Writing a cover letter can be quite a difficult task. And even if you think this is an old-school way of applying, there are plenty of reasons why a cover letter can actually help you land your dream job interview. The main reason being that is never hurts your chances, but there is always a stance that you stand out by writine one.
But please note: In this article will not focus on the basics of how to write a cover letter. For this, you can read our blog post about all the important insights about cover letter writing here.
Instead, we want to go one step further and share 3 secret tips to make your cover letter stand out from the crowd.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
Secret 1: A cover letter should be about the employer, not you
Yes, this might sound a bit confusing. Of course you need to write about yourself in the cover letter. But you don’t just write about yourself.
When you write a cover letter you need to answer the following questions for the employer:
- Why should I hire this person instead of someone else?
- Can I trust this person in their skills and competencies mentioned in the CV?
- How will this person help me solve my current problems?
- Will this person fit my team and the company?
Tip in practice:
With this letter I want to express my motivation in applying for your role as IT Specialist that
I saw advertised on Indeed. I feel like I’m a great fit for your position – please let me explain why. As an IT specialist with 2+ years of experience handling complex requests, performing incident management and communicating with various stakeholders I think I bring a lot to the table. For example, last month, I single handedly solved 50+ requests and performed an analysis to improve our incident management system. These improvements saved an estimated 15 employee hours per week, and allowed us to solve problems with a 99.9% success rate.
Secret 2: Tell a success story – everyone loves good stories
Before reading a cover letter, recruiters and hiring managers have already looked at your CV. So simply listing up all your skills and experiences again will not add value.
Instead use your cover letter to tell a story. Select one of your key achievements and tell about the situation, the challenges, your actions and the final results. This is the so-called STAR method. It will help you create more credibility and keep the reader interested in knowing more.
As international talent, even show how your internationality helped you achieve this to show the employer in Germany this is an additional strength you bring.
Tip in practice:
After carefully reading this job ad, I know you’re looking for an IT Specialist with good communication skills, analytical skills and someone who is willing to act fast. Let me tell you about one of my key achievements where I successfully implemented all of these skills to solve a burning challenge in my past company.
Secret 3: The more you know about the company the more they will trust you
You should always integrate a paragraph where you tell the employer about your motivation to work for them. And here it is not enough to just mention their key product or service. You need to go beyond that.
Look at their “career page” or “about us” section and find out:
- What their core values are.
- What their company culture is about.
- What mission or future projects they are pursuing.
With this information you can prove that you not only did a deep dive into the company, but also show how you can relate to this information. And how this makes you an even better fit for the job.
Tip in practice:
I’m excited to join CareerBee in this role because I really like the company culture that you describe on your website. Your value on building a more inclusive future really resonates with me being an international talent who has faced many challenges due to this fact in my career. Having these experiences, made my decision very clear to want to have an impact through my work and help others in the same situation.
Summary: 3 secret tips for your cover letter
As we have discussed, writing a cover letter is a good idea if you want to land your dream job. And when writing the cover letter, make sure that it’s focused on the company, why you want to join them, and how you can contribute to their success. Make sure to use these three secret tips for your cover letter to stand out!
Now, if you want to make sure your cover letter truly stands out, we can recommend our special masterclass where by the end, you will know all that matters to land a job faster. Curious? Find out more here.
