Build Your Cover Letter, Don't Cram Your Resume
- Dajahi Wiley
- Jul 11, 2017
- 2 min read
When determining what should stay on your resume and what should be removed, keep in mind that you have another vital tool at your disposal: your cover letter.
Your cover letter should do two things: one, explain your interest in a given position, and two, highlight experiences and skills that demonstrate you are qualified and a good fit for the position you are applying for.
Here's a situation you have probably encountered before: you think that you have arrived at a pretty good state with your resume after going through a few drafts of it. The content is strong and relevant, but it has just a few too many lines as it is 1.25 pages. You know that it would be best for it to be one page. However, you do not want to remove anything and even if you had to, you are not sure what you would hit the delete button on.
Instead of thinking that you would be taking pieces of information out of play by not including them on your resume, remember that your cover letter offers an avenue to still communicate that information to employers. While your resume and cover letter should both touch on your most impressive and impactful experience—with your cover letter going a bit deeper than your resume—you can remove some of the comparatively less impressive and impactful (but still important) details from your resume while including them in your cover letter.
By taking this approach, both your cover letter and your resume will become more effective documents.
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