Cover Letters and Thank-You Letters

Secret Weapons Underutilized in the Job Search

By Lee Junkans

Every informed job seeker realizes the importance of the resume and invests the time in developing a quality document. However, too few job hunters spend the amount of time necessary to differentiate themselves through deploying two “secret weapons” – the cover letter and the thank-you letter.

Secret Weapon #1: THE COVER LETTER

Although it is shocking to many applicants, some recruiters believe the cover letter is even more important than the resume. Over the years, in fact, a number of recruiters have admitted to me that if they are not impressed with the cover letter, they will not even look at the resume. Three major reasons many recruiters place such a high value on the cover letter are:

• It gives some insight into the personality of the applicant (in contrast to the highly factual, objective resume, which is the list of accomplishments)

• It is a writing sample, indicating whether the applicant can communicate in coherent sentences.

• As a personal appeal to the employer, it demonstrates the amount of research the applicant has done on the organization, and outlines what specifically he/she can contribute to it. An effective cover letter conveys this information to a recruiter in three primary paragraphs that answer these key questions in a hiring decision:

1. Why do you want to work for the employer?

• Explain why you are applying to this company as opposed to any other (your reasons for your interest in each employer should be different).

• Show off your research about the company. This distinguishes you from other applicants.

• Indicate known individuals working at the company that you may be using as a resource.

• Specify your job interest as specifically as possible.

2. Why should the employer select you?

This is the most important aspect of the cover letter. Picture a stack of resumes on a recruiter’s desk, submitted by people all applying for the same job. This cover letter must differentiate you from other applicants in order to get the desired action.

• Give the employer five “selling points” that explain why the company should be interested in you and how you differ from other applicants.

• Match your selling points closely to the desired qualifications and personality traits that the employer seeks.

• Give evidence to support each selling point. Anyone can state that he/she is an effective communicator. Without evidence, however, this is only your opinion.

3. What’s next?

The applicant should propose the next action step. Without doing so, you will be waiting a long time (possibly forever).

• If you propose to call to set up an appointment, give a specific date for your call. Remember, if you state that you will call on Nov. 1, you must do it; otherwise you failed in your first promise to this employer. In these times of voicemail, you do not have to reach the person, but you can leave a well-prepared message. At the end, you should state that you will be calling back on November 4.

• When applying to an out-of-state employer, it helps if you tentatively plan a trip to the city and tell the employer the specific date that you plan to be there. This will dramatically improve your chances of getting a response. Without offering to travel to the employer’s city, you are asking the employer to fly you in, sight unseen (and that will not likely happen).

Additional recommendations to strengthen your cover letter: Address the letter to a specific individual. Do some research: You will need a name to be able to complete your follow-up phone call. Stylistically, try to project confidence; use simple language; and limit the use of “I” and “me.” Instead, focus on what you can do for them.

Secret Weapon #2: THE THANK-YOU LETTER

The interview has concluded and you are in one of three situations:

1. You passed with flying colors and will be invited back for further interviews or be given a job offer.

2. You failed the interview and you will be not be getting an offer.

3. You are “on the fence” (status to be determined).

You will not necessarily know your exact status at the end of an interview. Do not take it for granted that because the recruiter was nice to you, that means he or she is interested in you. As a former recruiter, I know firsthand that many of my former applicants were in this status of “to be determined.” I needed to give further thought before making a decision to either refer or reject. This is where an excellent thank-you letter can make a huge difference.

Here are recommendations to help you get off the fence on the positive side:

1. Send the letter immediately after the interview. This demonstrates the importance of the job and company to you. Email works best for immediacy. I disagree with many advisors regarding hand-written thank-you notes because the recruiter will not get it for days. It needs to get to the interviewer before a decision is made.

2. Restate your interest in the position and the company.

3. Summarize briefly what you have to offer to this employer. At this stage, you can exclude the detailed evidence, since you have already provided this.

4. This is the time and place to mention something important you forgot to share in the interview.

5. This also is the place to provide a better answer to a question that you may not have handled well (i.e., “Regarding your question today about an example of problem-solving skills, I thought you might like to know about the time I resolved a year-old problem in the circulation department…”) Provide a few more details.

6. After interviewing with more than one person, make each thank-you letter different since they may all be sent to Human Resources or to the hiring manager. Focus on something that each person told you about the company or job. Compliment the interviewer on something that he or she said in the interview, such as a description of the exciting future of the company.

Invest the time to use these secret weapons in your job search. In doing so, you will stand out from your competition when applying for the jobs that you want the most.

Lee Junkans spent 11 years as a corporate recruiter including eight years managing a college recruiting program for a Fortune 100 company. He has spent the last 21 years directing career centers at major universities.