The article is right. The cover letter gives you a chance to jump out from the resume format and do some marketing for yourself. I accidentally did A/B testing on my cover letter a few years back. I wasnt getting much response with a dry cover letter, so I rewrote it with a more informal upbeat tone adding humor and even threw in snippets of song lyrics (I kid you not). Immediately the response doubled. One thing it did was engage the front line screeners and HR types. If you dont get by them you dont get anywhere. It also gave me a personality that people could remember.
Presenting your personality is precisely why I carefully write a friendly, intriguing and upbeat cover letter for each and every job.
You can't present a culture fit better than by presenting your personality.
I once went to Dublin for a weekend with the sole intention of eating a banana. I returned with a girl to whom I proposed whilst in Dublin and who has now been my wife for over five years.
That says more about me, outside of my skill set and experience, than my CV ever could and works wonders for making me stand out, as well as intriguing whoever may be reading my application.
"I once went to Dublin for a weekend with the sole intention of eating a banana. I returned with a girl to whom I proposed whilst in Dublin and who has now been my wife for over five years."
That is the best thing I have heard in a long time. I can't stop laughing.
