Cover Letters - Relevance and Job Specific Tailoring
Have a couple questions about relevance of cover letters in the application process within various parts of the industry. I've applied to quite a few positions within IB and S&T with some fundamental analyst and other specialized roles thrown in there. For reference, I have more what you might call "educational" experience than shown by my degree from a lot of time spent independently learning about markets, trading, etc. The best way I've found to expound on this is in a cover letter. I've been advised and read suggestions on this topic ranging anywhere from 99% of cover letters don't get read to always write a tailored cover letter for each role you apply to. So far, I've gotten absolutely zero interviews for any positions I'm really interested in. I've heard for a lot of more desired roles, sometimes the only way to get an interview is to get a referral and get your resume pulled, so I stopped putting a cover letter in my applications. What's the most accurate advice regarding this? I don't have a bulge bracket internship or come from an Ivy League or anything like that so I know it's most likely easy to get looked over. What's the best way to get my resume pulled and actually have those conversations that get you the offer? It's quite difficult to express any depth on knowledge on a one page resume and without the opportunity to have those types of conversations with people in the industry, by name, I'm not sure what I'm not doing that I should be. Thanks.
And you think your competition hasn't spent time educating themselves on the markets? They've got everything you have and more. The only way to overcome this, if at all, is to network. Plenty of advice on here on networking.
As to the cover letter - yeah chances are it won't be read but there's a non-zero chance that it will, which is very dependent on where you're applying, so it shouldn't suck but you also shouldn't be spending very long on it. Get a formula in place for similar jobs, alter the why firm section a little for each firm and be done with it.
But by and large, this won't matter, networking will.
I get anyone looking for a halfway decent job in the industry has done their research. There are aspects I’m probably more up to date on just judging by people I’ve talked to. I’ve definitely networked with some people who have been really helpful, but to be completely honest, I’ve talked to others who seemed really dumb and I have no clue how they got the offers they did so I guess it’s just luck of the draw. Thanks for the advice.
The purpose of networking is not to judge how the person you're speaking to got the offer...
And that arrogance is not going to get you very far.
I'm not judging how anyone got their job offer. With all due respect...my point is, if I can hold a more intelligible conversation about the subject and do the job better, I hypothetically should be able to get the same role. And I can't think of a logical reason why someone hiring wouldn't agree.
The problem is you believe hiring is meritocratic and it simply isn't. Or at least not in the way you want it to be. Most of the time, it's minmaxing - how can the firm make the easiest decisions to usually get good candidates. You fall outside of this formula.
At the moment (and you haven't shared your resume so I'm just assuming), it sounds like non-target school, graduated (because you're applying for positions, not internships it sounds like, which makes for a more competitive candidate pool), no experience (at least nothing relevant), with an active but intangible interest in finance. Am I wrong? This is the position you're coming from. Accept that and be humble in it. Not saying you should give up but odds are extremely stacked against you because again, your competition isn't those in the role, it's those not in the role who have what you have and more.
But if you're as good as you say you are and you really believe people should be taking a chance on you, then maybe something is going wrong with your networking that you need to address. Think about how your interactions have gone, are you calling the people you're networking to action - are you asking for next steps etc. As I said, lots of advice on here that can put it better than I can. Digest it.
You need to find that one person who thinks a little outside the hive mind, has some generosity to spare, and has the power to put it to work.
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