I am forcing myself to write this post this evening in the hopes that I can overcome my irrational fear of cover letters. I used to avoid them like it was 1340s Europe and the Bubonic plague was at my door. To me cover letters always seemed incredibly impersonal and so Web 1.0. Can’t I just link to my professional Web self as a new media letter to employers? They can follow me on Twitter, observe my social graces on Facebook and then drop by LinkedIn for all my professional details? Okay, strike that last sentence. It is just that I felt my written cover letters felt impersonal. No fault but my own.
I admit that I like to read cover letters. I’ve been in charge of rounding up interns for several of my past positions. It was good to hear what drove people to apply, hear their written voice and see how they dealt with direction. For interns the cover letter usually consisted of I am applying for X position to fulfill X requirement. But when I was able to read those one or two cover letters about someone’s true passion — it was always made me pause.
I never really considered that moment that made me pause. But now I am forced. How do you make someone stop and read your cover letter especially in an economy that went from a handful of people applying for one job to well over hundreds? I don’t know. It’s out of my hands once I’ve crafted my letter. I’ve decided to stop trying to control the universe. He-Man and She-Ra are thrilled with the new found glory. The only way I am going to get an interview (and then a job) is to write a cover letter, read it over for mistakes and send it off. Perfecting the cover letter? How about writing the cover letter.
