As a career coach, I often get questions about cover letters. The most common question people have may be your question as well:

How is a cover letter different from my résumé? 

While your résumé is a summary of your experience, your cover letter is intended to forge a connection between your experience and the advertised position. Your cover letter tells the person reading it that you are a potential fit for the job and piques their interest enough to read your résumé.

So how do you write an effective cover letter that creates this connection? I’ve narrowed it down to the following three tips for preparing a tailored cover letter every time you apply for a professional position.

Build a Cover Letter Template

If you’re applying for several positions, you’ll need an efficient method for creating cover letters. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with every submission. A cover letter template is your foundation for creating a customized letter with each application.

Start your template with a brainstorming session. Look over your résumé carefully, and write down noteworthy memories from your experience. In this exercise, you’re looking for the stories behind the summary. Here are a few examples:

• As summer camp director, I maintained 95% staff retention over a period of four years, which allowed us to redirect the hiring and training budget into a technology upgrade.

• As shift manager, I created a tracking log for cash register overages and shortages and developed targeted training modules to reduce incidents.

• As exhibit coordinator at the children’s museum, I developed age-specific curricula for the human heart installation that is still in use with field trip participants.

Where your résumé might say that you managed a staff of 15 employees as camp director, your cover letter explains your greatest accomplishment in that role and how it benefited the organization. What are you proud of, what did you learn, what did you change for the better? These are the items that will go into your template. Add as many details to this document as possible. You’ll tailor it to specific letters later. Finally, write general opening and closing paragraphs in your template so that all you need to do is fill in the details.

Read the Job Description

The key to writing an effective cover letter is convincing the reader that you are uniquely qualified to meet their needs. The best way to do this is to incorporate the job description into your cover letter. Don’t just read the job description, though. Research the company, review their LinkedIn profile, and read their mission statement and value proposition. 

Compare your template to the position being advertised and look for strengths and accomplishments that fit the description. Use examples from your history that show evidence of your ability to do the work. While you shouldn’t copy their bullet points into your cover letter, you can use similar language and reference their search criteria.

Many companies ask applicants to answer specific questions in their cover letter. This is a great screening technique for them. Applicants who don’t address the questions show that they do not pay attention to detail, and their résumés can be immediately discarded. Keep an eye out for these elements. Answer the questions thoughtfully and with examples if possible.

Write with Confidence and Enthusiasm

A cover letter is your message to a potential employer that you are capable and qualified to do the job they are advertising. When you highlight your experience and accomplishments, do so with pride. Don’t be afraid to share how you contributed to the success of an organization.

Your cover letter should give the impression that you are going after this position because it’s the one you really want. A half-hearted and formulaic letter that doesn’t match up with the job description tells hiring managers that this is the exact same letter you sent to 10 other companies. They want to see convincing evidence that you want to work there, so show that in the cover letter. Close your letter with an expectation of response. Let them know that you’re looking forward to an opportunity to interview. Closing on this positive note leaves the reviewer with a good impression that will help move your submission to the next level.

Above all, make sure that your cover letter is well-written with no grammatical or spelling errors. It is a good idea to have someone proofread your first few letters and offer feedback. If you’re struggling to find an impartial reviewer, or you need help identifying your strengths and accomplishments, schedule a call with me. Together, we can get you started on an effective cover letter that gets noticed.