When you mail something in the business world, it is customary to include a letter describing what, exactly, that something is. This is known as a cover letter. Mailing a resume is no different, and the cover letter accompanying a resume is known as a letter of application. Like resumes, letters of application have conventions that, though not universal, usually get the job done just fine.
Here are some structural and content suggestions on writing a cover letter for your IT Resume.
Cover Letter: The Introductory Paragraph
The first paragraph of a cover letter should establish two things.
- Your desired job — Mention this first, and without dancing around the subject too much. Being forthright with this information will help the reader know how to catalog and interpret the follow-up details. After all, most companies have more than one position available at any one time — being clear about what one you’re targeting increases your likelihood of reaching the right desk or terminal efficiently.
- How you learned about the position — Companies put a lot of effort into recruiting the best people, and track promotional efforts closely. Also, mentioning how you found the position is a first step towards establishing yourself as a candidate. There are lots of ways to find a position: through a job search engine, a university placement office, a career fair booth, a conference, contact with a current employee, or just trolling the company web-site. Each of these, though, demonstrates something about your previous relationship with the company — a valuable starting point.
Cover Letter: The Middle Paragraphs
The middle paragraphs of your cover letter should establish the following:
- The relevancy of your background — A cover letter should not merely be a resume in paragraph form. Readers don’t need a basic summary of everything you’ve done — they have your resume for that. What they do need, though, is to know what aspects of your background make you an especially good fit for the position. Think of a cover letter as an extra chance to highlight your most striking or appropriate qualifications.
- How familiar you are with the company — Most candidates take the same approach with a cover letter that they do with a resume: they only write one and hope it suits all situations. Consequently, many cover letters feel strangely unconnected to the target position, other than — hopefully — naming that position in the first paragraph. A successful cover letter, though, explains why you are applying for this particular job. Of all the jobs in the world, why this one? Is it something about the company’s values or place in the field? How familiar are you with what this target company does, and what makes you a good fit? As TrainSignal’s own Scott Skinger describes in his blog on selecting candidates to interview, knowledge of your target company or position can help you stand out in a very positive way.
By the way, it is considered tacky to discuss salary requirements in a cover letter (unless you’re requested to do so). If you include this information, though, do so at the conclusion of the letter’s body, after you’ve implicitly established why you’re worth the money.
Cover Letter: The Concluding Paragraph
The concluding paragraph of your cover letter needs to do the following:
- Thank the reader for considering your application — This gesture to politeness may seem self-evident, but you’d be surprised how many people leave it off.
- Indicate your availability for an interview — How bold you want to be when stating this is a matter of personal choice. Some candidates state that they’ll follow up in the next few weeks, which runs the risk of being too brash (and therefore annoying). For the purposes of the cover letter, just stating when you’re available is usually sufficient.
Following this, close with a polite signature line (“Sincerely” works fine) and you’re done!
Creating Your Own Letterhead
Say you’ve written a cover letter, but it still doesn’t look quite as professional as you’d like. Well, if you want a swift, easy way to create your own letterhead, simply copy the contact information from your resume’s header, and use it in your cover letter as well. This will make your name and contact information nice and prominent, and provide some additional consistency across the multiple documents in your application packet.
The advice in this blog, by the way, is equally valid whether you’re submitting a resume the old fashioned way (i.e. through standard mail) or through more modern, electronic methods.
There is, however, something else you should consider before sending the letter off — the persona you’re creating as you write. Every choice you make as a writer says something not just about you as a candidate, but also about who you are as an employee.
In the next few weeks, we’ll talk about how to develop a persona when crafting your IT resume and cover letter in much greater detail.
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