This question comes to us from a comment on November’s Career Q&A column, Determining your fit for a position. A reader asked: Do you have tips/advice/sample of a cover letter that demonstrates this ‘match or best fit criteria’, such as for the one you made above? My dilemma is how to incorporate the grid into a cover letter without making it too long or too detailed or containing too much information that may annoy the reader (I understand it should be limited to 1 page only).

Cover letters can make or break your chances in the competition process so this is a great question.

We’ll start with a big “do not” when it comes to cover letters: do NOT use a generic template. You know – the letter where just the date and the organization’s address are changed and absolutely no effort has been made to tailor it to the specific position. It’s the type of letter where the applicant thinks that they don’t have to go to much effort because their resume will say it all.

It looks something like this:

Here’s a reality check: often recruiters will not even look at the CV if the cover letter is not 1) well-written (keep in mind it’s an audition of those “excellent communication skills”!) and 2) makes it easy for the recruiter to connect the dots between your background and their needs. You have about 10 seconds of the recruiter’s attention on your cover letter to impress them enough to spend another 30 seconds or so on your resume.

As we discussed in November, the grid where you map out your skills and experience against the employer’s needs is a way of realistically assessing whether or not you are a good fit for the posted position. We have seen the grid integrated effectively into the body of a cover letter but we caution that it should only be done when it really is a perfect fit. Otherwise, you risk drawing attention to the points where you are lacking some of the qualifications. It will also likely mean that your cover letter will be more than one page – this is fine as long as it is articulate and you are providing useful information.

If you choose to include the grid in your cover letter, you could preface it with a sentence like “The table below highlights the fit between BetterWorld Organization’s needs for the program manager position and my experience and qualifications.” You would then need to include information for every requirement / qualification listed in the posting. This would come after an opening paragraph that provides a brief summary of your experience and speaks to your motivation to working with this particular organization.

Alternatively, you could expand on the “best fit” criteria over a couple of paragraphs. The points you made in the grid will be points you raise in the letter. Use the luxury of narrative in the cover letter to highlight the areas you feel are the strongest fit. Note that usually the most important qualifications to the employer are listed at the top of their list.

Here’s an example using the grid from November’s article:

You can see from the example above that the applicant has addressed all the important criteria in the job posting. Importantly, she is also specific about how she meets the criteria. She does not say I have good interpersonal skills, she says I have been recognized by employers and colleagues for my diplomacy and good judgment…

With the exception of “Dear” and “Sincerely”, every cover letter should be written from scratch. Assessing your fit for a position is the first step. Making that fit obvious to the recruiter through your written application is the next step. Also see this past Career Q&A column for other tips for writing an effective cover letter.

Good luck!

 

Nancy Ingram and Christa McMillin are co-founders and partners at Foot in the Door Consulting which specializes in helping nonprofit professionals build sustainable, satisfying and values-driven careers. Together, they have over 30 years of experience on both sides of the hiring and management process in the nonprofit sector. They can be reached through www.footinthedoorconsulting.com.

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