I recently heard someone say that cover letters are dead. This is among the most false things I’ve ever heard. Luckily for you, these other people aren’t nearly as smart and proactive as you’re about to be. Reading this will give you an incredible advantage (especially over those who think they can get away without writing a cover letter) and you’ll soon learn how to enhance your job application to the point that employers will be begging to interview you!
Why is that, you ask? Because you’re not going to spout a prose version of your resume. You’re not going to talk about your experiences, accomplishments, and accolades. If you do that it will make me cry, and I’m not in the mood to cry. That stuff (while important) is already presented and more accessible in your resume (which we already went over in STEP 5). No one has time for redundancy. The cover letter is your opportunity to sell yourself—you the person, not the piece of paper. This is where you show an employer that you’re not just a list of previous experiences and publications. There’s no one else in the world like you and there is no one else in the world who wants this job for the same exact reasons as you. There’s no one else in the world who will perform this job the exact same way you will. It’s time for you to show employers why you’re the best fit for the job, and it can start right here before they’ve even heard your voice.
Let’s do it.
If you’ve already started I’m virtually slapping the back of your head! You can’t begin your cover letter until you’ve done at least a tiny bit of research. There’s so much information out there that you could look up about the company and the job that you’re applying to. You may be wondering how you’ll possibly know where to find the right things. Don’t worry—that’s why I’m here to guide you!
Most biotech companies, especially start-ups, put a strong emphasis on their company culture. Culture is the atmosphere in the office (or lab), it’s the way people treat one another in the workplace, it’s the passion that people bring into every simple task they perform. The culture is typically driven by the leaders at a company and trickles down to every employee by example. How can you know a company’s culture before you work there? A piece of this stems from the company’s values, which are conveniently super easy to find! Just go to the website of whatever company you are applying to. Somewhere on that homepage you’ll see “About Us” or “Our Company” or even “Our Story.” You might remember a little of this from STEP 3 when we were looking for jobs, but we’re going to dig a little deeper now. You can also search for videos about the company–it’s possible a company leader spoke about their technology for a news report or maybe there’s a video on their website explaining their technology. In these links and videos you’ll gain access to the company values, the stories about why they do what they do, and a sneak peek into the culture of the company. Read these all carefully. Which parts stand out to you? Which values do you connect with on a professional and—more importantly—personal level? WRITE THESE DOWN NOW!
Good news—you just started the value proposition of your cover letter. Now that you have these main ideas it’s time to take a deeper dive. Look at those things you wrote. Why did you feel a connection to them? Was it an experience from you past (personal or professional)? Maybe you have a relative who had the disease that this company is treating and “Be Courageous” inspires you to help others with that disease?
The other way to learn about a company’s culture is even simpler: Just ask someone! I’m guessing chances are pretty slim that you know someone at the company you’re applying to? This is why some really smart person created LinkedIn. I’ll go into this in a lot more detail in a later post about “Networking Without A Network.” Don’t be afraid to look up employees of a company on LinkedIn. If you can find someone who is a similar level to the job you’re applying for that’s great! Send them a message! For the most part, people love to help others and to brag about the place they work–especially if it’s a great place. If possible, I strongly advise you to schedule a phone call rather than just communicating through messages online. You can learn a great deal from someone’s tone of voice in the way they talk about their company. Excited and passionate is much different than someone who is just spouting the standard “I love where I work” line without actual merit.
Now you’re probably wondering… “When are we going to actually start writing this stupid thing?” The answer is: Right now! (I bet you didn’t see that coming from 234 miles away……)
The first thing you’ll do is address the letter to who you are writing to. In most cases you won’t know this persons name (but if you do it’s a bonus!), so it may be a bit of a struggle to figure out what to write here. I’ve found that a simple “Dear Hiring Manager” is best. It’s direct, gender neutral, and avoids any possible pre-judgement. After that you’ll start off with a sentence specifying what position/company you are applying to.
Next is where it gets a little more fun. Go into detail about what it would mean to you to be a part of this company. Dig into what emotions you would feel if you got an acceptance call from them right now.
Think back to your answers to the questions you answered in STEP 2 and how they tie into the values and culture of the company you’re applying to.
Tell a story about something you’ve taken a leadership role in that might be very applicable but doesn’t show up on your resume. Do not try to stretch things here–being the captain of the football team, while great, doesn’t come close to working at a real job. Less is more in many cases, and putting things in your cover letter that don’t really fit will be obvious and appear desperate.
Once you’ve finished your letter, close out with a simple “Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon.”
With your resume and cover letter done, you can finally apply to the job! Congratulations on making it to this epic milestone!
