Tip of the Week: Cover Letters

By Anna Van Pelt

This quarter, we’re discussing the elements of a cover letter and how to write a compelling cover letter.  This tip, and all tips, can be found on the CPLD blog, and this week, we’re focusing on preparing to write the body of your cover letter.

Last week, we discussed the importance of an attention-grabbing first line.  Now that you have the reader’s attention, what do you say that will make them want to interview you?

Research, Research, Research

I’ve made this analogy before, but I don’t think I can emphasize it enough – your cover letter is your opening statement.  In an opening statement, you introduce the themes of your case (Revenge: that is what this case is all about), as well as your supporting evidence.  In a cover letter, you introduce your themes (I am an excellent legal researcher), as well as your supporting evidence in the form of past experiences that showcase your themes. 

How do you know which themes are the right themes for your letter?  The answer: research. 

Before you begin to write the body of your cover letter, you must do research.  At a minimum, you should:

-          Print out the job description (if there is one) and highlight key phrases.  Create an “outline” of the job description.  What are they looking for?  What tasks will you do if hired? 

-          Print out the firm or organization description.  This is a great place to get an insight into the culture.  What do they value?  Where does pro bono work fall into their hierarchy of importance?  How do they view themselves?  Highlight their key phrases for describing themselves.  Also, make sure you know what does the firm or organization does, especially if they have multiple offices.    You might laugh, but every year, employers complain to us about how our students wrote a cover letter about how great they would be at civil litigation when that office doesn’t have a litigation department.  If you can’t tell what the Seattle office, for example, does (a common problem in firms with multiple offices state- or nation-wide), then call and ask one of their support staff about which practice areas are served by the Seattle office. 

-          Investigate (appropriately) the person who will be reading the letter.  Specifically, look for recent articles or presentations that are interesting.  Keep a list of these as well as your thoughts about them. 

Consolidate your research into a bulleted list.  This is the list of what they want in a new attorney or in a summer intern/extern. 

Research You Too

To write a compelling cover letter, you must also do research on yourself.  Start by listing the 5 accomplishments of which you are most proud:

-          Did you get an A- in torts?  Volunteer over 150 hours for pro bono honors?  Place as finalist in the moot court competition?  Be proud!

-          For those students with a prior professional experience (5 years or more), your list can include highlights from your prior experience.  Were you the top sales performer at your company?  Did you get a grant to research the connection between metabolism and diabetes?  Publish a novel? 

-          For students without significant prior experience, the majority of your accomplishments will likely come from law school (grades, student orgs, law review, moot court, externships, etc), but if you have a pre-law school accomplishment that you are proud of – include it in this list! 

-          For each accomplishment, list what you did and the skills you used to do it.  This is the bulleted list of what you’ve done

By now you should have two lists: what they want and what you’ve done.  Now, match up what they are looking for from your list of accomplishments.  As much as possible, make this a one-to-one list.  For example:

They want:                                                           I accomplished:

Excellent research and writing                         A- in LRWA
Wrote memo on sexual harassment claim for EEOC during externship; commended by supervisor

Hunger to represent clients                              Federal Tax Clinic Member this year
Volunteered with IFAP
Pro bono program, working with KCBA’s first-responder will clinic

Interest in environmental law                          Took Environmental Law, got an A-

At the end, you should have around 3-5 things that they are looking for and that you can fulfill.  Basically, the left column will become your themes, and the right column is your list of “evidence” that you are those themes.  Don’t worry about not fulfilling everything on their list – even if you could, you won’t have room to talk about all of them in your one-page cover letter!  Instead, focuses on the things that you think are most important to them.  Usually, the most important thing isn’t the number of years under your belt but the quality of your experience. 

Back to the First Paragraph

Now that you’ve done your research, now that you’ve created your themes, you can write the body of your letter… but more on that next week!