Amy Lindgren

If you’re looking for a way to become confused in record time, I have you covered. With a cover letter, that is. Here’s what you do: Type into your favorite web browser, “Are cover letters necessary” and get ready for that head-spinning sensation that comes with multiple conflicting answers.

Or, skip the confusion and just believe me: Yes, cover letters are necessary.

Despite the surveys stating many employers ignore them, or that fewer than half of candidates send them (which I find head-spinning in itself), or even the polls showing that recent hires were the ones who did send letters … despite all the information out there, I default to a simple tie-breaking question: Why wouldn’t you write a letter?

It’s not as if recruiters are going to throw out your application because you included a letter. They’ll just decline to read it. But what if someone does want a letter and you didn’t use one? That’s not a chance you’ll get back.

So send a letter and stop worrying about whether you “need” to. Do it because some people want a letter and you don’t know which ones they are. It’s cheap insurance, and if you set up a system, it doesn’t need to take very long.

If you’re interested in such a system, you won’t be surprised to learn it involves templates. You just need a few models that you can modify for different purposes. Here are three that I commonly use as starting points.

• Template one simply acknowledges that you’re sending materials. It would usually be sent in the body of your email:

Dear ____

I have attached my résumé in response to your posting for a ____. Thank you in advance for considering me; I look forward to the opportunity to discuss this position in the near future.

Sincerely,

• Template two is more detailed and more customized to the position. This model is best used for situations in which you fit requested criteria fairly well, eliminating the need to explain very much.

Dear ___

As a ______ with __ years of experience, I was very excited to see your posting for a ___. In reviewing your needs, I see that my skills match the required criteria. I also have a number of additional strengths and work experiences that would be helpful.

My résumé contains more details, but here are the highlights of what I could offer in this role:

(Include four or five bullets with short sentences or phrases noting your main assets for the job. You can also incorporate some of the key words from their posting – but don’t copy and paste whole phrases.)

I would be interested in discussing this opportunity further, and look forward to talking with you soon.

Sincerely,

• Template three is nearly entirely customized, which makes the use of boilerplate paragraphs an important time-saver. Despite this apparent oxymoron, you’ll see that customizing boilerplates is usually easier than writing a fresh letter each time.

Dear ___

As an admirer of XYZ Corporation (any warm opening can be used, including a reference to a mutual contact, or perhaps acknowledgement of the company’s success) I’m delighted to respond to your posting for a ___ (or) I’m interested in talking with you about current or future needs for a ____.)

With in-depth experience as a ____ and additional strengths in ___ and ___, I can make solid contributions in this position. As you’ll see from my résumé, my background includes ____, which has brought me in frequent contact with your company (or some other information that connects you to the company or field). My contacts in the field and my understanding of related regulations (or whatever your key strengths are) will let me make an immediate contribution in your department.

I’m especially proud of my ability to ____. For example, in my current role, I…(drop in a boilerplate story or a few sentences with metrics or other successes from current or past work).

XYZ Corporation is an excellent organization (saying something positive about the company makes a nice conclusion) and I would be very interested in discussing how I could add to your continued success. I look forward to talking with you soon.

Sincerely,

As a more modern twist on the template, you can use an artificial intelligence tool to generate your draft letter. In that case, try to add personal touches and do edit carefully. Sending a dumb letter is one of the few situations in which no letter at all would have been a better choice.

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Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.