Ask a Manager

I recently received this letter from a reader: I wanted to add another chorus to the thank you’s for your straightforward cover letter advice. I am a reasonably strong and fast writer, but for some reason always used to get futzed over a cover letter. Now I can bang out a high quality one in an hour, or even […]

A reader writes: I wanted to offer some testimony on why cover letters are so important. I am currently reviewing applications for several positions with a government agency. Our online application system doesn’t require a cover letter, but applicants can add them if they want. I have a relatively small pool of applicants and quite […]

I frequently get asked for examples of good cover letters, and a reader recently sent me a good one that I want to share. I’m always telling people “don’t just use your cover letter to summarize your resume — add something new.” This is a good example of what that can look like — the […]

I often get asked for examples of good cover letters, and a reader recently sent me a good one that I want to share. I’m always telling people “don’t just use your cover letter to summarize your resume — add something new.” This is a really nice example of how you can talk about your work […]

Today I’m sharing with you one of my favorite cover letters of all time. This is a superb example of how to use your cover letter to make a strong case for yourself without resorting to repeating your resume … which is the most common mistake I see people make. The caveats I’ve learned to […]

I often get asked for examples of good cover letters, and a reader recently sent me a great one that I want to share. This is a fantastic example of how someone without a ton of work experience (she’s still a student!) can make a compelling case for why they’d be a good hire. When […]

For employers, picking the best candidate for the job isn’t just about skills and experience. If it were, they wouldn’t ask for cover letters at all — hell, we might not even need interviews. We could just hire based on resumes alone. But of course, other things matter, too — things like personal traits, work […]

I’ve read a lot of cover letters in my career — thousands of them, maybe even tens of thousands. (If you’re thinking that sounds like really boring reading, you’re right.) What I can tell you from doing that is that most people make the same mistakes over and over, and they waste the opportunity cover […]

People often really struggle over how to start a cover letter, and as a result they often end up with lines that are overly salesy, gimmicky, or just very tired. Here are popular opening lines that you should purge from your cover letters. * “If you are seeking…” — as in, “If you are seeking a […]