Are you wondering if you should bother writing a cover letter? Who’s going to read it anyway? Cover letters are a point of hot debate, and if you ask friends, colleagues, recruiters, HR professionals, or even your mom, you’ll get mixed advice.
Most job applicants say cover letters are a waste of time. They never get read, they wind up in the garbage, and frankly, they don’t matter.
Unfortunately, in many cases, they’re right.
Most cover letters don’t matter, because most of them are boilerplate: poorly written, sloppily assembled, and lately, generated by AI in 11 seconds and indistinguishable from the next applicant’s. One-click applications skip them entirely, and you know what happens when you apply online with everyone else.
But here’s what mom never told you: hiring managers LOOK FOR EFFORT in this process. Effort is the signal they’re scanning for, because effort in the application is the best preview of effort on the job. And a great cover letter is one of the last effort signals that can’t be faked with a click.
When every other applicant submits AI sameness or nothing at all, a specific, tailored, human letter stands out more today than it did ten years ago. That’s the whole case, and for the roles you really want, it’s enough.
You remember mom yelling at you about working harder, right? Putting in the extra effort, going beyond the necessary, and pushing a little further than most is exactly the type of employee who gets hired.
Here are 18 cover letter do’s and don’ts to make your letter the standout piece, and mom proud.
The Setup (Tips 1-5)
#1. Understand the goal. Cover letters work hard. A cover letter needs to formally introduce you, showcase your relevant skills, demonstrate your professionalism, and get your resume opened by the right person. That’s a lot to accomplish in one page.
#2. Decide your cover letter matters. A good one gets you noticed and increases your chances of an interview. Half-committed letters read half-committed.
#3. Set the right tone: enthusiastic, courteous, diplomatic, and polite. It takes work, but when you sound professional and enthusiastic, people want to respond to you.
#4. Always customize to the company, position, and hiring manager. Since you’re in sales, getting a contact name is especially important. It shows attention to detail, follow-through, lead generation skills, and executive communication, and it puts you miles ahead of the rest, exactly where you want to be.
#5. Tailor the message. Don’t recycle the same letter for every application. Some paragraphs can be reused, but the skills you underscore should match the specific opening.
The Substance (Tips 6-10)
#6. Draw attention to specific sales wins relevant to the job. When the opening says industry or target-market know-how is required, feature that experience.
#7. Pair general statements with specific examples. Quota numbers, percentages, client names. Claims with your sales math attached are what separate your letter from the AI drafts.
#8. Bring up relocation plans when applying for out-of-state openings. It provides context the reader otherwise has to guess at.
#9. Avoid gimmicky, non-traditional letters. They create barriers between you and the reader. Connect by writing a polished business letter.
#10. Emphasize the most specific experience in the job description. That’s what employers screen hardest for, so that’s what your letter should lead with.
The Craft (Tips 11-18)
#11. Cover letters are not life stories. One page. It takes only a few words to make a strong first impression.
#12. Edit and pare down. Crisp, not dense.
#13. Make every word count. Each paragraph should be three or four sentences at most.
#14. Use proper formatting. Cover letters are formal documents: one page, four or five paragraphs, one-inch margins, conservative style.
#15. Use basic fonts: Georgia, Arial, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Verdana, or Garamond.
#16. Don’t waste the reader’s time. Keep the introduction brief and to the point, and avoid being overly witty, clever, or funny.
#17. Use direct, first-person language. “I have 5 years of executive sales leadership experience in the financial technology sector” beats “David Jones has 5 years of experience.” You’re writing a letter, not a bio.
#18. Proofread. Spelling, grammar, and especially the recipient’s name, title, and company. One wrong name undoes all 17 tips above it.
Effort Is the Differentiator
A thoughtful, properly crafted cover letter remains one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd, precisely because so few people bother anymore. You get to demonstrate professionalism, call attention to relevant sales success, and show the one thing hiring managers are screening for the entire time: how hard you’ll work for something you want.
You don’t need one for every application. For the roles you want most, write the letter. Mom would be proud.
Where the cover letter fits in the bigger picture is covered in the complete guide to sales resumes, LinkedIn, and job applications.
