by “Please attach a resume and cover letter.” These words appear on job postings from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy. When I first started applying for jobs after college I wondered why such a grueling and painful act must be completed to acquire gainful employment. Now that I have overseen the hiring process for interns, faculty members, and many roles in between, cover letters are one of my favorite parts of the process. Writing a cover letter shouldn’t be a harrowing ordeal. Your potential employer simply wants to know, in your own words, why you are the best person for the job.
There is not one right way to write a cover letter. The process I outline below is a simple formula to get those new to the process started with a usable cover letter that can be adjusted to the needs of the job. As you become more practiced and more comfortable writing about yourself, your content and your format will change and evolve into a style all your own.
To start with, the cover letter is a letter. It is intended to communicate information from one person to another. The format of this letter is called a “Business Block Letter.” The example letter below is formatted in this style, which is most noticeable by the non-indented paragraphs. Start with your address and then the address of the recipient, even though you probably aren’t mailing this letter. Do your best to address the letter to a person. If there is not a contact person named in the job post, you could address it to the production manager, the department chair, or the person who would likely be your supervisor if you got the job. This also goes for the salutation. Address your letter to a person, if you don’t know the name, then address the search committee or hiring committee. “To whom it may concern” is an absolute last resort.
- Introduction
In the first paragraph you should state your intent, which is to get a job. State in clear terms what position you are applying for. As a courtesy, you can list what website, job board, or person referred you to the position. If you are currently in a job with obvious connections to the job you are appling for, you may choose to include your current title and place of work.
Note: if you are currently unemployed due to COVID-19, you don’t have to keep it as a shameful secret. Talented theater artists of all stripes have been laid off at theaters across the country through no fault of their own. I guarantee that the hiring committee knows that it is a big deal that they still have jobs and that they all have friends who weren’t so lucky.
2. Why you’re the best
The second paragraph is where you dive into the things that make you the best choice for this job. Don’t simply list your past titles and theater companies, that is what your resume does. This is the place to give details and point out skills and experiences that you have that were specifically requested in the job posting. Were you a crew head? Tell us how many people were on your team. Did you work on 10 shows in rotating rep? Talk about that. Did you do one show for 60 performances? Tell us about the skills you gained. Everything you have done has more to it than the single line on your resume, you just have to find the details that will help showcase your talents.
3. Talk about yourself
The third paragraph is where you give greater detail about a single show or experience. Pick one thing from your resume and tell them how you rose to a challenge and nailed it. Were you an assistant that had to take over? Did you completely rebuild a costume in one day after a character was recast? Did you wrangle the A and B casts of middle school aged chorus members? All of these things give you important experience that is not communicated by your resume alone. Those exceptional experiences, and what you learned from them, can make the difference between you and the other job candidates. Think about what you have done, find that story and find that lesson. This paragraph might take you the longest to write, but it is time well spent.
4. Talk about them
The fourth paragraph is not about you (mostly). This paragraph is about the organization you are hoping to work for and why you think they are awesome. If you don’t think they are a great place to work, don’t say so, and maybe consider why you are even applying there. Go to their website. Look at photos of their past shows, look at their staff, and the size of each department. Read their mission statement, and understand it. Check out their social media, see what their patrons have to say about them. This effort is important twice, the first is so you can show that you actually know something about the place you are applying to, the second is to make sure that you actually want to work there. If the staff is small but the season is big, you may have burn-out in your future. Look for things you like about the company and tell the readers of your letter why you like them. Showing them that you did your homework makes you look good.
5. In conclusion
The last paragraph is a conclusion. Restate your interest and your major qualifications. Restate your favorite thing about this potential employer in one sentence. Don’t put any new info in this paragraph. It’s purpose is to leave a final impression of you and say all the good stuff one more time so it sticks.
Close your letter simply and professionally. “Sincerely” is hard to go wrong with. Type your name at the end of the letter, but also sign it. Your signature is important, it reminds the readers that you are a person, it makes your letter look finished, and it is your promise that the words you have written are true. If it is not possible or not convenient to print your letter, sign it and scan it for digital submission, then take a picture of your signature and insert it as an image into the letter.
After you finish your letter, proofread it. Asking someone you trust to proof it for you wouldn’t hurt either. If you are up against a deadline, try your best to put some time between finishing the letter and proofing it. Take a break and get away from your screen. It’s very easy to miss a typo since you know what it is supposed to say instead of seeing what it actually says.
When applying for multiple jobs, you must always write a cover letter for each application. Paragraphs 2 and 3 can stay mostly the same, they are about you after all, but the rest of the letter should be written fresh. If you open an old cover letter so you can turn it into a new cover letter, the very first thing you should do is delete the names and address from the letter and save the file with a new name. One of the worst things you can do in a cover letter is send it with the wrong names in it.
Your cover letter is about you. You have skills and experience that you should be proud to talk about. If this is your first cover letter, give yourself time to write and develop it. Get feedback on what you have written and reference the job posting often. As you write more cover letters (and you will) it will get easier and you will develop your own style. Now go to it, you’ve got this.
