting part of the application process, as has been mentioned in previous comments. It is often the reason I procrastinate on employment materials. It's not necessarily that I feel like an idiot, I'm confident that I can express what I mean in an articulate way. However, I constantly worry that my letter isn't going to be what an employer is looking for. Too long, too short, too pretentious, too casual. Everyone you talk to will tell you this letter should be, do, or include something different. So then, each employer will probably believe something different as well. I want to stand out, but not in a bad way. It's not easy to find something that sets you apart, but not too far apart, from the other qualified applicants.
I really hate writing cover letters. There is so much you have to convey to a potential employer and you only have a page to do it. I think that this format is a good start. It includes all of the necessary information as well as room to show your dedication, passion and discipline, but it needs personality. I find that this is the hardest part of writing a cover letter because you have to find a balance between sounding professional and knowledgeable as well as personable and a good edition to the social environment at their company.
I think this is a good advice for people who are looking for a guideline on "How To Write Cover a Letter" It's a good exercise. Still, me personally think that after practicing and following this template for a while you should stop and trying to come up with something that is new and original. I mean, if you are a person who received hundreds and thousands of application packages everyday, you may look for something that is stands out or maybe I should say "Not Boring" (unless for some career fields or company, or even in some country, where you need to write it as the template suggest, that's another case). Try to come up with something that is not too much stands out, but represents you and have all important information without looking like you are giving them a novel, I think that is what a cover letter should be.
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