So you’ve written your resume, but the job application requires a cover letter as well. “What the heck is that?” you ask… and then you find the answer in this episode of Career Cafe, where Brandon, Clara, Jerry, and McKinley are determined to help you master the art of writing the perfect cover letter, so employers will know if you’re a good fit even before an interview. Pour yourself a cup of water (because we know you’re probably dehydrated), and tune in until the end for a Career Center dad joke!
00;00;09;11 - 00;00;33;25
McKinley Hatch
Welcome to Career Cafe. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about the art of persuasion, crafting an impactful cover letter. Today we have Clara Webster, Brandon Street and Jerry Ross joining us, who are all professionals in Resumé writing and, of course, cover letter writing. And myself, McKinley Hatch. I will be the moderator today. We're going to start off talking right.
00;00;33;27 - 00;00;39;09
McKinley Hatch
First thing about the purpose of a cover letter. So why don't we just jump right in?
00;00;39;12 - 00;00;57;19
Clara Webster
So, yeah, I'll go ahead and start us out. So the purpose of a cover letter is really just to, you know, it goes in tangent with a Resumé and it helps the employer see exactly why you are the perfect fit for a job. I like to explain it as a Resumé is a “what” cover letter is the “why.”
00;00;57;21 - 00;01;12;06
Clara Webster
So Resumé You've got what all your skills, your experience, your education is on there, and the cover letter is your opportunity to talk about why those specific things, those main points make you the perfect candidate for that specific job.
00;01;12;08 - 00;01;29;24
Brandon Street
I like to describe it as writing between the spaces of your Resumé, right? You have a limited amount of space to talk about on your Resumé, why you're a good candidate for the job. The cover letter allows you to talk about those in-between spaces. What what got you that experience and why you feel like you're a good candidate?
00;01;29;24 - 00;01;36;06
Brandon Street
This is a this is a great document to really answer the question, why should I hire you and not somebody else?
00;01;36;09 - 00;01;58;19
Jerry Ross
And I think it provides a lot of power to when people are transitioning between careers or between positions. This explains the why are you applying to this one versus all of the other jobs that you could be doing. It allows you to tell more of your personal story and more of your passions behind. Why are you choosing to do this as opposed to continuing on where you've been or what your personal goals are for where you want to be?
00;01;58;21 - 00;02;03;06
McKinley Hatch
Awesome. Yeah, cover letters are awesome. Yeah.
00;02;03;08 - 00;02;06;23
Brandon Street
So yes, they.
00;02;06;26 - 00;02;30;25
McKinley Hatch
So I want to talk about why it's important to research a company and a position specifically before you just dive right in and start writing a generalized cover letter. I'm so, you know, I would be honored to work here, and I really wanted this job. You know, we see that very general, those kinds of cover letters all the time.
00;02;30;25 - 00;02;39;14
McKinley Hatch
So why is it important to research and include some of that research, The knowledge you learn from researching in that cover letter?
00;02;39;17 - 00;02;55;06
Brandon Street
You know, it's a really great question. And Jerry brought up a good point. You know, there's I think a cover letter is a great place to answer some questions an employer might have. Like, for example, hey, you're from New York. Why would you want to move to Utah? Right. Or vice versa. Right. And this is a great place to talk about some of those things specifically.
00;02;55;06 - 00;03;14;28
Brandon Street
So about the company, about the place you're moving to potentially. Right. Maybe some questions they have about skill gaps that you'll have or experience gaps. So you can answer some questions there. But again, you won't know what questions they might have if you don't look into the industry or the company or the the team that you'd work on right.
00;03;14;28 - 00;03;24;08
Brandon Street
So you're trying to help them understand how you fit the skills, but also how you fit the culture. All right. And the company itself and how you're going to bring value to that company.
00;03;24;10 - 00;03;49;13
Jerry Ross
I think really researching you know, you talked about that a few times, but I think research inherently helps people not fall in the trap of applying to a 100 jobs using the easy apply button. And that's the frustration I think we get the most is I've applied to so many jobs, but when you really do research, when you really apply that research into your cover letter, I see your company values A, B, and C, That's fantastic.
00;03;49;13 - 00;04;16;02
Jerry Ross
I'm looking for a new home that also values those things. There's ways that you can put, you know, the company's mission, the vision statement, the other things from doing your company research into your cover letter to let them know you're not cut and pasting these versus the other 100 jobs you're applying to today. Really writing a fantastic researched cover letter helps you personally not get into that trap of applying to 100 jobs and just easy applying to all of them.
00;04;16;04 - 00;04;25;12
Jerry Ross
And it makes the employer feel special. It makes them feel like you've spent honest time researching them and this is really the place that you would choose to work, not just the one that picks you first.
00;04;25;15 - 00;04;43;22
Clara Webster
And this, you know, this cover letter gives you a chance to demonstrate, you know, can you persuade me and, you know, communicate with me in a way that makes me want to hire you? If you haven't done any research into the job or the company, it's going to be pretty hard to persuade them. So you always want to do a little bit of research before you start writing these.
00;04;43;25 - 00;05;12;22
Brandon Street
And I think that key research comes from research on their web page, understanding who they are, if there's been any recent articles on them, you know, and the work that they do, any awards they receive, it's always great to, you know, to pat them on the back a little bit as you're talking about through your cover letter. And so and then about, again, research in the community that you'd be living in and how you'd bring, you know, a positive example to to to that neighborhood or that to that area you would live in.
00;05;12;24 - 00;05;28;29
Jerry Ross
And we talk about when we're doing these appointments with people, the first paragraph should be, how did you find the job? And sometimes when we're talking about community events, say you're out of the park event or are things around and you see an employer and it pique your interest, I wonder if they're hiring. So you can use some of that ways to connect the dots with.
00;05;29;02 - 00;05;42;18
Jerry Ross
I saw you at this local event. I've seen your advertised, I've seen you sponsored this race, this charitable thing, this organization, and use some of that research information to help tie the personal connection into why do you want to be there?
00;05;42;21 - 00;06;00;03
McKinley Hatch
Yeah, I love it. Now, we've talked about kind of the purpose of a cover letter and the importance behind researching before you dive into it. But now let's talk about the structure and format. So tell us a little bit bit about what the structure is of a Resumé or not a Resumé, a cover letter. So what we're talking about.
00;06;00;03 - 00;06;00;14
McKinley Hatch
Yes.
00;06;00;20 - 00;06;17;19
Clara Webster
Well, hey, I mean, it's okay. You make it up because they should look pretty dang similar to each other as far as like overall formatting. I've seen cover letters where they've got one header that's saying, you know, their name and their contact information, but it looks totally different. There's a different font, there's different colors in their cover letter.
00;06;17;21 - 00;06;40;20
Clara Webster
And so so with that, you'll want to make sure that your Resumé & cover letter look branded together. Essentially, you want them to have the same font, same color scheme, same overall format between the two documents and where it is a letter. There are some unique parts of this. You do want to have a date, so whatever date you're submitting this cover letter, you want that at the top along with who you're addressing it to.
00;06;40;23 - 00;07;02;03
Clara Webster
And so if you happen to know whoever is the hiring manager over the position, either you know, the researcher, if it's posted on the job ad, you'll want to put that in your what their position and the company and the address with that company. Or if you don't happen to know who you're addressing this letter letter to you can just put hiring manager instead of the name and position.
00;07;02;06 - 00;07;21;16
Clara Webster
And then as far as like the body paragraphs go, you don't want this to ever be more than a page unless they specifically ask for it, but usually about 3 to 4 paragraphs. And then you want a signature with with your with sincerely your name, and then a fancy little e-signature just so it looks nice.
00;07;21;18 - 00;07;46;06
Brandon Street
It's a good touch to have on there. We've we've got a great example of a cover letter on our web page. If you go to suu.edu/careercenter You can find a quick button for Resumé there and that'll take you to a packet that has a good visual on a cover letter. But one thing I'll say is, just as we talked about in our last episode with Resumé writing, customizing tailoring, your your cover letter is really important.
00;07;46;08 - 00;07;58;00
Brandon Street
I've got cover letters for a job for a career advisor in our in our office. And the cover letter said, I'm really excited and thrilled to be applying for your academic advising job.
00;07;58;00 - 00;08;01;03
Clara Webster
And I've gotten one of those too, right. And academic advising.
00;08;01;03 - 00;08;04;15
Brandon Street
And then what is the very first thing you think when you see that?
00;08;04;18 - 00;08;08;00
Clara Webster
they didn't write this for me. They're copying and pasting and changing the job that.
00;08;08;02 - 00;08;25;02
Brandon Street
They don't care, right? No, I didn't. They didn't get an interview because I can tell right away they didn't care enough about my job to take the time to even change that right, to review it, to do that. And so make sure you're tailoring. But be careful, too, if when you are doing this, I know we're trying to save time, copy and pasting and things like that, which I understand.
00;08;25;02 - 00;08;48;25
Brandon Street
I've done it right. But then go through, make sure you you, you tailor it to that job. You make sure that the specialty, the job title is correct. Don't shorten the job title title as they do right. Make sure your your their office that you speak of is title correctly. Their department is title correctly. And then again, if you can address to someone specific a void, especially a void to whom it may concern.
00;08;48;28 - 00;09;06;21
Brandon Street
Basically you're saying there, Hey dear universe, if you get this right, so so try to be as specific as possible as you're addressing it and then make it yours. Write your language. Guys, we have this chat. Get out there now and we know people are, you know, asking chat. Good. You write me a cover letter for whatever, right?
00;09;06;24 - 00;09;19;11
Brandon Street
The problem is, is not your language when it comes out, it's not you. Right. And we spotted a few of those a mile away too, just getting them from students. And we know that's not you speaking there. And it's not personal, right? Yeah.
00;09;19;13 - 00;09;41;17
Jerry Ross
I've had someone come in for Resumé help, and then I said, Hey, do you want to dive into your cover letter? And they said, No, I'm just going to use chatGPT. I said, You know, man, I agree with technology and it's there for us to use and there's definitely ways where it helps us. But if I were a hiring manager and I have a Resumé that you wrote and I have a cover letter that chatGPT wrote, I guarantee you I will be able to tell.
00;09;41;19 - 00;10;01;05
Jerry Ross
So I think just differentiating between those two things, we can typically read who's written what. And also you're misleading them a little bit on who you're going to be as an employee. And if part of your job is to use chatGPT, I totally get it. But this is your opportunity to make a first impression that you are not going to get back.
00;10;01;07 - 00;10;30;14
McKinley Hatch
If you are going to use chatGPT I actually just sat in on training about chatGPT for marketers as that's what I do and they encouraged us all. If we use chatGPT for whatever it is that is should be considered a first draft. Always use it as a first draft if you need help figuring out how even to start a cover letter might be a good start then we're not saying don't use it, but don't use it as your final product.
00;10;30;17 - 00;10;36;10
McKinley Hatch
Make it your own voice. You know, maybe use it as a first draft to help give you some guidance, but then move forward from there.
00;10;36;16 - 00;10;58;16
Clara Webster
Yeah, and it's great to put something like, you know, put in your cover and say, make this more professional, you know, put in more professional tone and just see like what ideas it has there be a definitely not copy and paste HR Softwares have already... or sorry HR Companies have already developed software within applicant tracking systems, Those ATS systems we talked about before, that can catch when you use chatGPT.
00;10;58;16 - 00;11;14;22
Clara Webster
So you may think, yeah, the you know, the human eye will never be able to see this, but the ATS will so, so make sure it's a great tool. But don't, you know, make it your own and use it to, you know, kind of come up with those first drafts in those little edits here and there?
00;11;14;25 - 00;11;29;20
McKinley Hatch
Yeah. Awesome. I want to talk about grabbing attention, how you do that in a cover letter to to first reach those employers that are reading this. If they're reading them, how do you get their attention quickly?
00;11;29;23 - 00;11;49;26
Brandon Street
I think they can be connecting yourself to them somehow. You know, Jerry talked about this a little bit, whether it be you saw them somewhere or interacted with them somewhere or someone referred you within the company or you just kept your eye out on their company for a while and things that you know. But I think it's catching their eye through something, a connection that you can make with them.
00;11;49;29 - 00;12;01;05
Brandon Street
We usually recommend that for first paragraph. So as we said to to inform them, here's what I'm applying for, here's why I'm excited about this opportunity.
00;12;01;08 - 00;12;18;18
Jerry Ross
I directly I directly will list How did I find out about the job? Kind of a where I'm coming from and why I'm interested in this role with this company and get down into some of those details to lay it out for them as to why I want to be here. A big question that employers always have is why me, right?
00;12;18;18 - 00;12;35;19
Jerry Ross
Why or do you want this one? So, you know, we've talked a couple of seconds ago about this is your opportunity to make that first impression. Your first paragraph of your cover letter is your opportunity to make your first impression. That needs to be the best thing that we write regarding how you want to associate yourself with them.
00;12;35;22 - 00;12;44;07
Brandon Street
Let me give you one piece of advice to on the cover letter. Never, ever write that that job as a stepping stone to another job. yeah.
00;12;44;07 - 00;12;46;17
Jerry Ross
I mean, if it is.
00;12;46;19 - 00;13;01;09
Brandon Street
You know, and you're absolutely right, Jerry's. That could be in your mind. I want to be here three, you know, two, three years and then move to another job. Don't tell them that, for heaven's sakes. I mean, these people are trying to hire you long term, and it means a lot to a company. They invest a lot in you.
00;13;01;11 - 00;13;14;07
Brandon Street
And so don't tell them that you're a... We literally had somebody in a cover letter for us say, Yeah, this is something I'd like to do for, you know, a year or two. And then move on to another job. But I'm like, No, because you'll do a zero. Because I just I don't want to bring you on knowing that, right?
00;13;14;07 - 00;13;27;27
Brandon Street
That I'm going have to bring someone on again in a year. Right. So don't tell them that. Plus, you just never know what's going to happen. Let's say you get in that company and they they advance you within that company. So students always say, well, I don't want to lie. Well, you're not lying to them. This may be your plan.
00;13;27;27 - 00;13;36;17
Brandon Street
Now, but let's a year end, they may give you an opportunity that you stay with that company for 20 years. You never know what's going to happen. So don't tell them it's a stepping stone anywhere in your cover letter.
00;13;36;22 - 00;14;00;19
Jerry Ross
Employers want to progress employees. They want people that they can come in and then that will grow with their business. One of their lead concerns is are you going to grow and then leave? So you're answering that question right there in that first paragraph here. If you're talking about a stepping stone and you're talking about you're going to use this position to get to the next, there's nothing wrong with talking about I'm using this position to gain experience.
00;14;00;19 - 00;14;16;02
Jerry Ross
I'm looking for this to gain skills for myself. You can talk a little bit about yourself, but you want it to primarily be about what can you bring, but their concern for you is are you going to use this as a stepping stone position? And when you say it directly, the chances aren't good for you.
00;14;16;05 - 00;14;39;15
Clara Webster
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Other, you know, other things to kind of stick out and grab their attention. One one thing that I like to tell students is, as you're writing the cover letter, are you putting things in there that are going to make the employer want to go back and look at your Resumé more in-depth? Right. Because typically what'll happen, the employer that opened up your either your Resumé or your cover letter first skim through both of them.
00;14;39;17 - 00;15;01;14
Clara Webster
And so, you know, with that cover letter, are there things in that kind of main body paragraphs and those main points you bring up? Are they kind of enticing them, you know, or are you just listing? I've got general, you know, I've got good customer service skills. I'm detail oriented and really good at using Microsoft like, you know nothing about that makes you want to go look more at your Resumé.
00;15;01;16 - 00;15;21;26
Clara Webster
But if you can list some, you know, key accomplishments or, you know, key things that you've learned that you feel you could bring to the team to, you know, advance something either within the company or with this position that's going to make them go, okay, hold on a sec. Let me go back more in-depth on this Resumé. And so that's kind of, you know, thing to keep in mind as far as grabbing attention.
00;15;22;03 - 00;15;26;24
Clara Webster
Make sure that what you're writing is going to want them to look more in-depth within your Resumé.
00;15;26;26 - 00;15;34;16
Brandon Street
Yeah, we talk about it, and I like to refer to the middle section of your Resumé as your presidential message. So just as in any debate...
00;15;34;16 - 00;15;35;11
Clara Webster
...or cover letter...
00;15;35;14 - 00;15;50;25
Brandon Street
...your cover letter. Yes. I said earlier, thank you for the correction. Your cover letter in the middle of your cover letter being your presidential message. I you know, I tell individuals just as a, you know, a candidate for for president would prepare for a debate with their main points they want to get across.
00;15;50;27 - 00;16;03;10
Brandon Street
Your cover letter ought to be the same. These are the 3 to 5 things that really set me apart as a unique yet qualified candidate. Right. Like, this is why you should hire me and not that other person.
00;16;03;12 - 00;16;27;03
McKinley Hatch
Yeah, we've talked about getting the employer's attention. You know, you have them for a short amount of time. As we learned in last week's episode on Resumés, you know, same for cover letters that it's quick. So how do we keep them engaged? How do we close the cover letter professionally while still keeping their attention? Just closing that with a strong conclusion.
00;16;27;05 - 00;16;46;22
Clara Webster
Yeah, great question. You definitely want to close off in a confident and professional note, and there's three main things you kind of want to have in that last closing paragraph. And the first is just reiterating your interest in the position. You know, again, just kind of restate, this is why I'm writing this letter, this is why I'm interested in this specific company.
00;16;46;24 - 00;17;06;11
Clara Webster
And so just an A, you know, a sentence, maybe two at the most. Just kind of reiterate, reiterate your interest there. You also want to express your gratitude for the opportunity to apply. You know, it's it's just good manners to close off with, you know, hey, thanks for looking over this, you know, either this application or taking the time to review this, whatever it may be.
00;17;06;13 - 00;17;27;07
Clara Webster
And then you just want to let them know you're readily available for an interview and make sure again, you know, closes on a professional note. I've seen a lot of students where they include like, thank you for taking the time to look this over exclamation point and that will immediately, you know, kind of take away that professional, confident, you know, closing out.
00;17;27;09 - 00;17;38;01
Clara Webster
So just make sure that throughout this last paragraph with those three things that I mentioned that you keep it to just periods, keep it very professional there, too.
00;17;38;04 - 00;18;02;05
McKinley Hatch
Yeah. Awesome. Thanks. We've talked a lot about the cover letter and how it should be structured, what it should look like and how to engage employers to read it and while they're reading it. So let's lastly touch on any concern with cover letters. Is this the place to address potential gaps, whether that's career changes or like gaps in their career?
00;18;02;05 - 00;18;08;12
McKinley Hatch
Right. They've taken four years off from working. Where where should they address this? Is this appropriate to talk about in a cover letter?
00;18;08;12 - 00;18;29;20
Brandon Street
It can be. And what I mean by that is you have to be careful because you don't want to you don't want to bring things to light that shouldn't be brought to light either, because you bring up one or two negative things. That's what that's all the employer's going to focus on. Right. And so if you feel like you need to address something, which at times you do, you're like, okay, I need to address I've been out of the, you know, the workforce for five years.
00;18;29;20 - 00;18;52;10
Brandon Street
I know they're going to see this. I need to address this somehow. When you do follow it up with the things you learned during that time, whatever you were doing, explain to them why that's going to be a benefit to them. So we call polishing it, right? And make sure you polish what you stayed after. So they're not left with that negative tone in there, but they think, wow, okay, there are some things that that came from that gap.
00;18;52;10 - 00;18;53;00
Brandon Street
So.
00;18;53;03 - 00;19;11;09
Jerry Ross
Yeah, I think it helps explain. And at times, like you said, Brandon, there are times to leave it and times that, you know, not put it in. But I think especially homemaking, you know, if you've got five or six years of a gap in there, it's good for you to say, I was never going to have the opportunity to stay home and raise my children through precious times with them.
00;19;11;09 - 00;19;21;22
Jerry Ross
And now they're in school. We just answered a question for them, right? Voluntarily, they're in school and I need to challenge myself personally to start the next adventure for me right, Right.
00;19;21;22 - 00;19;25;03
Brandon Street
But in the meantime, I was on the PTA board, right? Or something like that.
00;19;25;03 - 00;19;45;13
Jerry Ross
Right. You can get into what did you do and what were your organization skills and what did you bring? And I think addressing some of those things in the cover letter helps them answer the question. But I also hear people say, well, I'm reluctant to tell them that you make your own personal decision, but if a company is not going to hire you because you chose to spend some time with your family, do you really want to be there?
00;19;45;20 - 00;19;46;21
Brandon Street
Right?
00;19;46;23 - 00;19;59;00
McKinley Hatch
Yeah. Love it. You guys are awesome. Thanks for tuning in to our podcast today, Career Cafe. We're going to sign off with a good old dad joke Brandon is going to share with us.
00;19;59;00 - 00;20;08;23
Brandon Street
I am, yes. I decided to become an archeologist, but before my career was over, it was in ruins.
00;20;08;26 - 00;20;11;13
Jerry Ross
That seems like dirty money.
00;20;11;16 - 00;20;15;03
Brandon Street
I can dig it. you.
00;20;15;05 - 00;20;16;01
McKinley Hatch
See you next week!