How to Write a Cover Letter That Sounds Like YOU (and Catches Eyes)

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I actually really hate cover letters. I hate cover letters. But the cover letter is important. It's time to just face our fear and just figure out how in the world are we actually going to write it. I got you and we're gonna do this together. These tips are going to help you go through the process a lot easier. So if you are ready to tackle the cover letter, stick around and keep watching. (upbeat music) In front of me right now are three cover letters that I've written in the past for three different jobs. And I'm just embarrassed. I'm embarrassed to read these to whom it may concern. To whom it may concern. Would like to respectfully submit this cover letter. I am a passionate, detail-oriented person. I am passionate, detail-oriented person. This sounds like I'm sure this doesn't sound like me at all. I think you want me to talk this way. Here we go. Like, hire me. I talk to Amy Gallo, an HBR editor and the author of one of our most popular articles, How to Write a Cover Letter. First of all, you're not alone. I write about how to write cover letters and I have to write my cover letters. And I also hate them. She's done the research. She's talked to the experts. And I'm going to tell you exactly what she told me. So how long does a cover letter actually have to be? Just one page, one. Don't play with the font and make it like a point font and like make your margins really wide. Like, don't just really figure out what are the most essential things that need to go on one page? This should be a no-brainer. But let's get specific. Let's say you're applying for a job here at Harvard Business Review. Go on the company's website, go to their About Us section and read what they're about. See their mission statement, see their tone, see what that company is actually looking for and what they stand for. But you've got the broad stuff, but let's dig a little bit deeper. What is the company that you're applying for talking about now? You should actually go into their LinkedIn, their Twitter, see what they're sharing, see who they're talking to, see what they're talking about. So you can get a sense of what is currently happening. Lastly, find that hiring manager. It is so much better to address your cover letter to an actual person and a name rather than to whom it may concern. So I have to kind of creep a little bit and be like a private investigator. Yeah, creeping is definitely part of the process. Usually with LinkedIn, if you can see who's posted the job, who is sharing it with their network, right? You may not know for sure that that's the hiring manager, but at least it's a little more personable. Sometimes I've heard people just reach out and say who's the hiring manager for this job? I'd like to adjust my cover letter to that person. Start strong. You've probably written this a hundred times before. Hi, my name is this, I'm based here and I'm applying for this job. No, no, no, don't do that. The hiring manager has a stack of cover letters. So you have to write yours to grab their attention. Amy, can you please give me an example of a strong bold opening line for cover letter? I promise I won't steal it. You're allowed to steal it. Anyone should be able to steal it. I saw your listing on this website and I was thrilled to see it because it's exactly the kind of job I've been looking for to apply my skills in X, right? Something that's short to the point, but shows both enthusiasm as well as experience that's relevant to the job. Emphas-- This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. That's new. Ready to make anything online make sense? Grey roots entering the chat. Uninvited? Garnier's got you. Garnier color sensation re-re-touch covers up to 100% of grays in just 10 minutes. 10 minutes. Sensational color, sensational price. Guys, your value. Figure out what problem the company is facing. They're hiring for a reason. Figure out what that reason is and how you can best solve that problem. Amy also found the top two qualities that people generally look for is adaptability and the ability to learn quickly. How about if I just got out of college? And I'm looking at these jobs that are asking for three to five years or more of experience. How can I write a cover letter if I feel like I don't have enough to write about? - Yeah, so that's a good question because the cover letter shouldn't be focused so much on the past. That's the resume's job. The cover letter is really about the future. So how are you gonna take what's in that resume your past and apply it to where you're going? And they enthusiasm, not desperation. And this is really hard to balance. You want to show them that you're excited to work there and that you're going to bring a lot of energy to the team. But don't be too strong because over-eagerness can actually work against you. - Write the letter you want to write then share it with someone else. If someone who knows you well, but someone who also will tell you like it is, we're not good judges of our own writing. - So getting a second pair of eyes will help you look for any errors, typos, and most importantly, they can tell you if you make sense. - Give me the sounds like a lot is there even like a sort of a shortcut to this or sort of scalable way that I can do this for multiple different jobs? - I mean, you've probably heard the phrase like looking for a job is a full-time job. It does take a lot of time. You're tweaking some things. You're not writing a whole new letter. So you're gonna have a template, right? Write your best cover letter for the first job you apply for. Share that with your friend to check the tone, do the research on the company, right? Like do that the first time, then adjust the cover letter accordingly. - Does that seem more reasonable? - Yes, much more reasonable. - So my task is to apply for a job here at HBR and to write a new cover letter using the advice that Amy gave me. Let's do it. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - This is hard. - I never said it was going to be easy. Maybe easier than what you were doing more, but definitely not easy. - You did well on length. It is very short. (laughing) - That's good. - I read this, I'm like, that first sentence is spot on. (upbeat music) And then it gets a little bit stilted and then it goes into like, this is what's probably on your resume and I want a little more personality. (upbeat music) - So Amy, after many back and forths. (upbeat music) - How do you think I did? - All right, so I'm looking at it right now and I think you did a really good job. (upbeat music) You've got the main components here. There's some personality in it. There's some flattery in it about the company you're applying to, but it's not like over the top. I have to tell you, I would have you in. I think it's a great letter. - So that's it for me. I wrote the cover letter. You got to see the whole process and I feel like I definitely have a better outlook on how to approach it. You can see my original cover letter compared to the new cover letter using Amy's advice. These are not easy to write. So good luck out there. Watch as many times as you can. Practice makes perfect. I'll see you soon. - Mr. Monopoly here. Miss me? Monopoly is back at McDonald's with millions of prizes. 2020-27 cheap cherry, a Carnival cruise vacation, gift cards from DoorDash, and Best Buy. Peel, then play in the McDonald's app! Get your bag! No purchase necessary, 50US and DCH-18+. See [email protected] for rules and [email protected]/amoe for info and playing without purchase by mail by November 2nd. Chinscar, Gamens, November 8th. Gamens, November 22nd, 2026. 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