How can I make my cover letter more effective? | Cell Mentor
A great resume isn't enough. If you want to lock down that dream job, you'll have to write a cover letter that puts you head and shoulders above the other applicants.
Cover letters can be daunting. How do you distill years of accomplishments into a single page? How do you pitch yourself without coming off like you're gloating? And what is the best format to present all this information?
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0:00 How can I make my cover letter more effective?
0:13 Claudia Willmes
Editor, Trends in Molecular Medicine
For an outstanding cover letter, I have a few suggestions which are actually based on hundreds of job application tips and tricks I read myself. So first of all, I would say, structure your cover letter. Don't use flowing text, but use, for example, bullet points. Another point is highlight three key achievements and back those up with hard measures, such as number of conferences you attended, number of papers published, and similar. Then, it's always good to sprinkle your cover letter with a few keywords that you find in the job advertisement itself, because this is what they screen for.
0:53 Jonathan Saxe
Senior Scientific Editor, Cell Stem Cell
When you're applying for a job, there are a number of things you can do to make your cover letter stand out. One of the first things to do is really explain why you're interested for that particular job. Obviously, it's important to outline your skills and why you might think you're a good fit for the job. But what I really want to know when I'm reading your cover letter is what are your motivations for applying this job? What is it about this job that really speaks to you that is making you apply for it. For me, that's one of the most important things that I look for, and that is something that, when you emphasize, will really help your cover letter stand out.
1:26 Julie Sollier
Former Editor-in-Chief, Developmental Cell
Your cover letter needs to tell the hiring manager why you are the only person that is a good fit for the job. You need to use your own experiences that you have acquired to now, in the lab or elsewhere, to show that you will use your experience to fit the requirements of the job.
1:46 Sean Beausoleil
Senior Director, Experimental Research, Cell Signaling Technology
I think it really comes down to leveraging information you have, doing research, putting effort into understanding the company: understand what they're doing, understand why you fit into that company. I think if you do that you can really differentiate yourself from other applicants, because is it's not something most people do. I think it really comes down to that. Use the information you have, go put the effort in, and then figure out how you fit into the bigger picture of that company.
2:11 Ruth Zearfoss
Editor-in-Chief, Cell Reports Methods
To make your cover letter stand out. I would recommend keeping your comments short and to the point and clear. And to help make them clear, I would recommend having a colleague or a friend read your cover letter and give you their opinion about whether the points that you're trying to make make sense to people from a variety of different backgrounds, because something that might make sense and would be clear to you might be confusing to someone else.
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