Whaddaya hear, whaddaya say? Welcome to episode 6 of the Career Consigliere podcast, your no frills, no BS forum for navigating the corporate job scene. Jimmy with you, for what we hope to be a highly informative and engaging half an hour, or so! Today, we devote the entire episode to cover letters: and, by looking at the episode title, you’ve probably already surmised how I feel about them. We’ll cover some history and theory on cover letters, and talk about why they’re becoming increasingly useless today. But, as with all rules there are exceptions, so we’ll also discuss situations when you might still need them, and how to go about setting them up if that happens to be the case. So if you’re ready podcast land, letttsssss get it!
Anybody that’s ever applied for a job has heard reference made to a cover letter. What actually is a cover letter, you ask? Let’s rewind the clock back to the days of doo wop and drive-ins. Yes, cover letters go back to 1956, when the New York Times featured a job posting for Dutch Boy paints, who was looking for an industrial paint chemist. Any interested takers were instructed to mail in their resume and a “cover letter” to summarize their candidacy. Makes total sense when you think about it. Back then, did Ralph Cramden scroll through Facebook to pass time when he was sitting at red lights on the bus? Did Lucy McGillicuddy post risqué selfies on Instagram to make Ricky Jealous when he did something to piss her off? Did the average 6th grader take to Twitter to start nasty rumors about Mrs. Smith when she gave too much homework? None of the above: why? None of this was possible yet. Even though the physical universe was the same back then, the technology simply didn’t exist.
So back in the 50s, the only way to apply for a job was good old-fashioned pen and paper. You’d mail in your resume hard copy in response to an ad, usually in a newspaper just like in the Dutch Boy example. But if all you did was send your resume, how would the recipient know what it was in response to? How would it get routed to the right person? And there’s the million-dollar answer: you had to write a LETTER to preface your application – a COVER LETTER – to set the stage for what this otherwise strange package in the mail was.
Fast forward nearly 70 years to today. With few exceptions, almost every job application is done online. There’s a posting that clearly outlines what the job is, and you add all your information in direct response to it, leaving very little opportunity for confusion. So with that in mind, what functional purpose does a cover letter serve? If you ask me, practically none. We don’t need to explain who we are anymore, since our name and information is all over the application form. We don’t need to summarize our skills and experience either, because our resume (if written properly) does all that already. Now, if you ask Linked-In, they’ll tell you that as many as 60% of companies still require cover letters from job applicants (this comes from an August 2023 article). I’m not sure where Linked-In gets their data, but what I’ve seen myself and heard from clients in corporatopia suggests that the real number is probably less than 20%. Sure, it could always vary by job type, by industry, and other variables, but even if 60% is accurate, I would expect that to fall off a cliff in the next few years. Feel free to share in the comments on this – I’d be curious to hear what all of you have been seeing out there in recent times.
Now why do I say all this? Aside from not being practical in the digital age, why else are cover letters so rapidly falling out of style? If you ask me, it’s a matter of information overload. I don’t mean to keep milking this cliche, but think about the last job you applied to. Based on the norms, there were probably at least 250 other people just like you also applying (and in many cases, way more!). And from earlier episodes we know all about ATS, and the shortcuts these companies take to weed people out and narrow down the applicant pool. But even with tools designed to simplify things, people working in talent acquisition are some of the busiest in the corporate world. And do busy people, who are used to skimming for the nuts and bolts, really want to read a personalized diary entry from you? I know plenty of compassionate recruiters, but with the sheer volume of stuff they have to process day in/day out, they simply don’t have the time. Our world becomes more and more fast-paced by the day, and the concept and basis of “the cover letter” is simply no longer valid in today’s job market.
Now for a figure like 60% to still exist in recent print, what ARE some of those situations where they might still be required? Well, for one, any job that explicitly tells you to apply by mail is probably still a good use case for a cover letter. Why? Well when we apply by mail, all of a sudden the clock turns back to 1956, the Honeymooners magically show up on the TV screen, and we all suddenly have the urge to lace up our roller skates, throw on Jailhouse Rock, and eat a hamburger out by the Studebaker. If asked to apply by mail, the recipient will (once again) have no way of knowing who we are or why we’re mailing our resume in without spelling it all out in letter format. If you look through newspapers, especially local community bulletins, you’ll see ads in the classifieds for what would historically be considered “blue collar jobs” (drivers, contractors, technicians, etc.), and that’s when you’ll usually be explicitly asked for a cover letter to go along with your resume.
Another very legitimate use case for a cover letter is during a career transition. Let’s say you’ve spent the first half of your working years as a teacher, but somehow you discovered that you really enjoy architecture and want to make the switch into that. You’re probably not going to have a ton of relevant stuff to include on your resume, which means you won’t stand out much next to far more qualified candidates whose resumes will be loaded with way more competitive experience. A situation like that is when we resort to guerilla tactics, and a cover letter is your best weapon in a situation like that. That’s when you’ll want to tell a convincing personal story and really showcase your passion as the angle to make yourself a competitive candidate. I’ll say this: that’s a whole separate can of worms and this episode isn’t the place for it – a private consult is the way to go there, so if that’s where you’re at let me know and we can definitely set up time to talk more. But for now, just be aware that cover letters, while usually not very meaningful for the run-of-the-mill corporate applicant, CAN be a very effective tool in any special case situations like this.
Now, regardless of what color your “collar” is, or wherever you happen to be with your career, anytime you’re explicitly asked to include a cover letter, you absolutely should. In fact, especially when you’re applying online, usually the cover letter upload field will be required and you won’t physically be able to progress further with the application until you upload one. But don’t just upload some BS filler document either – no shenanigans here. I’ve seen people upload blank pages, pictures of themselves making dumb faces, and handwritten notes in purple crayon that say “Me gusta los pancakes” – that’s a true story. Real simple: If asked, do the work and upload a legitimate cover letter. Let’s talk now about what this looks like.
Again, everything we’re about to cover assumes that....
- You’re “qualified”, at least on paper, for the job you’re applying to -AND-
- You’re applying online, whether through a third party like Linked-In/Indeed, or directly through the company’s portal
You start, as any letter would, with a greeting. Unless you know specifically who the hiring manager is for that particular role, “Dear Recruiter”, “Dear Hiring Manager”, or even the old “To whom it may concern” are absolutely fine. Then, you go into the first component, which I call stating the obvious. You can say something like “I’m writing to express my interest in the (insert job title here) position with (insert name of company). I usually finish this off with something positive like “I am very excited at the possibility of joining a reputable organization in such a thriving industry”
The next paragraph begins what I call the qualification. This explains two things: the first is how your academic experience gives you a “strong theoretical background this type of role”. It should also state how your work experience to date gives you a substantial amount of meaningful experience in whatever discipline it happens to be, and you feel that your experience prepares you for all the challenges and tribulations that await you in this potential new job.
Now! The most important part of the whole damn letter! At the end of this paragraph, include a sentence that says “the attached resume outlines my professional background in greater detail”. This here is the big qualifier – the fact that your resume is attached elsewhere on the application is what lets you get away with using a very general cover letter like this. You’ve fulfilled the requirement of including the letter, and you’ve also done the recipient a courtesy by essentially letting them know “hey! I know you have zero freaking interest in reading this letter, so I wasted as little of your time as possible, while still doing what you asked for!” In most cases, if they read the letter at all, they’ll appreciate it.
Finally, your cover letter ends with a final paragraph called The Signoff. This does two things. For one, it reiterates how your education and experience would make you an asset to whatever organization you’re applying to. Finally, it ends with a call to action, asking the recipient to please contact you if they have any questions or need additional information. Yes, they’ll do this with our without your permission, but it’s really just a polite formality above all else. Thank them for their time and consideration, and you’re done! If you want to see what this looks like living and breathing, I have an example on my website. So head over there and check it out – as always, I’ll give you the URL and all the information in the outro segment at the end of the episode. For now, let’s wrap up this crash course on cover letters with today’s..........Consigliere call to action.
We learned today that cover letters, by and large, are from another era. They come from a time when the postal service was king, and formal written communication was the societal norm......take a look at social media and tell me how today’s world regards formal communication: need we say more? What does this mean for the modern corporate jobseeker of today? Assuming you’re a standard applicant, you’re applying online, and making a competitive run at a job you’re qualified for, I say don’t even bother including a cover letter unless you’re explicitly asked to do so. You’re too busy to write it, the recruiter is WAY too busy to actually read it, and for the most part, they accomplish a whole bunch of nothing in today’s day and age. The exceptions here would be anyone answering a job ad in a print periodical (yes they still exist), or anyone going through a significant career transition who needs to really explain themselves. But for the most part, if you CAN afford to skip it, it shouldn’t bear much impact on your outcome.
However, if you ARE in a situation where you DO need to write one, follow the simple Consigliere formula:
- The greeting
- Stating the obvious
- The Qualification -AND-
- The Signoff
In most cases, this template can be used for virtually any job you apply for, and all you have to do is change the date, the name of the role, and the name of the company. I recommend saving a generic template and keeping those key elements highlighted in yellow. Then, as you change it for each job you apply to, everything stands out as clear as the Arizona sky, and you can usually make the changes in less than a minute.
And just to throw in a wild card on all this: if you’re feeling really ambitious and REALLY have an untamed, burning desire for the job you’re applying for, there’s a little bonus trick that’s actually worked for me personally in the past. Go on Linked-In, and do a people search for the name of the company and position you’re applying to. You’ll get a bunch of hits, but use your detective skills to find the person that you think is most likely to be the hiring manager for that particular job. Let’s say you’re applying for a role as “Manager of Corporate Events”, then chances are someone listed as “Director” or “Vice President” somewhere in the marketing or public relations department is probably the right person, or would at least know who is.
Then, if the company has a brick-and-mortar facility and you’re confident that person is based out of there, google the address (you should be able to find it). At that point, print out your resume and cover letter hard-copy, and mail it to that person’s attention at the address you found. I’ve literally done this myself in the past, and have actually had high-ranking executives literally call my cell phone. It hasn’t always worked out, but there were a few who called me just to say “wow! I haven’t seen anyone do that since the 90s....I’ll definitely make sure the hiring manager gets this!”.
Why would I contradict myself and recommend actually performing such an antiquated practice? Because why not? What’s the worst that happens? You spent less than $2 on postage and supplies to mail it out, and maybe you don’t hear anything, but maybe you do! I promise, the job police aren’t going to show up at your house to prosecute you for coloring outside the lines. And I can ASSURE you this: NOBODY else is doing that, so why not give yourself every competitive edge you can get? Ill admit that it is time consuming and inefficient, so only do it for a job you really want, but hey, you never know!
Sadly folks, that’s all the time we have for today. But have no fears, and shed no tears, because I’ll be back with a new episode every week. As they say in the industry, no listeners, no show, so do me a favor and stay loyal! If you find value in my content, please leave me a nice review, tell all your friends, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and follow on whatever platform you use to get your podcasts. Beyond the confines of your headphones, speakers, TV screen, or any other crazy contraption with the ability to stream audio, I also provide one-on-one career assistance, so visit my website at career-consigliere.net to learn more about me, book me for one-on-one coaching, join my email list, or explore some of the other career services I offer. And to all of you out there in podcast land, remember this: Who’s the boss in your career? You, nobody else.
