The reason is more common than you realize, and you have the power change it. 

In this article, I’m going to explain type of cover letter method so powerful that it will make a substantial impact on the number of callbacks and interviews you get. I also provide a zip file (at the bottom of this article) with multiple templates featuring the new and improved way to create a powerful cover letter that gets you noticed.

Stage 1: You just applied – What is happening behind the scenes.

Stage one is not about reading your entire cover letter and resume. It's about qualifying you. Recruiters are under intense deadlines to produce candidates who meet the requirements in the job description. Hiring Managers are under pressure to fill an open position before they lose the headcount or because the position is critical.

In stage one, a recruiter or hiring manager looks at your resume and cover letter thinks, "Does this candidate have what I need to do this job. Where is it. I can't find it. I don't see it. What does this bullet mean? Too hard to interpret." NEXT! “ The Recruiter or hiring manger needs to know whether or not you have the matching skills and experience outlined in the job description - fast.

So what does have value in this stage of the process? 

Answer: What matters most in the beginning stage of your candidacy is how easily identifiable the ‘must have’ requirements are to find on your resume/cover letter. If they’re not, you’ve failed to feature/showcase the skills and experience the recruiter/hiring manager is searching for to decide whether or not to move you through to the next stage, aka, a call.

“But Raegan, I wrote a cover letter speaking to the requirements. Well, a few of them anyway.”

Great! But here’s the challenge with paragraph style cover letters. Many people write one cover letter and use it for every position they apply to. What they write in their cover letter often has very little to do with the requirements of the job. Over time, recruiters/hiring managers have become desensitized to cover letters. If they’re reading 20, 30+ cover letters in a row like this, chances are yours isn’t getting read. 

Out with the old, in with the new.

It’s time for a new style of cover letter. One that grabs the recruiter or hiring manager’s immediate attention. One that not only sets you apart, but it also puts you in front of the line. And you get called.

YOU WANT, I HAVE Cover Letter

In the following approach, I'm going to show you how to design a reader-centric cover letter that speaks in the recruiter or hiring manager’s language. Ready? Let’s get started.

Cover Letter Format:

Top part (the intro): Add a brief introduction at the top along with your contact information. Your introduction might read something like this:

The body: Create a table with two vertical columns side-by-side and several rows. It should be just below the intro. 

1.     For the first column heading, write in large font, “YOU WANT…”.

2.     For the second column to the right, label this column “I HAVE…”

3.     In the first column, write each major requirement from the job description.

4.     In the second column, write a specific, succinct bullet of your experience doing or having that requirement and reference the company you were working for at the time.

5.     Rinse and repeat until all of the requirements are listed, and you’ve made a comment in the second column to the right of each.

It will look something like this:

When you're done, it will look something like this:

Why this works:

1.     You’re qualifying yourself which is a huge help to the recruiter. It speeds up the time it takes to review your resume and find the matching qualifications. #HappyRecruiter

2.     You impress the hiring manager. Many hiring managers write their job descriptions. At the very least, they approve them.

3.     You show respect for what the company deems important to be successful in role.

When you outline each requirement in the left vertical column of your “You Want, I Have” cover letter and succinctly convey your experience performing that requirement and where (which company) in the right vertical column, you’re not only showing respect for the recruiter's time, but you’re also making an impression on the hiring manager. “This candidate took the time not only to read the job description, but also to understand each necessary requirement and expand on his/her experience pertaining to it.”

This is what a recruiter focuses on first: We need A, where is A on the resume. We need D, where is D on the resume. If they aren’t found, the recruiter moves to the next candidate resume. 

Using this cover letter style removes any subjectivity that goes into reading a resume. The recruiter quickly scans the cover letter, cross checks with your resume and boom, a call is set.

And yes, go to two pages. Go to three if you have to. It's not about the number of pages. It's about the quality of the content. You're not replacing your resume, but rather including a detailed summary of how you meet each requirement asked for and where (the company you worked for when you acquired that skill or experience).

This article is a revision from the original article written awhile back. I've had hundreds of professionals write to me, some skeptical at first, who tried this technique and landed an interview after months of no callbacks.

Try it for yourself. Just once. And watch what happens.

Different Personalities, Different Styles

If you want to see how others have designed their "YOU WANT, I HAVE" (YWIH) cover letter, click here to download a zip file of several versions. If you do use this format, please comment below on how it worked for you!