Friday, July 12 - "Do I Ever Need A Cover Letter?"

Good morning!

Here’s what’s on the JD today:

1. One of the most popular online apps in the past few years is hiring for a staggering number of roles.

2. Paul asks, “Are cover letters an entire waste of time or is there any reason I would send one?”

IN HIRING

TikTok

• The firm is known for 30 second clips and hiring a sh** ton of MBAs over the past few years.

• Currently, there are a whopping 3k jobs open from all over world including those in strategy, analytics, and finance.

• Here are a few of the most interesting roles available

  • Snr Analytics Manager - Click here for full details

  • Finance Business Partner - Click here for full details

  • Strategy & Operations Manager - Click here for full details

Click here for the company’s career page

TODAY’S QUESTION

Paul asks, “Are cover letters an entire waste of time or is there any reason I would send one?”

Recommendation: I used to say that cover letters are a complete waste of time but I’ve now seen evidence that they have their time and place. Here is when and how to use them:

• The most clear example of where they work is when you making a big transition such as from industry to consulting. The cover letter allows you to say why are you are making the move as it may not be as obvious to the person reading your application.

• The second great time to use them is when you have made many connections within the company that you want to show to the person reviewing applications. Sometimes referrals are not possible but this is a good way to still use these connections to further your chances.

• Finally, I recommend using ChatGPT to create cover letters as their much faster and the output has improved dramatically. Here is the template to use:

  • Paragraph 1: Why are you a good fit for this industry?

  • Paragraph 2: Why are you a good fit for this company?

  • Paragraph 3: Why are you a good fit for this role?

• Here is a prompt you can use that works well:

  • Link to get started

  • Prompt:

    “Compose a strong introduction and expression of interest for a cover letter for the position of [role] at [company].

    Use the first paragraph to explain why I would be a great fit in the [industry] industry, the second to show my fit in [company], and finally the third to show my fit to [role] role.

    Below is my resume”

Conclusion:

You don’t always need to use cover letters but if you do, find a way to do them quickly and in a way that the reader can easily understand your fit.

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