Article Emphasizes the Importance of Attorney Cover Letters

When you're applying for a job as a lawyer, how important is your cover letter?  Very important, according to this article by Stony Olsen at Law Crossing(tm).   Olsen calls the cover letter the lawyer-applicant's "personal marketing tool," and explains,

"A good cover letter grabs the reader's attention and motivates him or her to read the resume and set up an interview. Your resume and cover letter together determine whether you get an interview with a particular employer."

Moreover, Olsen cautions, "Many employers read cover letters first, and if they do not like them, they read no further."

Although your cover letter works alongside your resume, it differs from the resume in several respects.  Specifically, the cover letter can be more flexible in content and structure than the resume.  Also, the letter can be more personal and can include some of your interests, abilities, and other personal qualities that your resume may omit.  Perhaps most importantly, you can use the cover letter to zero in on the particular skills and experiences that make you the candidate that the employer simply must invite for an interview.

Olsen offers a clean, three-paragraph structure for an attorney's cover letter and helpful pointers for the letter's content and tone.  Following that advice should get you closer to an interview so that you can explain to the employer why you're the ideal candidate for the job.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger

Comments

[StephanieWestAllen]

Here's a brand new article about winning attorney cover letters at THE COMPLETE LAWYER:

http://www.thecompletelawyer.com/volume4/issue4/article.php?ppaid=9505

[Steve Imparl]

Interesting article. Thanks, Stephanie!