Your Guide to Writing Executive Cover Letters

Isn’t my resume enough to show my experience and value to a prospective employer? Why do I need an executive cover letter, too? You might be asking yourself these questions as you plunge headlong into a search for a new executive position.

It’s true, it is a lot of work to write a resume — and then another, and another — to ensure each is tailored for the position you’re applying to. But, no matter how much work it may seem like, you still need a strong, effective cover letter to accompany each resume you send out. Executive positions are competitive, and you need to give yourself the upper hand with a persuasive, compelling letter that makes a hiring manager want to read your resume. To help executives in the midst of a job search, I’ve written this guide to cover letters for executives.

Why Executives Need a Strong Cover Letter

A strong cover letter is so important for an executive because you simply cannot convey everything you need or want to in a two-page resume or even a three-page resume. As an executive, you have plenty of professional experience to discuss, and will probably need to leave things off your resume even after you’ve culled down your skills and accomplishments to the most relevant for the targeted position.

When you write a cover letter, you can address accomplishments or work experiences that aren’t directly mentioned in your resume, or expand on the information provided in your resume.

However, a strong cover letter should never just act as an extension of your resume. Instead, a strong executive cover letter should accomplish the goals of telling a prospective employer why you are a good fit for their company, what you can do for them, and why they should pay closer attention to your resume than they might pay to the resume of another applicant. Remember, a recruiter or hiring manager will only spend a few seconds skimming your resume — but a strong executive cover letter will help compel them to spend more time with yours.

As I explain in this article, it’s especially important that you have a strong…