What is a cover letter and why do I need one?

 

How can a cover letter help you stand out from the pack?

There always seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the content and purpose of cover letters. Job seekers seem perpetually unsure about whether they should write one or not.

Granted, not all employers require candidates to include a cover letter with their application. But since when is going above and beyond a negative trait in a job candidate?

"Bottom line: no manager will rule out your application because you sent a cover letter. But some managers will rule out your application because you didn't," says Louise Fletcher, resume writer and president of Blue Sky Resumes. "Depending on which type of manager is hiring, it might never be read. But it also might be the clincher that gets you the interview."

A cover letter can be one of the most effective tools at a job seeker's disposal. And, as with any tool, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Of course, the first step is understanding what a cover letter is for in the first place.

What's the point of a cover letter?

One of the biggest problems job seekers have with writing cover letters is figuring out exactly what they're supposed to include. Between an application form, a resume and a list of references, the employer already has plenty of information about you – or so it seems, anyway. So what could a cover letter possibly add?

"Don't look at a cover letter as just some other hoop you need to leap through in order to be considered for a job," says Alex Twersky, co-founder and vice president of career consulting firm Resume Deli. "Your cover letter, if written properly, provides a narrative opportunity to emphasize your grasp of the job's requirements and how your particular skills and accomplishments map to the job."

"Managers are looking for you to show that you understand their business and that you care about what they need," says Fletcher. "The cover letter is the only way of showing this, and that's why you need to write a strong, customized letter that directly addresses the company's needs."

A good cover letter is actually a lot more like an interview than a resume. It's your opportunity to become more than just data points on a hiring manager's checklist.

What makes a good cover letter?

Even after you're aware of why you need a cover letter, writing a really good one is not an easy task. Here are some things that can set yours apart:

• Personalization
• Adjusting your resume to best suit the position you're applying to is important, and it's even more crucial when it comes to cover letters. Research the company and take some time to consider how your skills and experience line up with their needs. Keep that in the back of your mind while writing your cover letter.

• Personality
• Application forms and resumes tend to be pretty bland – but your cover letter doesn't have to be. "If you're going to send a boring, generic letter, there's no way for a hiring manager to get a sense of your communication style or personality," says Michele Mavi, director of internal recruiting and content development at Atrium Staffing. "Even worse, they may assume that your lack of originality means you're incapable of it, or at the very least, that the position isn't important enough to you to put any effort into your cover letter."

• Knowing your audience
• Inject some personality into your cover letter, but don't get carried away. Remember to keep it professional. "Whatever approach you take, be sure you understand the culture of the organization you're applying to and write with that voice in mind," says Mavi. "Companies aren't just looking for people with the right skills; they are looking for people with the right skills who fit into their culture as well."

• Demonstrating your skills
• "Don't just regurgitate your resume content in your cover letter," suggests Twersky. "Instead, figure out what business problems your reader is likely kvetching about, and then tell them -- right here in your cover letter -- how you would go about addressing them. This shows that you're thinking, and a true problem-solver."

Writing the perfect cover letter may be difficult, but it's not impossible. By following these simple guidelines, you'll be well on your way to submitting a cover letter that will set you apart from the crowd.

How I stumbled into my dream career

 

Some people have known since they were young what they wanted to do for work. Others took a less-direct route to get to their dream career path.

For many Americans, finding a job they’re satisfied with can be a real challenge – much less finding themselves a “dream job.” But it can happen! And while there’s no single path to ultimate job satisfaction, knowing how others have pulled it off can help you chart your own course.

Hear from five professionals how they landed their dream jobs, in their own words:

Find people who share your passions.

It’s not easy to stumble into your dream career without some help. Just ask Natalia Rubenstein, a curator at Rise Art, who credits her initial career switch as well as early success in the new position on friends and colleagues who supported her. “It took me a few years [close to 10 to be exact)] to figure out what my dream job is. After six years of pondering over the Civil Code and failing tax law, and a few more years in the world of corporate law, I realized that an impending ulcer is not worth the satisfaction of drafting a 150-page contract no one will ever read. So I started exploring my options.

“Art was not even on my radar until a friend casually said to me: ‘Hey, you like art. Why not look for a job there?’ It got me thinking, so in the end I packed (i.e. stole) a stapler with my firm’s logo and accepted a volunteering position with the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art. Over the course of six months I worked day and night out of an attic with five other crazy enthusiasts to put together one of the largest international art exhibitions in Russia at the time. It was a ride of a lifetime: 7-day work weeks, cancelled family dinners and a resting heart rate of 120 most of the time. In short, I knew I it was true love by the end of my first week.

Once I knew what I wanted it got a lot easier - I researched my options and decided to move to London to get a degree in art history. When it was time to look for a job, I knew that I wanted to find a team of people who aren't afraid of hard work, care about each other and about what they do - and I was lucky enough meet Rise Art. When you do what you love with a team of brilliant dedicated people, going to work is an actual joy. Even dream jobs have highs and lows, but I can honestly say that most days I walk into the office with an actual smile on my face.”

-Natalia Rubinstein, curator at Rise Art, an art marketplace, curating emerging and established artists and artworks selected by a panel of independent experts

Build on your favorite skills.

For a lot of people, identifying your dream job is half the battle. For William Gadea, the creative director and founder of IdeaRocket, LLC, ambitions mixed with experiences to shift his dream job into something attainable and fulfilling.

“My career is all over the place, but weirdly it was a perfect preparation for what I do now. I went to film school wanting to be a film director, but shortly after college, I started gravitating towards a career as a playwright. Obviously, that's not very remunerative, so I made ends meet creating graphics for the investment banks in NYC.

I never fell out of love with the theatre, but I did fall out of love with the day job; I really needed to find a creative occupation. I had a film school background, and skills in graphics software, so it seemed to me that I might combine the two with digital animation. I took some night courses, pulled together a portfolio, and soon landed a job at MTV Animation. That led to a series of jobs in children's television.

I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so I had the hankering to start my own business. I hung up a shingle and started working as an animator for hire. Oddly, the processes of business had seeped into me during my time at the investment banks; I had a pretty good idea of how to build a freelance practice into a company. Today, my company IdeaRocket has four full-time employees and about a dozen freelancers and has served more than 20 Fortune 500 companies. There's nothing I would rather do with my work life.”

-William Gadea, creative director and founder, IdeaRocket

Never stop learning.

You don’t get your dream job by standing still. Amanda Ponzar, chief marketing officer of Community Health Charities is a testament to how continually furthering your education and volunteering can open up avenues to your dream job you may never have imagined.

“I am in my dream career and love my job. I loved writing even as a young child, and wrote poetry and stories, was involved in art and theater, and eventually started writing for my high school paper, college paper as features editor and co-editor in chief, and getting published in the local newspaper as a student. I figured I’d become an English teacher or journalist so got an English degree.

At one of my first jobs as a marketing administrative assistant, I would write letters for my bosses and edit/proofread other’s work, including marketing and advertising collateral that came from our in-house agency. I was submitting articles for publication freelance on the side, and got a few published. My coworkers encouraged me to apply — and vouched for me — for a copywriter position at our in-house ad agency. Thanks to their belief in me, I got the opportunity and my first job as a copywriter. I fell in love with it and realized I could use my love of writing and communications in business and actually be paid decently well. I loved the creative aspects of the work.

A few years later, I went back to school and got a master’s degree in media communications with an emphasis in advertising and marketing; this was when I worked as the marketing manager directly for a company’s CEO. I had an English degree and had worked as an advertising copywriter so I understood how to create the materials, but once I became a marketing manager, I realized there was still a lot I felt like I needed to learn. Plus, I felt like I needed the degree to supervise others, as some of the people I was supervising had less experience, but more advanced degrees than I did.

After earning my master’s, I was volunteering so much on the side that I decided to make the switch full-time to nonprofits, and was very fortunate to work for many of the largest headquarter nonprofits in the world. During that time, I obtained executive education from Harvard Business School in corporate social responsibility. Flash forward and here I am as chief marketing officer for Community Health Charities. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to do what I love every day – not just writing and communications and marketing, but doing it for a good cause, to build stronger, healthier communities and motivate people to take action to improve health. My family has faced personal health challenges as well, so it’s meaningful to do something that impacts the people I love, as well as so many others.

And that’s my story – living the dream.”

-Amanda Ponzar, chief marketing officer, Community Health Charities

Create something totally unique.

Sometimes reaching your dream job requires a leap of faith. Just ask Craig Wolfe, president of CelebriDucks, who abandoned his previous business entirely to pursue a new idea unlike anything anyone had seen before.

“By a most fortuitous stroke of luck, I actually am working in my dream career. I was the largest publisher of artwork from television commercials in the country and then got the idea to sell it all off and create a line of celebrity rubber ducks! I know it sounds crazy. I just fell in love with the concept and thought it would be a total hoot and so much fun and creatively stimulating. Long story short, I became the top custom rubber duck manufacturer in the world and now make what are considered the most detailed and high-end rubber ducks on the market.

Not only that, I had another crazy idea — return the whole industry back to the U.S. where it began to be the only one making them here once again. Then I had the idea to make the safest PVC free rubber ducks in the world for babies to teethe on here in the USA that were made out of food and medical grade materials. Now we export them worldwide.

Truth is, I own the whole company and it’s like my playground for my lady and I to come up with all these amazing fun ideas for our celebrity parody line of Costume Quackers: Spa Wars, The Floating Stones, Goosebusters, etc… I realized many years ago that with no business background and no idea what I wanted to do in life, I somehow amazingly landed at my dream job by fate alone – who knew!”

How to talk about your weaknesses in an interview

 

What are your weaknesses? Everybody knows this question will be asked. Here's 3 tips for answering the weaknesses interview question.

The least favorite interview question is: “What is your biggest weakness?”

It’s seemingly impossible to provide an adequate response to a question like this. You don’t want to twist it around into a positive because then you’re not answering the question, but you also don’t want to confess a flaw that may sabotage your chances of getting hired.

There are better ways for an interviewer to get you to think critically about your skills than asking this question. Karen Southall Watts, a trainer, coach and professional encourager for entrepreneurs and managers says that "What are your weaknesses?" is one of her least favorite questions too. “It's been encouraging over the years to see managers move to more situation-based and results-focused questions that better serve the candidate and employer. Yet, it is always wise to prepare for traditional interview questions like this one.”

So, how do you successfully answer the dreaded question?

1. Avoid the strength disguised as a weakness

Let’s start with how not to answer this question. While some people may tell you this is an opportunity to share a strength masked as a flaw, that’s not the answer most interviewers are looking for these days.

“Over time, the strategy for answering ‘What is your greatest weakness?’ has changed,” says Donna Shannon, president of Personal Touch Career Services. “The old school method was ‘to turn a weakness into a strength,’ such as ‘I am a perfectionist, so you know my work will always be top quality.’ The modern interviewer wants to hear a real weakness and then dive into how you deal with it.”

James Pollard, owner of a marketing consultancy, works specifically with financial advisors, and agrees—saying that when he asks this question in an interview, he does not want to hear the typical strength-disguised-as-a-weakness response. “If you Google how to answer this question, this is what you will see. People recommend saying, ‘I work too hard’ or ‘I’m a perfectionist’. I can see through these answers and I know that if you say something like this, you aren’t being genuine. You’re just giving me a rehearsed answer that you read online.”

2. Be honest, but with a twist

Interviewers can also easily spot a dishonest response. “Don't lie! Interviewers are surprisingly adept at seeing through scripted and false answers,” says Rebecca Horan, personal branding expert at Rebecca Horan Consulting LLC. “Be honest – with yourself and your interviewer. But … we all have multiple weaknesses. Choose one that is not going to torpedo your chances of landing the role.”

Instead, Horan says to make it clear that your weakness is something you’ve worked to overcome and won’t hinder your job performance. “Show that you care about personal development. If you've struggled in a specific area of expertise but you're taking a class in it to bolster your skillset, great! Talk about that. If you've always turned to jelly at the thought of public speaking but have joined your local Toastmasters chapter or you're taking an improv class to get more comfortable with speaking in front of a large group, you'll want to talk about that. Whatever it is, your interviewer should be able to envision the ‘happy ending’ to the story.”

3. Don’t self-sabotage

“Don't name a weakness that is going to get in the way of you being able to do your job successfully, working well with others, or otherwise succeeding in the position for which you're applying,” Horan cautions. “Be honest, but very selective about which example to use.”

To that end, Shannon also says to avoid choosing a “fatal flaw” – something that would knock you out of the running. “For example, saying that you lack attention to detail when you are interviewing for an accounting position would immediately disqualify you, no matter how good your strategies for dealing with it are.”

11 jobs that pay 34000USD or more per year

 

Registration Clerk

Texas County Memorial Hospital - Texas 3.0

Pre-school child (3-6 years): The pre-school child must develop a sense if initiating (being able to explore the world and start projects).

Estimated: $23,000 - $34,000 a year

Today

Patient Transporter - St. Mary's Hospital

Bon Secours - Richmond, VA 3.8

Ensures patient is covered for comfort and/or privacy and always stays with patient for safety. The Patient Transporter moves patients, in a safe and efficient…

Estimated: $26,000 - $36,000 a year

Today

Patient Care Asst

Texas Children's Hospital - Houston, TX 4.2

One of the following required addition to the high school diploma or GED. In this position, you will perform a variety of routine and specialized patient care…

Estimated: $23,000 - $32,000 a year

Today

⭐️ Operating Room Scheduler/ Medical Assistant ⭐️

Nexus Pain Center of Columbus, LLC - Columbus, GA 

Hours 8-4pm M-TH, and 8-2 pm Fridays. Obtain blood thinner clearance for patients when needed. Obtain diabetic clearance for patients when needed.

$13 an hour

Today

Patient Financial Serv Rep 4 (remote)

Inova Health System - Falls Church, VA 3.7

Claims are reviewed, corrections identified, and corrections made or resolution initiated within 24 hours of the date the claim was received.

1d

Member Services Representative (Healthcare)

Piper Companies - Linthicum, MD 4.5

High school diploma or equivalent is required. 2+ years of experience working in the healthcare industry. The Member Services Representative will be responsible…

$19 an hour

1d

Home Health Aide

Selfhelp - New York, NY 3.9

Walking, beyond that provided by durable medical equipment within the home and outside the home; Flexible hours based upon your availability and needs.

$15 an hour

Today

PATIENT TRANSPORTER

Cleveland Clinic - Vero Beach South, FL 3.9

Performs environmental and safety checks then documents findings. After selection and placement, requires three months on-the-job training and orientation to…

Estimated: $27,000 - $34,000 a year

1d

Health Information Specialist Community Hospital Westlake

University Hospitals - Westlake, OH 3.9

Answers phones and processes physical chart retrieval requests. Updates appropriate database elements in Soarian as needed: assigns new MRNs, updates changes to…

Today

Junior Medical Writer

Piper Companies - Summit, NJ 4.5

The Junior Medical Writer will generate both clinical and non-clinical reports, as well as work towards the creation of regulatory submission dossier,…

$45 an hour

Today

Clinical Technician 1

Inova Health System - Alexandria, VA 3.7

Other: 6 week full time mandatory training course. Reinforces discharge teaching and home care skills. Demonstrates competency in all required clinical skills…