Mention why you want the job in the cover letter or not?

May 24, 2012 8:06 AM

I've seen conflicting websites on whether cover letters should include why you want the job. It seems to be that US letters do not want you to, while British?/Australian? do? I'm from Australia, so any advice specific to this region would be great, however I am thinking of working overseas in the next 2 years or so, so all international responses also welcome. Thanks.
posted by glache to Work & Money (8 answers total)

I work in the legal field in the US. To me, it's not information worth including in your cover letter, since it is very unlikely it'll help you get the job, and there's an outside chance that it'll hurt you. For the most part, I approach cover letters that way -- it's rare that a cover letter will seal the deal, but a bad one will ocassionally knock a candidate out of the running.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:12 AM on May 24, 2012

I work as a writer/editor and I would almost never include why I wanted a particular job, unless it was specified in the ad.
posted by emilynoa at 8:39 AM on May 24, 2012

It's not part of the academic job letter form either. In general I'd recommend against it -- they're looking to hire you, not do you a favor. I would however consider it in those rare cases where you think it might help you: "I'm looking to return to [UNDESIRABLE REGION X] because I [WANT TO BE WITH MY FAMILY / LIVE THERE FOREVER AND WORK FOR YOU UNTIL I DIE]."
posted by gerryblog at 8:57 AM on May 24, 2012

Every job I've ever successfully landed I have written a detailed cover letter stating clearly why I think I'm a good fit for a job.

I followed the advice in this Craigslist post and have had good luck. I work in web development (previously advertising and before that IT consulting) in the UK.

I think in the UK, the CV is almost secondary to the cover letter, especially for small companies where the screening is likely being done by the actual hiring manager, rather than an HR team. Certainly when I have been recruiting, I will skim read the CV if the cover letter is boring or clearly a form letter.

However, from my American wife's experience and what she's told me, I think it's often the other way around in the US. Culturally I think Australia is closer to the UK than the US generally, but I've no idea if this is one of those areas of similarity.
posted by Happy Dave at 8:59 AM on May 24, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oh, and further to your actual point, I think you can state why you're a good fit for a job and get across why you're interested at the same time. When I was looking to move into web development, I was pretty clear about what interested me about the industry and honest about my relative lack of experience. It was a good conversation point at interview stage. But I think if it's entirely personal (i.e. I want to move back to X city) then I wouldn't mention it. I'd answer honestly at interview if asked, but I'd focus on what interested me about the role rather than any ulterior motives I might have.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:01 AM on May 24, 2012

I agree with Happy Dave. Don't state why you want the job from a personal stand-point but rather why you believe you're a great fit for the job.
posted by zombieApoc at 10:23 AM on May 24, 2012

Yes, what Happy Dave says.

The idea is to show that a) you've read the job posting and aren't just scattershot applying everywhere, and b) you've thought about how your skills could meet the job requirements. This is especially helpful if the way your skills might transfer to the new job isn't readily apparent from your CV.

So you might say something like, "Although I've not worked as a [job title] before, my three years working at [company] gave me experience dealing with [customer relations/problem solving/rapid prototyping/whatever] that I believe would enable me to hit the ground running."

Or, if your skills closely match the job requirements, point that out. "As requested, I have five years' experience with [something] and [something] and am looking for a position where I can really stretch my skills."

Yeah, it sounds a bit silly, but when you're looking through thirty applications, having a good cover letter really makes a candidate stand out.

I'm Australian, btw.
posted by Georgina at 11:04 AM on May 24, 2012

When I'm sorting through candidates for a job, anything that makes them stand out as an individual with personality who is excited about THIS JOB is good. You don't want to just be words on a paper to me, but a person who I want to get to know in this role. Definitely say why you want the job!
posted by rosa at 11:26 AM on May 24, 2012