Your cover letter is you

Cover letter advice from a guy without a job.

I mean seriously, how much use is it going to be?

The washed-up old tool doesn’t even have a job.

Well, yes, that’s true.

I don’t have a job.

So why should you actually take notice of what I say?

Well you probably shouldn’t.

I’m certainly no expert at getting a job.

But I am, most definitely, an expert at not getting the job.

And it is in this guise that I come before you now.

So what have I learnt, if anything?

Well probably the most important thing is this.

If a resume is your body, then a cover letter is your soul.

Sappy and trite, yes I know, but bear with me.

A resume is in effect, a list of educational achievements, jobs worked and skills acquired. And whilst it may vary a little from applicant to applicant, for the most part it will be pretty much the same. A little bit less here, a little bit more there.

Why?

Because by and large, most of us have travelled the same career paths to get to this point.

We’ve all attended similar schools and unis, done similar placements and work experience and had more or less the same jobs in different agencies.

Along the way we’ve attended the same courses, used the same tools, and notched up fairly similar accomplishments.

So for a prospective employer, the resume is merely a confirmation of the fact that you have the requisite skills and training for the job on offer.

In short, you have earned the right to be here.

The cover letter on the other hand is a different beast entirely.

It is (or should be in my opinion) a glorious celebration of all that makes you unique. Entirely and utterly different, not just from the other candidates, but from anyone the reader has ever met.

Sure, you may have the same degree as the other candidate. But has he (or she) been a podium dancer at a dodgy London nightclub? (True story.)

Has he or she ever taken a point off Nick Kyrgios, rapped like Eminem or won a grand playing Craps at Caesar’s Palace?

And has he/she ever cross-country skied at night through a Swedish forest to watch the Northern Lights? Or mushed a dog sled? Or had a funny limerick published in The Times?

The answer is, almost certainly, no.

So, are these things relevant to the job on offer?

No.

Do they mark you out as a solid and dependable team player?

They do not.

And will they satisfy the reader that you can handle the brutally taxing grind of a busy agency?

Nope.

That’s what your resume is for.

But what they will do is this.

They will mark you out as being an interesting and entertaining person. An independent and curious soul always looking to try new things. And a person who is sufficiently comfortable in their own skin to make fun of themselves and present themselves as less than “perfect.”

And, at the end of the day, isn’t this the kind of person you would want to have round your office?

Skills and qualifications are what is needed for the job.

Personality and humour are what is needed to be human.

And by and large, people prefer to recruit humans as opposed to highly-skilled automatons.

For years I tried to make my cover letter an extension of my resume. Serious-minded, practical and all business.

But what I’ve realised now is that by doing this, I am actually doing myself a disservice.

A resume and cover letter should work like a well-oiled one-two punch. You hit him with your left (skills/qualifications) and then quickly follow up with your right. (Amazing experiences, interests, passions, quirks etc.)

And hopefully, this one-two combination will knock him out and land you the gig.

So if I know all this, then why haven’t I got a job?

Well the answer is a simple one. It has taken me this long to have the courage to buck the conventional wisdom.

But now I have started writing cover letters that are carefree, humorous and hopefully intensely human.

And yes, thanks for reminding me, they haven’t landed me a job yet.

But they have resulted in at least 50% of the prospective employers writing back to me in person and telling me how refreshing they found my humour and honesty. A marked improvement on the standard “rejection letter” or “no response” that I was getting before.

And if I haven’t got the gig, at least I am now on their radar.

And now to the sell that allows this post to qualify for a spot on Find a Finder’s Fee and not Find-an-Answer.

If any of you out there need help turning your life experiences into a riveting and enjoyable cover letter then give me a yell.

Or if you have more conventional jobs that require doing, then I am happy to take those on as well.

Happy hunting!