How to create a bullet-proof cover letter
Was wondering if you guys had any pointers on cover letters. It seems as though they are much less structured and while I don't agree with using them, some jobs still require it.
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Cover Letter Advice? Any HRs here? (Originally Posted: 01/08/2011)
I was wondering if there are any HRs that work at trading firms here. I just have one question about writing a cover letter.
Most of the time spent on writing coverletter involves formatting, which takes FOREVER. This includes figuring out the best way to transition from one paragraph to another, one sentence to another, what word to use, etc...
To make my life easier, I was thinking about formatting my cover letter like a questionaire.
Have a quick intro. Then just question/answer after question/answer. That would make my life so much easier because I could talk about what I want to talk about, without worrying about transitions and making my cover letter sound like shakespeare.
I was wondering if HRs are ok with that? I mean I'm not applying for an editing job so I don't really understand the formality of a cover letter.
PLUS. it would make your life easier reading it, because everything you want to know is bulletted.
thanks
Certainly doing things to show your general lack of commitment and time investment at this early stage in the process cannot look bad....right?
To the OP, this is a terrible idea. M&I has a great article on how to write a cover letter and even provides a template that you can basically copy paste your experiences into. I have even taken the time to provide the link, even though it was an extensive and time consuming process to locate (3 seconds on a google search).
For your edification and development: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=mergers+and+inquisitions+cover+letter
good point. but was that written by a hiring manager or some guy that just did research on the internet? also i'm willing to bet ibanks are more strict when it comes to this stuff. i'm talking about trading firms here.
It won't make a difference for Trading vs. Banking. I used this template and received offers from it. The template itself comes from a former banker and the founder of Mergers and Inquisitions. He frequently posts on this site, and I doubt that any of the Certified users would give you an varying advice on the cover letter issue. However, if you are skeptical I would cite Gekko21 or monty09 as excellent resources in the realm of S&T just to name a few. Gekko actually posted a very informative interview guide on this forum, so I'd recommend checking that out for interview prep. Ultimately, general consensus tends to be that a cover letter isn't going to do a whole lot for you if it is passable, however if it is bad it can impede your efforts to land interviews. I recommend sending the above mentioned guys a quick PM on the issue, and you can reference my advice as the catalyst, but I doubt you'll hear anything that is earth-shatteringly different.
thanks for advice.
i was thinking about doing bullets for trading because unlike ibanking, most trading firms don't look for prior experience. so what am i going to do? talk about my real estate internship and say how that will help me become a trader? maybe I can say how i learned to work in a group/as a team but i'm sure everyone says that
Yea, I wouldn't rec doing bullets on a cover letter...
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