GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS

A COVER LETTER BY ANY OTHER NAME STILL MATTERS

There was a time when the cover letter was held in high esteem. Typed or printed on quality paper, it was a tangible piece of the job-search, an 8.5-by-11inch hand extended to waiting HR personnel, stating: “This is who I am, and this is why you should hire me,” before giving the floor to its envelope-sharing companion, the resume.

Today? The cover letter has been reduced to a fill-in-the-blank box or an uploaded pdf, a digital pre-thought that’s undeserving of that last piece of 28 lb., white ivory parchment that’s been sitting in your desk drawer since 1996. But does that mean it’s no longer a player in the job-search process? Is it a relic best left in the past like the three-martini lunch, the gum-chewing receptionist and the oversized desk ashtray?

“Not quite yet,” says Michelle Byrd, a career coach in Albany, New York. “I try to convince my clients that the cover letter still counts, no matter the format. It may not be about the presentation these days, but it’s definitely about the words.”

Byrd says strong cover letters — she refers to them as “professional introductions” — are often used to vet candidates for qualifications, experience and past successes. “If you’re pasting words into a box online, those boxes are there for a reason,” Byrd says. “When you hit ‘enter,’ those words are going somewhere, and you’ll be judged and sorted by what they say.”

Although Byrd admits the HR bots are much more interested in your resume, they still chew through the words in your introduction. “If you’re applying for a large insurance company that competes with other large insurance companies, you’ll want to include the name of your previous employer in your cover letter,” she says. “It puts you in a different group than others right away.”

In some cases, the cover letter may be read by an actual person before your resume gets dissected by the company’s candidate-streamlining app. “I’ve talked to HR directors who choose to receive cover-letter info directly so they can quickly scan through the applicants to make sure the bots don’t miss a potential great hire,” Byrd says. “Bots are great for picking and choosing the right pool of candidates, but that doesn’t mean they’re infallible. Someone from HR can set up an email box or program that would allow a quick glance at the candidates.”

Your best stuff

If you’re serious about finding a job, you should be serious about selling yourself up front, says Jeff Thomas, a career coach in Baltimore who previously worked as a recruiter for Danaher Corporation and Georgetown University. “If a company offers a form or upload opportunity for a cover letter, take advantage of it,” says Thomas. “It’s not a throwaway if they’ve made it part of the application process. Recruiters with experience hiring strong candidates know that they can learn more about a candidate by reading how he or she presents himself than in an actual resume.”

While Thomas admits his advice may seem redundant, he explains that the cover letter is a personal greeting to a company while a resume is, by design, meant as a comparison tool. “Think of it this way: You go to a restaurant, sit at a table and order food without any interaction with someone from that restaurant — maybe from your phone or by checking off your selections on a piece of paper,” Thomas says. “Compare that to interacting with a waiter or manager or chef — someone who will come out to your table and give you a few tips about ordering or offer suggestions on the day’s specials. You’re still getting the same choices, it’s just that now, you have a guide. Someone is steering you in a certain direction.”

The cover letter, Thomas says, is that guide. “You can include ‘increased international sales for XYZ Company in your resume, but in a cover letter, you can say, ‘I read in Forbes that you’re looking to expand sales in Europe. I agree that it’s an untapped market, but it’s one where I’ve already achieved success, having increased XYZ Company’s sales in Germany, Italy and Spain by more than 30 percent.’”

Thomas says that a small mention of shared knowledge (the company’s desire to increase sales in Europe) along with an immediate solution (“I’m someone who has already done just that with another company”) can separate you from other candidates in a way your resume can’t.

“It’s about standing out,” says Thomas. “Anything you can do to separate yourself from the back is a big deal.”

Copy that

The cover letter can be repurposed to alert others within the company of your application. “If you know a manager or decision-maker in the department you’d like to join, or even someone with a dotted-line relationship to that department, you can revise your cover letter and send it to them as an email,” Byrd says. “It’s a great way to let someone know you’ve applied for a job and that you’re interested in a position. It’s an invitation to check out a potential new hire. That person may mention it to HR and ask them to keep an eye out for your name. It’s another way to break free from the other applicants, which is only way you’re going to get an interview.”

It’s possible to create two or three strong models and then personalize them for each opportunity. “But don’t forget,” says Thomas, “I can speak from experience. If someone mentions the wrong company in an email or in a cover letter — if it’s obvious they cut and pasted without bothering to do a quick proof — they’re not getting a callback.”

If you’re serious about finding a job, you should be serious about selling yourself up front — and that means constructing an excellent cover letter.