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#1
03-09-2011, 07:37 PM
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Tailoring out a cover letter
When you tailor a cover letter for a specific company/person, is it better to start from scratch or just modify your generic letter?
Also, how long should it take to start a cover letter from scratch and have it ready to be submitted? (Yes it varies with each person, but tell me about your experience) 
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#2
03-09-2011, 07:45 PM
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Quote:
It's really just a formality, in my opinion. Kind of like college degrees - if you have it you're on par with the arms race but if you don't you're screwed. Just don't make silly mistakes when sending out that generic letter like putting the wrong company name...
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#3
03-09-2011, 07:47 PM
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Quote:
And it shouldn't take long to write. You want to use strong grammar and appropriate diction, but this isn't a work of art we're talking about here. You only have a few paragraphs to convince them you're their guy, so what you write should be relatively straight-forward. But like you said, it varies by person so much that this question is moot. It takes as long as it takes.
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#5
03-11-2011, 07:18 AM
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In the cover letters I get I like to see specifics about the company/position they're applying for (so I know it's not 100% generic), and I also think candidates should try to focus on the qualifications/experiences that make them different than the other candidates that are going to apply. Everyone's going to have a degree, and high marks, and a relevant major, and some actuarial exams, but I want to know why you're different and the cover letter is a great place to highlight those things. Maybe you're bilingual, or maybe you've been an entrepreneur, or maybe you've been in a band and therefore are comfortable in front of a crowd, etc. etc.
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#6
03-11-2011, 08:22 AM
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I had pretty good luck with a well-written fill-in-the-blank cover letter template. You can knock out those applications a lot faster if you don't have to write a whole letter for each one.
Once you've written a certain number of cover letters they're probably all going to start sounding the same anyway.
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Where others memorize the letters in chunks, you have the insight to turn those letters into notes! *Every Good Boy Does Fine!* You laugh in the face of normal language and instead choose to use singspiel! *Did you come from Germany?* When everyone in the room turns and stares at you playing the desk, you sing your song! Here's to you Mr. Actuarial Answer Music Guy for showing everyone that a major in music isn't completely worthless!
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