The easiest way to make your cover letter stand out

You saw the opportunity of a lifetime tucked away in a corner of the internet and whipped up a great resume to apply for it. You sent your application promptly and waited for an answer. And waited. And waited. To hear nothing but cricket sounds. What could have gone wrong with your job application? Did you perhaps forget to include a cover letter with your resume?

Cover letters are a very important type of job-searching material. Whenever you apply for a new job, you must include a cover letter in your job application. Did you know that a majority of hiring managers read the cover letter before they even pick the resume up? That means your cover letter needs to be as impressive as it can be.

Personalize your cover letter

Do you have a habit of applying for jobs with sample cover letters that you find online? Then, you must stop at once. Hiring managers review hundreds of resumes a day. Do you really think that they haven’t come across the same cover letter sample several times before? Sending in a generic cover letter to an application tells the hiring manager that you don’t care enough about the job to write a personalized cover letter.

Address the hiring manager by name

Never send in a cover letter addressed, “To Whom It May Concern.” That will make the hiring manager think, “Wow, this person didn’t even bother to research my name.” Take your time and do your research on the company. Find out who will be reading your cover letter and address them by name. If all your efforts fail, you can try an address like, “Dear (company name) Team.”

Narrate a great story with your cover letter

The hiring manager doesn’t want a longer version of your resume via your cover letter. They already know the kind of jobs you’ve had. What they want to know from your cover letter is the unique value you would add to their team. Take a great achievement from your career and expand on it in your cover letter. Or add an anecdote from that time you worked for a high-value client. Better yet, pick an issue the employer is having in their company and give them a solution for it! That will surely help stick your name in their memory long after the hiring manager finishes reading your cover letter.

Show that you are a cultural fit

Invest some time to research the mission, vision, and values of the employer. Does the company have its own soup kitchen? Is the company website filled with pictures from their monthly office picnics? Or are the employees more into serious professionalism? Find what you can about the company culture via the company website, LinkedIn page, and former employee reviews on job boards. Then, you can find something you have in common with the company culture and highlight that on your cover letter.