Strategies and suggestions for updating the timeworn cover letter for the job search of today
By Michelle L. Boettcher
There are a few things that define a generation. There’s the music they listen to. The clothes they wear. The language they use (“No cap!”). And, if one is to believe the current discourse, their approach to work.
These differences begin with the job application process, including that old standby, the cover letter. Today’s job candidates may wonder if that is even still a thing. Opinions will vary on the answer, but if the instructions ask for one, then including it, at the very least, shows the potential employer one’s ability to follow directions. However, many candidates may merely go through the motions and use the cover letter to recap their résumé. They may highlight specific experiences they want to stand out, but since so many cover letters read the same way, committee members get bored before they even get to the main attraction.
But what if there was a way to elevate this document beyond being a necessary evil to make a more personal connection between the search committee and the candidate before they meet? What if the cover letter can be a powerful and persuasive tool for personal storytelling to help committee members know candidates in a deeper way?
Dylan Wilkes, who has been part of numerous hiring committees as the assistant director of residential life within residential life and housing at Virginia Commonwealth University, suggests that “as an employer, a cover letter is what helps a candidate stand out from other candidates who have similar experiences. If I am reviewing two candidates with similar experiences and have to choose between them, the cover letter is what helps me decide on which candidate to move forward.” This difference can be essential for recent graduates and newer professionals in particular.
Cover letters help candidates preempt questions about their work history while they provide committees important additional insight. “Cover letters can be helpful because they can fill in gaps that may exist in résumés, such as a break in employment, institution-specific language and culture, and clarifying a complex responsibility,” says Joseph Welsh, associate director of residence life at Christopher Newport University. (In addition to serving on the search committee for several positions, Welsh chairs the search committee for live-in staff.)
Eric Cottrell, director of Harrison College House at the University of Pennsylvania, notes that a cover letter can also provide clarity explicitly related to an applicant's interest in a position. “The résumé tells me what skills a candidate brings to do the job. The cover letter should tell the story of why the candidate wants the job and how they would apply their skills to the position. Simply restating the skills you have on the résumé is a missed opportunity to articulate your passion and excitement for the job.” Taylor Hanley, assistant director of North and West Lake Villages at Florida Gulf Coast University, puts it this way. “Some candidates miss out on the opportunity to engage in storytelling, which can be a powerful tool in getting search committees to picture them in the role. Storytelling can happen through sharing relevant special projects and showcasing who they are as a supervisor.”
Just as a candidate has an opportunity to raise the bar with their cover letter, so an employer has one to maximize the information they can glean from it. “A cover letter adds a little bit of personality to the candidate,” says Wilkes. “The résumé says, 'This is what I have to offer.' The cover letter says, 'In addition to what I have to offer, let me tell you about how this experience has shaped the way I approach my work.' When we think about it, pursuing a candidate or pursuing a job is when we start to build a relationship with each other, and the cover letter allows the candidate to showcase who they are as a person and how that influences how they show up in the work setting.” In other words, if employers are not asking for personal experiences and anecdotes that go beyond job tasks, the committees miss the opportunity to understand who a candidate is, how they engage in their work, and why they are interested in a particular job.
The search committee, in partnership with the human resources office, future supervisors, and others in a department or on a campus, sets the tone for a given position posting. When search committees ask for examples of applicants' experiences in action in a cover letter, they are more likely to get a response that goes beyond a list of job titles and responsibilities. Instead, they potentially gain insight into how people show up in their work and more specificity about how cover letter content can help with screening candidates.
If search committees don’t tell applicants what they want in a cover letter, most applicants will default to what they know and have already seen or previously done. That’s why employers should consider providing specific guidelines for what they would like to see in a cover letter. Consider how much more could be gathered if search committees asked for a cover letter that would include relating the story of a time the candidate navigated conflict in the workplace, an example of something learned from a mistake, or a situation where the candidate was helping a student and learned something from them in the process. Hanley acknowledges that, as a search committee member, “Cover letters have been helpful for me to understand the candidate and their experience a little bit more thoroughly before making a final decision on whether or not to offer an interview.”
If a job posting asks a candidate to respond to specific prompts, that is one way to make the cover letter more useful, but candidates still have the opportunity to tell their stories even if that guidance is absent. Hanley explains the approach she uses in her own cover letters: “A cover letter allows me to go more in depth and to showcase special projects I’ve done that relate directly to the role I’m applying for. I also enjoy storytelling in cover letters as I feel it’s a way to capture attention and to show more of my true self prior to engaging with me over the phone, virtually, or in-person.”
Consider how much more could be gathered if search committees asked for a cover letter that would include relating the story of a time the candidate navigated conflict in the workplace, an example of something learned from a mistake, or a situation where the candidate was helping a student and learned something from them in the process.
Welsh agrees with Hanley about the personal insights candidates can share in a cover letter, which provides “an opportunity for candidates to talk about themselves, their professional journey, and where they're hoping to go. The letter provides more subjective information that may demonstrate passion that could be missing from the objective format of a résumé.” In other words, the cover letters allow candidates to share how they engage in their work on paper before a committee has even met them. Cover letters allow the applicant to tell a deeper and more meaningful story. As Welsh explains, “Something that may only warrant one line in a résumé could be an entire paragraph in a cover letter: moving a task or responsibility from something the applicant did to something they learned from or an experience that inspired positive structural changes. It gives the reader the opportunity to learn more about the applicant's 'why' and a bit more about them personally.” Again, these suggestions highlight the potential to maximize the utility of the cover letter. Instead of previewing the résumé, the letter can become a preview of who a candidate is and how they engage in practice and interaction with colleagues and students.
Another consideration for search committees seeking to make cover letters a valuable part of the application process is to create and use a rubric to evaluate the letters. As Welsh confirms, “Search committees approach reviewing résumés with several consistent questions in mind, and they look for specific words, experiences, etc. We have an opportunity to approach cover letters in the same way. This could help search committees identify the strongest candidates while making their process more equitable. A standardized rubric could help to promote this equity when reviewing materials.”
Along with identifying skills, talent, experience, and knowledge, part of the candidate vetting process is also determining how well a candidate's priorities and principles will fit with those of a given team, department, unit, division, or institution. This can be difficult to discern without an intentional focus during the search process. Fortunately, the cover letter is a place to showcase that alignment early and with specific examples. Cottrell says that a well-developed cover letter “allows the candidate the opportunity to highlight exactly what they’re bringing to the department or institution and relate to departmental or institutional values, mission statement, and workplace culture.”
Value alignment is something that Sydney Wein, assistant director for residential life at Binghamton University, also encourages candidates to include in the cover letter. “As someone who is passionate about values alignment when participating in a job search, whether as a hiring manager or candidate, a cover letter can speak volumes that a résumé may not fully capture. A cover letter allows you to tell a story of your values as a practitioner and how they contribute to your work ethic and to describe the application of your values in the field.”
Candidates can use storytelling not only to highlight how they do things but also to speak specifically to institutional values, mission, and vision statements, which can explain why they are interested in a particular opportunity. This “why” goes beyond the specifics of a position to talk about how candidates see themselves as part of the larger institutional culture. Finding candidates whose values align with an institution can help with employee retention, meaning fewer searches in the long run.
After determining the goal and mission of the cover letter, it’s time to tackle that blank page (or computer screen) and craft a message that will demand and hold the reader’s attention. Because a cover letter serves as the introduction to who a candidate is, it needs to have a strong opening. Wilkes recalls, “I once was told that a cover letter should be somewhat of a cliff hanger and how you get employers to want to learn more about you. . . . It is important to share your story on how you arrived at the point of wanting to apply to that position.”
How can you tell your story in a cover letter? One strategy is for the candidate to put their values at the fore, making it one of the first steps in the search process. Trying to sum up one’s entire value system may seem daunting, but there are ways to simplify the process.
The opening paragraph should quickly outline how the candidate’s talents fit the specific role and why they are interested. At that point, the candidate should identify three pillars of their work or three values they center in their student affairs practice and then discuss each. For example,
Communication, leadership, and student-centered equity are central to my work with students. I seek to be true to my word, to offer support and resources, and to think of new and better ways of doing things in my work in higher education. When I saw the [position] at [institution] I was excited to find a potential opportunity that aligned with these pillars of my work where I could continue to learn and grow as a professional.
The next paragraph should be a story about the role that communication (the first pillar) has played in past work. Candidates should provide specific details (while still protecting the identity of others who may have been involved) as they discuss a crucial moment in their professional journey. An example could be as follows:
How we communicate is central to our relationships with others. One of the RAs on my staff team recently told me, “The fact that you respond quickly to email really makes a difference. I don't always get answers to my questions. You not only respond quickly, but you also provide resources, so then I have the tools I need to resolve issues on my own in the future.” For me, it is not just what we communicate but also how and when. I am timely, direct, succinct, and solution-oriented in communicating with students, colleagues, and other partners on and off campus.
The next paragraph takes the same approach to address the remaining pillars. Providing a story or example for each shows the committee not just what the candidate’s values are, but how they show up in their work. A candidate might even consider sharing one story of a time they failed and what they learned. However, don’t make all three stories about failure. One is enough to show that you are open to learning; two or three failure stories could raise concerns. For new professionals, all of this (plus a quick concluding paragraph thanking the employer for their consideration) should fit on one page. Stories that get too long lose the reader, so focus on the core message and choose powerful examples that showcase the work.
Of course, there are other must-haves for a successful cover letter, starting with proofreading. That may mean having others review the letter or using technology to check spelling and grammar. At this point, one might be tempted to use artificial intelligence to give the letter a boost. Aside from the inherent risks associated with its use, professionals such as Wein have concerns about the “identity and integrity” in using AI to complete tasks like creating a cover letter. Hanley agrees, saying, “I have always taken pride in my voice through writing, and that was not something I was willing to compromise through using tools such as AI.” She adds that the “AI voice” can be relatively easily detected in student writing and other works. To claim the cover letter as a space to bring more of ourselves into the process and not to craft that letter ourselves is a contradictory practice.
In the end, a great cover letter may not get someone the job, but it may very well get them an interview. Done correctly, a cover letter is an opportunity to address experiences and translate them into language and examples that others can understand. The cover letter is a place to bring clarity and address elements beyond the more rigid résumé portion of a candidate’s materials. Whether using storytelling to stand out as an applicant, as clarification for anything unusual in the résumé, or to express interest in a specific job, the cover letter is the part of the application process where candidates can inspire search committees to want to learn more about them. As Wilkes says, “Cover letters do play an important role. We need to reframe the way we view them. Cover letters are more than a formality, because they are additional resources to learn about a candidate.” That’s a result that anyone, from Baby Boomers to Millennials, would be glad to achieve.
Michelle L. Boettcher is a program coordinator and associate professor of Higher Education Student Affairs at the Clemson University College of Education in South Carolina.
