One Step Closer: Standout in Job Application to get noticed

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Srayan Goswami

UX Designer 3 @Cisco - Webex (imimobile) | Design Mentor @ADPList

Note: This article is written with Design job applications in mind but other technology candidates can tweak it as per their requirements.

There is an exponential rise in demand and supply of openings and candidates respectively, in the design field in the past 2 years. With an increasing amount of candidates, the competition increases for getting your first design job and probably a way to get the right one. This makes the journey further smoother.

Think of the scenario where you have your Resume & Portfolio ready, but your profile still isn’t getting shortlisted. There might be many reasons for this. Some common ones are:

• Your portfolio is not up to the standards of what the hiring person is expecting or your portfolio is difficult to understand. In this case, you have to self-assess your work or get it reviewed by 2-3 (max) experienced designers to find the common flaws in it. A good place to do so is finding mentors in ADPList.
• You are short of 1-2 years of experience. But some hiring people are often flexible enough to value quality work and candidate potential, more than sticking to your lack of a few years of experience.
• You have both of the above but your profile is not even noticed/accessed and is being lost in the crowd of applications.

To boost your chances to overcome the above 2 reasons, a good cover letter often plays a major role in getting your profile shortlisted for a potential interview. Pitching yourself and selling your skillset as a competitive candidate plays a vital role in this. First you need to shortlist your interested organizations and people working in senior to director roles who might be potential hiring people.

Here I am going to write about my experience and approach on how to write a cover letter and boost your chances with the potential of getting shortlisted. I assume you read the job descriptions pretty well and do not focus on only role names. If not so, start doing it. Also, try to empathize with the recruiter and hiring people, as they will be dealing with a lot of applications. Try maneuvering ways to make their task easier.

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Greet the person with a Hi/Hello <hiringManagerFirstName> if you are aware of the person’s name,

or

Greet the person with Dear Hiring Manager if you are not aware of the person’s name.

I will divide the body of the cover letter sections/parts to explain my approach:

P1: Introduction

Write about which role or roles you are interested in applying for. This can be a specific role you know about already (include the job id if known) or you can ask if there are any roles in the design team you are looking for. Mention you have attached a resume and add your portfolio link.

Reasoning: You give a clear context to the interviewer about what you are looking for and the documents/links they will check to decide whether to shortlist you. ‘Consider this as product landing page first viewport. You write about the product in a line as well as provide the main CTA.’ Here you write about your intention why you are reaching out and giving the interviewer the option to immediately check your resume & portfolio. This gives an option to the hiring person to skip your cover letter if they are short of time.

P2: Behavioral & People skills you bring with yourself

This section is brought after the introduction with an intention to convince the hiring person immediately if they decide to read another paragraph. Write about what skills you can bring to their team. Focus on behavioral and people skills (2–3 max to keep it short and precise) more here because you are expected to bring the Technical skills and also they are mentioned in your resume and demonstrated in your portfolio. Things to remember:

• Try to be as specific as possible. Generalized points often get lost out among 100s of applicants
• How do your strengths bring value to business/team/product?

Reasoning: This shows the clarity you have on your skillsets. Hiring person like 'candidates who are confident and know their trades well'. They can see a potential of something extra added to their team which might be missing for them.

P3: Why this organization?

Write in 1–2 lines why do you want to work in the organization / in a particular product team of the same. Mention the striking points that intrigued you to apply. About the organization, what you like, what intrigued you to apply. This can vary for each organization/team. Eg: It may be you have read their design blogs and a particular blog interested you on how they carried forward the work / It may be you follow their design work and the designers in the company and you feel they will be amazing to work with. Try to find the USP of the organization/team that caught your attention and interest.

Reasoning: This shows your efforts and active interest in the organization since you have done your research well. Hiring people like 'candidates who know why they are doing what they are doing'.

P4: Past experiences

Write in short about your experience which may include your recent project(s) and domains you have worked for. If you also have had past experiences in a different field, write a line pitching yourself about how it helps you in the field of design and how valuable it has turned out to be. A scope for you to not let your past experience in a different field, go in vain. Don't force it if you cannot come up with a meaningful link and story between your past experience and the field of design, as it can backfire. Try not to repeat the same thing mentioned in your resume.

Reasoning: This gives the hiring person an idea about your past experiences. Sometimes there is a preference if the candidate has already worked on a similar type of platform(s) or in the same domain. Coming from a different field if mentioned in a proper way, adds a different flavor to your profile which might be missing in the current team of the employer.

P5: Your expectations (My most favorite)

Hiring is two-way binding. As much as you need the job, the organization also needs a candidate. Write about your expectations and what are you looking for in your next role.

Reasoning: This clarifies your focus, clarity, and vision about your career. This also answers not only your expectations but also your reasons to change from your current organization (on a positive note).

P.S.- I often find criticisms in social media about candidates mentioning the paycheck. Who in the world is working in the ‘for-profit’ sector free of cost? A lot of candidates shy away in fear of being judged and settling down for less or being underpaid. If you believe you have the skills to meet the market standards, just mention that too (not the numbers). Eg; Better competitive market pay. Be honest in what you seek in terms of pay apart from other expectations, and if someone judges you based on that, then it's probably not worth it. It is your call.

P6: Conclusion

Thank the hiring person for spending their valuable time reading through it. You can request them humbly, to schedule a call at their available time, if they like your profile. Mention your expectation and eagerness of hearing back from them soon.

Reasoning: *Because it's a norm!😅 Jokes apart*. You value their time and effort. You are serious about pursuing the role.

Some things to remember about what a cover letter doesn't do / shouldn't be:

1. It doesn’t guarantee visibility, but as time goes on more hiring persons are actually starting to value by reading it. Take your shot.
2. It doesn’t assure you a job, but if you stand out it may move you above many other candidates for getting shortlisted, which is a challenge itself.
3. It shouldn’t be generic, because 1000s of other candidates are also writing the same lines in different structures. Be unique to set yourself apart. It is human behavior to remember unique things that they came across. Maybe it might push your luck. Who knows?
4. It shouldn’t be too long an essay (should fit in 1-page max) or too short a snippet. Measure and iterate with proper sentence structuring to connect with the hiring person telling your summarised story.

It is not perfect as nothing in life is, but I have had significant success and increase in getting shortlisted in a lot of design-centric organizations. Keep iterating till you find the right fit for yours and measure the success. Feel free to add your inputs or provide feedback, so that I may even learn too.

Do not give up hope as it is not always the case of you not being a good candidate but it's sometimes finding the right fit for you.

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