<p>So I have heard that when applying to jobs, that one should not send out a generic cover letter to every and any company that is offering a position. I tweak my cover letters a tiny bit for each company I apply for by writing about certain projects that I have achieved that relate to the job duties of the position I am applying for. How else do you make a cover letter more personal? Should I go to the company websites and include in my cover letter their projects, goals, or other things that relate to my experience and the position? I know I should put in a bit more effort, but it is a bit mundane to constantly write a different cover letter for each and every company. Any tips will help thank you!</p>
<p>One way is to read their website or any materials you have from them (including carefully reading the job description) and incorporate some of the language or buzzwords which demonstrate that you’ve carefully researched them and can “speak their language.”</p>
<p>A couple things will help. First, although it seems kind of counter intuitive, don’t use the same cover letter twice. You can say many of the same things, but it helps to write cover letters from scratch so you avoid the embarrassing situation of applying to JPMorganChase and including “the high standards at Goldman Sachs fit perfectly with my personality” in your cover letter.</p>
<p>Here are some rules I lived by when writing cover letters:</p>
<ol>
<li>The cover letter is about you. The recruiters at the company you’re applying to knows who they are and what they stand for, but they have no idea who you are or why they should invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in you.</li>
<li>Resumes show whether you have the required credentials and experience for the job; cover letters show whether you fit in with the corporate culture. To that end, a simple example is professionalism: if the company is extremely proper and professional, your cover letter should read differently than if the company emphasizes creativity and relaxation at work. Your cover letter should reveal a little about your personality.</li>
<li>Cover letters give you the chance to tie together experience you have had and explain how it is relevant to the job you’re applying to. It is possible to show that your experience as a lifeguard, waiter and lawn mower actually qualifies you for a job in finance if you can use the right language.</li>
<li>When you’re writing your cover letter, you need to know the company. This isn’t to throw in random facts about the company and why you think they’re just totally awesome (see rule 1). Instead, knowing a bit about the company gives you the chance to mention bits about yourself that fit well. For example, if a company you’re applying to is really big on CSR, maybe it would make sense to talk about your commitment to service and any community service related efforts you have made; if the company is big on client contact, maybe it would make sense to talk about your experiences working with customers at the restaurant you worked at. </li>
<li>Write the damn thing well. That means separating thoughts properly (the biggest grammatical mistake I’ve seen in business is the comma splice; DON’T DO IT!), spelling things correctly and performing a true revision phase, where you can read your cover letter and rephrase anything that is unclear.</li>
</ol>
<p>These are all personal rules, so feel free to take them with a grain of salt. They worked for me when I applied for FT jobs. And to answer a question you probably had at the beginning of this post, no, I didn’t follow my own advice, and I used a template at the start of my job search. I used the template for the first 20 jobs that required a cover letter. I wrote the next fifteen from scratch (seventeen jobs I applied to didn’t need a cover letter). Out of the first 20 jobs I applied to that required a cover letter, I got zero interviews; of the next fifteen, I got six interviews and two offers. Just sayin’.</p>