What is a Cover-Letter? How To Write One That Stands Out?

When it comes to getting the job of your dreams, you’ll have to do something to set yourself apart from other applicants. One major way you can do so is by writing a unique and powerful cover letter. Now, you may be pondering: What is a cover letter? And, more importantly, how to write a cover Letter that stands out?

We’ll share with you everything you need to know about cover letters, including the basic cover letter format to follow and the special ways that you can make yours different from the crowd.

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What is a Cover Letter?

A cover letter is a one-page document that job applicants can submit to be considered for a job position. The main purpose of a cover letter is to summarize your professional background and use it to explain how and why you’d be a good fit for the position and company you are applying to. It accompanies a resume or CV, but it should not completely reiterate the information that a hiring manager can glean from your resume.

A strong cover letter can make your application memorable, thereby securing you an interview to get you one step closer to landing the job.

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What Should A Cover Letter Format Include?

The basic format of a cover letter includes:

• Date and contact information
• A formal greeting 
• Opening paragraph that grabs attention and shares why your experience is suited for the position
• Middle paragraph that explains why you specifically want to work for said company
• Closing paragraph that reiterates the one-page letter and ends with a formal sign-off
• Sign-off

Writing That Unique Cover Letter that Land the Job

While most people end up using a cover letter template, there are some ways to spice up your cover letter to hit a home run and move forward in the hiring process.

Let’s look at a few different types of cover letters you can write to land the big position you’re aiming to fill.

Go Digital

In this day and age, it’s always best to create your brand digitally. This could be in the form of a LinkedIn profile, a personal website, and/or a resume uploaded online. If you have any of the aforementioned items, then be sure to link them in your cover letter. If you have yet to create a personal website, then get started with the basics. You can even simply host your resume online and link it within your application. Not only does linking these items digitally make it easier on the hiring manager, but it also showcases your technical acumen (which is a requirement for pretty much any job these days).

When you send over your cover letter, do so in PDF format. Providing links in-line can lead them to a digital version of yourself that allows for them to get to know you even further, which can end up making a lasting imprint.

Be Catchy

When you write a cover letter, you’ll want to spend time editing it to ensure that the grammar is perfect. In addition, it pays off to be catchy and add some wit. Hiring managers and teams spend a lot of time going through stacks of cover letters. Think about a hiring manager going through a pile of cover letters that all look and flow the same.

While the format should stay relatively consistent, you can inject bits of your personality by being humorous and creative. For example, suppose you are applying for a sports media company. In that case, you can consider opening with something like: “Next up to bat is the candidate you’ve all been waiting for because he helped his last team accomplish a 20% increase in customer growth and grew the owner’s revenue by 15% year-over-year.” By writing something like this, you can play into what the company stands for and showcase your achievements.

Get Specific

As we said, hiring managers and teams have to sift through hundreds of cover letters for each position that they post. You don’t want them to feel like you are applying to everything and anything, even if you are. Just like you want to stand out, it’s important to make the reader feel like you are determined to work specifically at their company.

To make this the case, you’ll need to perform research on the company itself. Along with knowing the product and service it provides, it’s good to understand the business model, its unique value proposition, and the company culture. You can do so by looking through the company’s website, LinkedIn profile, social media accounts, and even reaching out to current employees. Once you have some of this information, include it within your cover letter.

Be very specific about why you want to work for them. To give you an idea of what this could entail: it could be because you value how the company prioritizes the customer experience by personalizing their marketing or that they donate a percentage of their proceeds to a social cause that you genuinely care about.

Find Names

Many people will end up opening their cover letter with a greeting like: “To Whom It May Concern.” Although it’s grammatically correct and formal, it is very impersonal since it isn’t directed to anyone in particular. However, on the other side of your cover letter, there is a real person with a name reading your story. The cover letters that begin with their name may be able to grab their attention.

If the job posting doesn’t list the hiring manager’s details, then do a quick search of the company on LinkedIn. Use the “People” search and go through the list to find who may be the hiring manager. If you can’t find the hiring manager, consider reaching out to ask someone in HR or the head of staffing.

The effort you put in to find the person’s name may be viewed as a reflection of your work ethic and attention to detail, which will help you stand apart from all the “To Whom It May Concern” openers.

Cover Letter Checklist

Once you’ve written your amazing cover letter, check these boxes to ensure that you’ve covered all the bases:

• Contact Details (name, phone number, email address)
• Hiring manager’s name, mailing address, and email address (left-aligned)
• Used a readable font (10.5-12 points in size)
• Margins are between .5” and 1”
• Body copy is single spaced and there are two spaces between each paragraph
• Saved the file as a PDF (for any links, be sure they lead to the right URL)
• Save the file as “my name-job title-cover-letter.pdf” to send
• Signed off with a formal and polite salutation
• Signed the bottom and/or typed out your name at the end

Now that you know what to include, here’s an example of a cover letter from a person applying to a barista position in hospitality and management. As you can see, the applicant remains professional, crosses off all the checkboxes, and infuses personality and passion into the cover letter to stand out.

Closing Thoughts

We’ve answered “What is a cover letter?” and now the ball is in your court to create a unique, engaging, and memorable cover letter of your own. Remember that a cover letter can be all the difference in getting a job or not.

If you can find a way to stand out with your experience and showcase how much of an asset you’ll be to the team, you can make it to the next step, which is more often than not going to be an interview in-person, via video, or on the phone.