A lot of people ask, ‘Should I send a cover letter? Is it still necessary? Do hiring managers even read them?’. The answer is: Sometimes it’s necessary and sometimes it’s not. Some hiring managers do and some don’t. The thing is, we can’t know if the hiring manager that happens to receive your application will read your cover letter or not. So it’s impossible to say whether you need to send one or not.

A good cover letter (the sort we write at resumeSTORY.builders) makes a client look smart, thoughtful and articulate. Certainly a cover letter will not hurt your application (unless it’s totally generic, cut and paste – in which case I’d forego it altogether).

Please take a moment to review some before & after cover letters from past clients.

Deliverable: A custom cover letter. Length: 500 words or less. At the end of this service you’ll receive a PDF version of your cover letter as well as a Word document which you can edit and build on in the future.

Process: Client emails consultant: Current resume, 1 job posting and a rough draft or outline for their cover letter → 1.25-hour Phone Call  → 1st Draft of Cover Letter → Feedback → Subsequent Edits

Prior to your call, you’ll email your consultant the job posting that you would like the cover letter tailored to. You’ll also send your consultant a rough draft or outline for your cover letter. This rudimentary document serves as a springboard for the phone call. Your consultant will spend 1.25 hours (that’s 1 hour and 15 minutes) on the phone with you discussing the job posting, your professional history and strategizing your cover letter’s content. After the call, you’ll receive the first draft of your cover letter. You’ll review the first draft and make any comments or changes using the track change functionality in Word. Depending on your feedback, either additional edits to your cover letter will follow or a phone call will be set up to discuss questions and concerns. The process continues until everyone is 100% satisfied. (Accommodations available for clients with dyslexia).

Turnaround Time: Each service contains several deliverables. The turnaround time for any one deliverable (like new edits to a document based on client feedback) is a maximum of two business days (see the FAQs for more information). Total turnaround time is a function of a) the client’s availability to schedule calls and b) the amount of time the client requires to provide feedback on drafts. A typical timeline follows.

• Day 1: Client emails their consultant their current resume, 1 job posting and cover letter draft or outline
• Day 2: Cover Letter Call
• Day 4: Client receives a first draft of their cover letter
• Days 5-6: Client spends some time reviewing the cover letter – possibly sharing it with a few contacts. Client uses the track change functionality in Word to insert comments, feedback and changes into the document.
• Day 7: Client’s feedback is received. Either a call will be scheduled in the next day or two or the client will receive an updated cover letter draft based on their feedback.
• Day 8+: Additional rounds of review and editing as necessary.

SEE ADDITIONAL COVER LETTER EXAMPLES

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