Cover Letters Really DO Matter

A few postings ago, I mentioned that the application process seems to force all applicants into a kind of harsh format that bleaches out individuality. The only place where individuality can rise to the surface is in the cover letter.

As I’ve pondered this realization a bit, I can remember how my own cover letters changed throughout my career. When I was A.B.D., I knew I was at a disadvantage, so I spent hours crafting each cover letter. This was in the days before the Internet, and I would actually go to the library and retrieve microfiche copies of institutions’ catalogs so that I could speak specifically about each university and how I might fit in with the department’s curriculum. I studied faculty rosters to see how many professors had degrees from doctoral institutions that matched mine. I worked like a dog to make sure my packet was for THAT position. When I had my defense on the calendar, though, and I knew that I would be applying for many more positions, I shifted to a more generic cover letter. Because more institutions were included in my search, I only researched a few in which I had specific interest. I suspect, in fact, that if I were to go back through those dusty old floppy disks, I would find that some of the letters had incorrect salutations or even position titles, the kinds of errors that I now know are death to an applicant. When I started looking at administrative positions, I switched back to a completely individual letter.

So, here’s the dilemma: Applicants tend to underestimate the importance of the cover letter. I can remember, though, thinking, “If I’m going to apply for 75 or 100 positions, how can I customize my letter that often?” I think the solution is twofold: Applicants need to be much more selective about how many applications they send out, and search committees need to cut applicants a little slack about the wrong insertions related to multiple applications (but not out-and-out errors in editing!).

The burden, however, is completely on the applicant, as is the reward for the hard work. In one of the searches I supervised just this year, the chair of the committee kept saying, “I love this guy’s cover letter. He gets what we are trying to do in our department.” It was a pristine, completely customized letter. Somehow the applicant communicated his enthusiasm, sharp thinking, and commitment to working in that department, in THAT specific department. No surprise: He landed the job.

For job seekers, let me ask this question on your behalf: What do search committees WANT to see in a cover letter? How can applicants communicate their distinctiveness through that document, without veering off into stupid application tricks?