Cover Letter Writing 101: What you didn't learn in college

You studied so hard to earn your degree and are now $60,000 in debt.  It's time to get your first job and you find yourself staring at a blank page.  What are the magic words to say to the person who can help you get your first job?  After all, you need to start paying back that loan and need a job now!

Of all the courses and lectures I took at the University of Michigan and Sophia University in Tokyo, not one taught me how to write a cover letter. So, I am going to help you.  For the remainder of this article, I would like to be referred to as Professor Nespeca.  I'm kidding, and please note these tips work for already employed people as well.  Okay, here we go... cue Pink's "Get the party started".

First, you want to make sure you keep the salutation gender free.  One of the biggest mistakes people make is to assume the person you are addressing the letter to is of a certain gender.  I have received so many cover letters starting "Dear Sir"...which of course is not a way to start a letter especially to a woman who is deciding whether or not to hire you.  So, start letters as "To Whom It May Concern".  That way nobody gets offended because the last time I was in a restaurant I was referred to as "mam", so I know I am not a sir.  If you know who you are sending the cover letter to, send the letter to the person by using Mr. X or Ms. X...do not use Mrs. as you don't know the person's marital status.

The most important thing you want to remember is that "less is more".  Recruiters and hiring managers get thousands of cover letters so you want your letter to be easy to read so keep it short.  There are so many books on the subject too and there are apps as well to help, but if you write something like the following cover letter, it will get noticed:

Dear Ms. Nespeca:

I am interested in your Compensation Analyst position.  My internship at Google in compensation coupled with my economics degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill would add value to your team.  I believe my organizational skills, tenacity to succeed and ability to learn quickly would prove that I can be an asset to your company.  I am looking for $45,000-$50,000.  Please see my attached resume.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Recent College Graduate

All you need to write is one paragraph of what you can do for the company. Illustrate how you can add value and make it easy on the eyes.  I don't mean it has to be George Clooney, but just a quick read that's clean and not filled with lots of words.  Again, "less is more".  No colors or anything unprofessional.  Once I received a purple cover letter.  Now if I was hiring for Prince's production company, that would make sense but I wasn't.  So, white screen or paper if hard copy.  KISS.  And no I am not referring to that song by Prince.  I was referring to the acronym:  KISS as in KEEP IT SIMPLE.

So keep it easy to ready, to the point and show how you can help the company succeed and you will most likely get the job.  So I gave you some more time to your day as class is dismissed.  Now, you have some time to listen to some great music. Did you catch all my musical references in this article?