A well-crafted cover letter is an opportunity to tell your story, and give recruiters important context about your work experience. In this Grow with Google video Isela Garcia, a recruiter at Google, explains how a cover letter can enhance your resume. She’ll also provide guidance on how to craft a concise explanation of how you’re well suited for the position, and why your skills and experience are an asset.
Need additional help with cover letters? Check out Career Dreamer, an experimental tool from Grow with Google that uses AI to help users uncover their skills and a variety of personalized career paths based on their unique experiences and interests. Uncover a variety of careers that might align with your unique background, delve deeper into those that interest you, and find relevant jobs near you. Collaborate with Gemini, your AI assistant from Google, to craft a compelling cover letter, refine your resume, and take the first steps toward your career goals. To give Career Dreamer a try, visit
Hey, Grow with Google Learners. I'm Isela from Google, and I'm here to share with you a little
bit about how to craft a strong cover letter. First, let's start with what is a cover letter?
Think of it as an opportunity to share your story with a potential employer.
It's an opportunity to add supplemental information to that of your resume.
Is it absolutely required? If an employer is asking for one, then definitely yes.
This is more than likely a standard part of the review process.
What if it's not a requirement? Then it depends. I believe that while an employer may not require
a cover letter, it can be helpful to add additional context and color to your experience
beyond just what's on your resume. However, if a cover letter is the only thing stopping
you from applying to a role, don't let that stop you from being considered.
In my experience, hiring managers will often begin reviewing resumes first. However,
if and when their interest in someone is piqued, but they may be on the fence,
the cover letter can oftentimes make or break the hiring manager's decision to move forward
to interview. When in doubt, create a custom cover letter.
So what do we in recruiting like to see in these? It should be clear and concise,
well-researched, and true to you. Important note here, research the job description and ensure that
your career highlights touch on aspects of the role. Along with these highlights, you can expand
on some of the following if it's relevant to your search. Are you looking to make a career change?
Are you moving to a new area? And were you recently affected by a layoff or other major
life change that you'd like to explain? Overall, ensure that the focus is on how your specific
skills and experience could be a great addition to the hiring team. Now, let's touch on a few less
than ideal points on cover letters. Do not use a standardized template. Hiring managers and
recruiters may look at hundreds of applications for a given role, and seeing templatized cover
letters becomes very apparent. Avoid going beyond one page. Being concise is the name of the game,
and avoid grandiose verbiage. Oftentimes, we'll read where someone will say that they're the
perfect fit or the only person for the job. That's much less impactful than if you were to show us
how you'd be great for the job, and not assume that it's yours for the taking. Additionally,
do not omit important information from your resume and only include in the cover letter.
There will be certain teams who may not have the time to read your cover letter first,
so if it's a requirement in the job description, make sure it lands loud and clear on your resume.
In summary, the first step in sharing your story and brand with a potential employer
is by crafting a cover letter. Keep it clear, concise, impactful, and personal. Be sure to
highlight the reasons you want to make the role change, and focus on how your transferable skills
can provide value in this new role. Is it always necessary? Maybe not. However,
you never know. It might just help you stand out from the crowd.
