It may seem like cover letters have fallen by the wayside and most companies prefer online applications. Many say that hiring managers and recruiters don’t even look at cover letters anymore and no longer expect to see them with an application.
Everything has been simplified around the resume, but before you go down the path that many career advisors are taking by tailoring your resume for each position you apply for, why not take another look at the cover letter? Resumes basically list your skill sets and provide a brief statement of your accomplishments. They do not provide you with the skills to showcase your specific skills and achievements in relation to the position you are applying for.
Cover letters, especially for those in the construction profession, give the applicant the opportunity to go into detail about a particular achievement and tell a good story. You can send a letter to the specific hiring manager, add personal details, and/or build on a project you were involved in. Engineers can quote particular projects that fit the job requirements. Environmentalists can talk about resources they may have harnessed to help save the environment or their contributions to a specific campaign.
Recruiters often admire the thought and effort that goes into crafting a good personalized letter, compared to a tight resume. With a personalized cover letter, you can state the reasons why you would be a perfect fit for the position. Resumes only show work experience and skill sets as a whole. In the construction industry, a well-written personalized cover letter can show the nuances of what the company should expect of you as an employee in relation to their organization. It also creates an image of what you are capable of doing.
Designing the perfect letter is not difficult. In fact, it is relatively easy to do. It is in the cover letter that allows potential employers to create the first impression of you, before reading the resume. The idea of having your resume processed automatically should give you some indication as to why a cover letter is still important. It should also be noted that a personalized cover letter is often one of the only ways that engineers and construction professionals can stand out to potential employers. For most, but not all engineers and construction professionals, there are a myriad of positions that they work throughout their career. A good cover letter can emphasize accomplishments in a workplace or make a case for a required skill set an employer is seeking.
Working in the construction, engineering, or environmental industry today, you need more than a resume in today’s job market to stand out. A cover letter will give you that edge; Combining a good cover letter with a good resume will increase your chances of getting hired.