Practical models for technical communication - Shannon Kelley 2021

Build a cover letter
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The cover letter is a strategic document in which you personalize your qualifications. Avoid making your cover letter too long, and someone might actually read it. One page is preferable, but it’s always a good idea to find out what’s standard in your field.

The cover letter should be memorable and not a restatement of your résumé. For example, Amira is applying for a position at a nursing home. She grew up taking care of her brother who has Down syndrome. The personal experience fuels her professional commitment to providing quality care to others. Amira can’t put her personal experience on a résumé, but she can describe the experience in her cover letter.

When assessing your background and choosing the item from your résumé or your life to highlight, you need to select the characteristics that recommend you most. If employers can see you in action in the cover letter, they are one step closer to seeing you do the job.

To begin, think of one defining moment you’ve had in the workplace. How did it test you? What did you learn? Connor could describe his split-second reaction when he noticed a five-year-old girl struggling to keep her head above water in the community pool’s deep end. He could describe how his lifeguard training, his decisiveness, and his attention to the situation allowed him to prevent a potential tragedy. Don’t mistake the story for bragging. Connor isn’t telling everyone the story so they think he’s awesome. He’s showing himself in action, and the user is left to conclude that he’s attentive and calm under pressure.

As with the résumé, cover letters must be tailored for the specific job application. Does tailoring your cover letter mean you write a completely different cover letter every time you apply for a different job? Not exactly. Certainly, different versions of your cover letter will have similar information, but the specific combination of details will vary depending on the job. You need to mix and match the information you share.

Think of all of the potential details that you could include like toppings in a taco bar. You don’t use all of the ingredients every time you make a taco, right? You choose different toppings to keep it interesting. In the same way, don’t throw all of your potential information into every cover letter. Sprinkle different information like seasoning into your cover letter according to the particular tastes of the employer. Consider the employer and the job requirements when deciding what to include. To see this approach in action, take a look at the three cover letters Connor has created for this job (figures 6.7 through 6.9).

Figure 6.7. Cover Letter Draft 1. This first letter is polite but offers little information and assumes the résumé speaks for itself. The letter also contains several avoidable mistakes.

Figure 6.8. Cover Letter Draft 2. The second letter provides more detail but uses large, blocky paragraphs that are hard to read. The letter also contains jargon, typos, and inconsistent formatting.

Figure 6.9. Cover Letter Draft 3. The final letter demonstrates professionalism through a formal but clear tone that shows effective communication.