Cover Letter 101

When cover letters are required for a job application, it's important to make sure you make a solid first impression. Whether the recruiter will actually read your cover letter tends to vary, but setting yourself up for success and lining up every factor in your favor is always a good thing!

Everything that I describe below (traditional cover letter formats, suggested length, wordage, etc) has a TON of other resources online that I recommend looking into. I'm honestly just reiterating and centralizing information here, not coming up with anything new. This stuff is tried and true, which is why I'm making these suggestions. Please take time to read the external links and doing some additional research instead of taking it all at face value!

Why I recommend using a traditional cover letter format:

A lot of folks want to stand out with an unusual cover letter that grabs the readers attention. If you're one of them, I don't blame you! There's a sea of applicants out there, and it's easy to feel like a just a raindrop in that ocean. 

However, the reality is that recruiters rarely spend more than a few seconds reading your cover letter. I'm no recruiter, so let me drop some further reading here:

• Do recruiters read cover letters? 
• 3 Things You Need to Know About Cover Letters 
• Is the cover letter finally dead? 
• Do I Need a Cover Letter? Are Cover Letters Necessary in 2019? [+Tips] 
• You Have 6 Seconds to Grab a Recruiter's Attention—Here's How to Do It 

There are a lot of reasons that I recommend keeping yours pretty traditional. It's easier to get to the point, it's more predictable for someone that's skimming through your job application, it's fulfilling the cover letter's purpose of elaborating on your resume content, etc.

But here's my main reason:

When you are applying against hundreds or thousands of other artists, you want as many factors in your favor as possible. Even the tiny ones. They add up! When you write a funny or "artsy" cover letter, you're leaving a lot of up to interpretation. Sure, the reader might love it and there's a slim chance it'll work in your favor. But a lot of folks will toss that funny cover letter away because they really just want to know why you're qualified for the job and that's it.

On top of this, remember: your resume and your cover letter are not the place to stand out, especially when applying to junior jobs... 

The way to stand out is to have badass art. No time spent on your skills is wasted. Stay focused on improving and making awesome work in order to really grab their attention.

I advise that you do...

• Only write one page. Don't write a 2+ page cover letter. Mine are always around 1/2 or 2/3 of a page.
• Be specific. Instead of "I'm a team player", try "I've collaborated directly with level designers and 3D artists to create beautiful environments that engage the player."
• If you don't have experience working in games, I'd recommend briefly referencing your other work experience and describing why it's important. "I have 3 years of experience working in customer service, from which I've developed strong communication skills while efficiently and consistently getting to the root of the problems at hand." I don't recommend leaning on this too much, as you do want your described experiences to be as relevant to the position as possible, but it can help fill in some gaps.
• Use a 10 or 12 pt font that is easy to read. 
• Show some personality! I don't want to tell people to sound stale or feel like they can't shine through. I just recommend doing it selectively and concisely.
• Be enthusiastic for this company. Geek out a bit! (Briefly) reference what you love in their games. Be specific about why you're applying to them. (Yes, this means I recommend catering your cover letter to each company a little bit.)
• Obsessively focus on word efficiency. 

Instead of "I often did quite a bit of drawing ideas of characters for a few different student video game projects", shorten to "I created character concept art on various collaborative projects." Get straight to the point and use keywords.

• Use active voice instead of passive voice, and use action verbs instead of stative verbs. (Further reading on using action verbs.) It makes you sound more engaged in whatever experience you're describing, and it's easier to be specific. Examples:

Instead of "The props were modeled by me", say "I modeled and textured a variety of props."

Instead of "I know how to concept cartoony characters and creatures for video games", try "I specialize in creating cartoony characters and creatures concepts."

• Get feedback!! Ask your peers, professors, etc to spellcheck and proofread your cover letter before sending it to ANY company.

I advise that you don't...

• GENDER THE READER. Saying "Mr. Recruiter" or "Miss Recruiter" or "ma'am" or "sir" can be a bit assuming if you don't know exactly who is reading. Use gender-neutral terms when addressing the reader.
• Copy/paste cover letter templates without editing anything. It gets repetitive and looks lazy.
• Use run-on sentences.
• Ever be self-deprecating in a cover letter. Be objective, humble, and confident. Also, be honest! Don't over-compensate.
• Take up a ton of page space with an necessary header. Some folks might disagree with me here, but since a lot of applications are done online and that information (address/phone numbers/etc) is gathered elsewhere, I think that large traditional headers just take up space. I don't include my address or phone number on my cover letter, unless I include a way to contact me ("I can be best contacted at ____.") in the last paragraph. It doesn't hurt to have a header, but I just don't think it's necessary. 

But as always...

Do whatever the hell ya want. I ain't your dad. Take all this advice with a grain of salt. My perspective is one of many and I want folks to know that I'm no recruiter, I'm just sharing the advice that helped me get started. 

Whew, okay! Let's start writing.

The traditional cover letter format:

There are many variations to the traditional cover letter format, but it comes down to this:

1. Address the reader
2. Introduce yourself
3. Describe your relevant experience
4. Pitch why you are the RIGHT person for the job
5. Conclude with a call to action

And that's it!

Here is an example of a cover letter, but since these posts are mostly read by aspiring folks with minimal experience, I'm going to write this as though I was still a student instead of with my current experience in order to examples of how I built some credibility as a student. I do not recommend copy/pasting this or any other template. It looks lazy. You can follow the idea without exactly imitating what other people are doing. 

This is not a perfect example, just one of infinite possibilities. Please look up other examples of cover letters while writing your own!

Commence!

Here's some further reading with some different ideas/examples/thoughts on how to approach cover letters. Hope this has been helpful!

• How to write a resume: Resume tips 
• How to Format a Cover Letter With Examples 
• How to Format Your Cover Letter 
• How to Write A Cover Letter <- I dig this one a lot. It has some ideas about how to add a unique voice to your cover letter without distracting from its content.

~

Neglected Lessons is a series of posts focused on content that isn't covered enough in game and art college programs. You can view the rest of the posts here. 

 Job application prep posts: Cover Letters 101 - Game Art Portfolios 101 - Resume 101