When writing a cover letter...

[westcoastblondie]

I've been arguing about this with a friend of mine for a few weeks now and I'm looking for some outside opinions from people who don't know us so they won't be swayed to want to agree with one of us.

I'm writing a cover letter for potentially what could be an incredible opportunity for me. In writing my cover letter should I:

1) Write it static so that it's professional, but frank. It can outline my capabilities, but stays more formal (I guess is the terminology I might be looking for). It's brief, to the point and looks like every other in the pile.
"This is who I am. This is what I can do. This is my education."

2) Write it in a manner that showcases my personality through my explanation. So that it's still professional, but less formal. By this I mean it will still say the same thing as letter one, but it could potentially stand out.
Still saying "This is who I am. This is what I can do. This is my education." But also adding things like (but not actually, these are just suggestions) "I believe in the value ----- ----- brings to Canadian Culture' and/or 'I work hard, I play hard and I have fun with what I do'.


Basically, I guess I'm just wondering, is it better for me to make my cover letter stand out to ensure they read my resume, or is it a bad thing to have a cover letter that stands out from the rest? Does it reflect poorly on professionalism if I choose the second option?

Which would you do?

[i_forget]

I would research the company and do a letter based on the company, the position and what they are looking for in their employees.

Some companies are looking for option one, while others are looking for option two....and the person sorting through the cover letters will have that in mind when going through them.

Some companies do not even have people going through resumes and cover letters anymore because of the large number of people who apply for jobs. They have software that goes through the resume and cover letter that identifies key words that are generally within the job description and eliminates those that do not fit.

Good luck.

[dawn_sweety]

I do all the interviews and hiring for my department and personally I prefer the second type, it's feels like you are getting to know the person more and it's blatantly obvious when people cater too much towards the job. Maybe a bit of a mixture of both? Your education and skills are vital but when the personality comes through it's much easier to decide if the person is a good fit for your team. If you need any help I would be glad to help.

on a side note I got a resume and cover letter the other day and the size of the letters were gigantic (around 20-24 somewhere) as well as every sentence ended in an exclamation point. They had also decided to squish 2 positions that our company is hiring for into 1 letter (sales and restaurant operator) it was just too short (maybe 4 sentences) and they seemed overly excited and happy which caused me to not even look at the resume. I just felt they were too desperate for a job and were applying everywhere for everything.

[operabob]

Use quality paper tasteful but conservative in 2 different colours. Off whites. It makes your submission more noticeable.

[DianneS]

I just hired a new employee who starts on Monday, so I can give some 'fresh' feedback. I personally prefer the second type of letter, however I think that what is most important is that your letter be tailored to the position you are applying for. Many people send a generic cover letter to every employer. Those letters drive me crazy. I work for a huge bank and while some resumes and cover letters come to me directly, most come from our HR department. HR filters resumes through one of the computer programs mentioned above. Go with the letter you are most comfortable sending but be sure your skills, etc., match the filter criteria.

[Kyles_Mama]

I'm so glad you thought to ask this bc I'm in the process of writing a cover letter for a child care position and I'm torn if I should just keep it professional and connect my skills to the posting or if I should let my natural enthusiasm and personality come out in my writing, thus making it less formal. I'm thinking I'll take a risk and go with the latter. It's a city of toronto posting and it's super hard to get a job with them so I feel like I should take the risk and hope it stands out. Especially for a job working with children I don't see how it can hurt to come across as passionate and enthusiastic. Good luck to you op and I hope you get the job!

[electric_viking]

Use quality paper tasteful but conservative in 2 different colours. Off whites. It makes your submission more noticeable.

I think most resumes are either faxed or emailed these days. No one cares anymore about the appearance of the resume/cover letter. It's all about the content.