Tagged “structure”
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The Company Fact That Was True Two Years Ago
Specificity beats enthusiasm, but a stale detail is worse than none. Where a checkable fact about an employer comes from, and how to put a date on it.
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The Anything-Else Box on an Application Form
Application forms end with an optional free-text field. When to leave it empty, what belongs in it, and why pasting your cover letter there backfires.
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Writing a Supporting Statement, Criterion by Criterion
Some applications ask you to address a list of criteria instead of writing a letter. It's a scored answer sheet, not prose, and it rewards opposite habits.
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Applying for a Job at Your Own Company
The internal cover letter has one job: argue the move, not yourself. What changes when the reader already knows you, and what never to put in writing.
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The Four-Paragraph Cover Letter
A structure where each paragraph has one defined job, with a complete example letter — so you never stare at a blank page again.
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What a Cover Letter Is Actually For
It isn't your resume in prose and it isn't a declaration of enthusiasm. The one job only this document can do — and why that makes it easier to write.
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The Closing Paragraph and What to Ask For
Most letters end by thanking the reader and asking for nothing. What the last paragraph should do instead, plus sign-offs that aren't embarrassing.
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How to Read a Job Posting Before You Write
Most of the work of a cover letter happens before you write a word. How to find the one requirement worth answering and the sentence nobody else noticed.
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Tailoring a Cover Letter Without Starting Over
A tailored letter is not a rewritten letter. Which parts must change for every application, which can be reused, and how to keep the reuse invisible.
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The Paragraph That Shows Judgement
The part of a letter a resume cannot carry: what you learned from doing the work. How to find yours when you are convinced you haven't got one.
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The Letter That Explains a Career Change
Moving between fields, the letter is the only document that can make the move make sense. Where to put the explanation, and how long to spend on it.
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What to Cut When the Letter Runs Long
A cutting order that works every time: the phrases to delete first, the paragraph that is redundant, and how to lose a third without losing anything.