Fitting your experience to the role moves beyond perfect CVs, which a lot of shortlisted people already have. It shifts attention from your story and towards a persuasive argument for why they should hire you.
“CVs and cover letters are ultimately branding!,” says Emily Aldrich, Managing Director of Aldrich & Co. “Candidates should think about using these tools as two distinct ways to market themselves.”
Understand what the role is really asking for
Many job descriptions define your tasks and experience by needs and desirables. Don’t take these lightly; they will be listed in order of importance. The first five on the list are where you will want to concentrate your efforts.
Most job descriptions will include some word repetition. Those repeated words should become your keywords; prioritise them when you come to write your cover letter. Similarly, verbs like “manage”, “deliver” and “lead” will help you define your level of responsibility.
Persuade your recruiter
Your cover letter is a great opportunity to cherrypick the best experiences from your professional history. Use them to signal to your recruiter that you have interpreted the job description and know what’s required of you.
The cover letter shouldn’t be a narrative of your CV. Instead, think of it as the tool recruiters use to conduct a risk assessment on you.
Gut check your cover letter with these questions:
- Have you proven to them that you can learn fast enough?
- Have you shown them that you can help solve their problems?
- Have you given them reason to believe you will stay long enough for their investment in you to make sense?
If you are looking for more guidance on writing your cover letter, read our article “How to Write a Cover Letter Recruiters Want to Read“.
Find common ground between your experience and the role
Employers tend to care about proof over titles, so finding projects where you showed evidence of what they’re looking for should help. In your cover letter, action wins the day. Look for power verbs like “built”, “improved”, and “handled” and mirror their language. Soft skills are also worth emphasising, especially because everyone will have evidence of communication skills, problem-solving capabilities, or the ability to learn a new skill.
Don’t ever downplay your experience or skills. If you are less experienced for the role to which you are applying, reframe your accomplishments as success stories. Rather than saying you only took on small projects, focus on what you controlled, or how you supported the team. Zone in on specifics and your ability to keep agile to those needs.
Build credibility with clarity and evidence
Confidence in a candidate doesn’t come from that candidate’s seniority or experience, it comes from their clarity about their capabilities. Reduce the barriers to being shortlisted by explaining what you owned in professional tasks, and adding evidence in the form of metrics or deliverables.
This is the stage where clarity and specificity become more important than general presentation or seniority.
Interpret your background for the recruiter
Many candidates transitioning to different industries make the mistake of thinking that they have to defend their decisions. Instead, position your past experience as valuable and distinct for the company.
If you are moving from freelance to a salaried position, say how that work gave you insight into client management. If you are moving from a different industry, lean on your transferable skills like systems management. Always think of your past experience as making you uniquely qualified for the role, and be prepared to back that up with examples.
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If you’re looking for a job in London, why not get in touch with us? We are always on the lookout for talented candidates to match with our great roles in the City of London. Send us your CV today, along with a note about your interests, and we will be in touch.