Why do I need a cover letter?
Let’s look at it soberly: an application is advertising and the cover letter is the sales text. Imagine browsing products at Amazon or Zalando. What do you look for? First look at the product images and then at the descriptions. What questions do you ask?
This is exactly what a recruiter does when reading your cover letter.
The cover letter is thus somewhat undercooled expressed your sales text. He must get the recruiter to say, "Yes, it seems like a good idea, 30.000, 60.000 or more than 90.000 euros a year to spend on this person’s working time."He must be able to invite you with a clear conscience. And it must above all be able to sell you well to your own boss.
Why do I need a cover letter?
On Amazon, products often have hundreds of reviews from both satisfied and dissatisfied customers. This gives us peace of mind as buyers. Even if the description is not good, in the end you trust the rating stars and maybe buy it anyway. This luxury is usually not available to personnel in applications. You have to rely on what we tell you.
The problem with this is that you usually have too little time. How long does a recruiter have on average to look through your entire application?? About 3-5 minutes. For your cover letter, this leaves approx. 1 minute. So how long should the cover letter be? It’s simple: the average person reads about one page per minute. 250 words. A recruiter is snappier. So you have his attention for about 350 words.
What do you tell about yourself in these 350 words in the application letter?? What convinces a recruiter about you? After all, you have 30, 40 or 50 years of life experience. How do we squeeze it into 1 minute, into 350 words?? This is a sporting achievement. Goethe once wrote: "I am writing you a long letter. I had no time for a short one."It is difficult to concentrate on the essentials. One thing is clear: if we don’t succeed, our application will end up in the circular file, the wastebasket.
Will the cover letter be read at all?
"But hold on!" you might say, "Is the application letter actually read?? Today, decision-makers only pay attention to the perfect resume anyway. If I have a gap, I’m out anyway, right??" No. Do not worry! It is not that bad. The cover letter is read. And it contributes significantly to the attitude. Evidence pleases? Here are three written testimonials from recruiters about cover letters:
[Statements about the importance of the cover letter]
These statements speak a clear language: "Yes, the cover letter is read. And above all, it should communicate your motivation."This is not always easy. That’s why I’ve put together the 3 biggest mistakes in cover letters, and then I’ll tell you how to do it better. I would also be happy to help you personally with your application letter: Simply take Contact to me on.