cover letter questions Forum

[yesofcourse]

I just had a few questions about cover letters:

1) Assuming a firm does not specify a preferred way to receive cover letters, is there a recommended way to send them (e.g. snail mail or attachments via email)? Does the size of the firm matter (e.g. for the largest firms is email better, but for the medium/small firms is snail mail preferred)?

2) Is there a day of the week that is better to send them if you are emailing them (e.g. Monday; or is later in the week preferable b/c they are less likely to get lost in the flood of messages that the Recruiter will receive on Monday from the weekend)?

3) are there any other small things that anyone knows about?

Thanks in advance

[270910]

Are you applying cold, for a 1L, 2L, or post-grad position, or via OCI?

[yesofcourse]

Are you applying cold, for a 1L, 2L, or post-grad position, or via OCI?

cold 2L

[270910]

Are you applying cold, for a 1L, 2L, or post-grad position, or via OCI?

cold 2L

Small firm: Mail to address you find unless there's a published email address to use or something

Large firm: Follow instructions on website, email to recruiting is fine

In most cases, your cover letter should be going with at least your resume and transcript, and quite possibly references, letters of rec, writing sample, etc.

As an alternative, you can call the firm and ask how they'd prefer to receive any materials.

[AJRESQ]

I stated the reasons in another thread, but I recommend snail-mailing everything. It's easy for us to delete things like a resume when it's email. Subject line: "Employment with your firm." I get it on my phone and delete it. I mark it read and forget about it.

Mailing is a good situation because letters never get thrown out before a lawyer gets it. A secretary doesn't make the decision to throw stuff away, because they might accidentally throw out something important. If you mail something to a lawyer directly s/he is going to read it. They might instantly can it, but they're going to read it. The reason for this is that often important things like court orders are mailed. In addition, we tend to put stuff on our desks and it sits there for awhile, so they might end up seeing your resume a few times a day. Our hiring partner had a law student's resume and cover letter sit on his desk for like three weeks once... too bad it was terrible.

I hate to say it, because it doesn't necessarily apply in practice, but a nice resume and cover letter mailed on good paper really does stand out. It just makes you look professional, like you put time and thought into this mailing.

Also, along those lines, a lot of applicants are lazy and just want to email a generic cover letter and attach a generic resume, so very few actually stand out. Very very very very few applicants take the time to read the job ad, look at our website, and articulate a reason why they want to be with our firm as opposed to anyone who will pay a salary and benefits. Almost every single one says the same thing -- "I went to law school, got decent grades, maybe an A in contracts, I worked in a clinic, clerked for a state court judge, and I would be a good fit for your firm because I like law and you practice it. Please contact me if you want references." Imagine getting 50 of those. Something that indicates you actually looked at our firm, know what we do, and would be interested in doing it would be worlds above 99% of what I've seen. For instance, "I see that you argued the recent Supreme Court decision Smith v. Smith. I would like to discuss the Smith decision with you, as I have questions as to why the court decided XYZ. I understand that the Smith decision dealt with interpretation of New York's definition of 'good faith and fair dealing.' While clerking with Judge Bottomtooth, I helped draft an opinion addressing several aspects of good faith and fair dealing, which I would enjoy discussing with you." (or something, whatever) Yeah, it's brown-nosing, but I'll tell you what -- it works. Lawyers love to talk about themselves and to feel important. If you seem like you understand what the lawyer / firm does, that's huge. (of course, LOL, the risk is that the lawyer might say "We're not hiring, but let's grab lunch and discuss New York's good faith and fair dealing! I'd love to hear about that!" but hey, at least then you have a contact and someone who likes you).

So, my advice would be two fold: first, mail a nice looking resume and cover letter to the law firms, this way you know someone will read it. Second, write a cover letter that is specific to that law firm / hiring partner. Combined, you'll stand out over other applicants. That won't matter if they're not hiring, though.

[yesofcourse]

Are you applying cold, for a 1L, 2L, or post-grad position, or via OCI?

cold 2L

Small firm: Mail to address you find unless there's a published email address to use or something

Large firm: Follow instructions on website, email to recruiting is fine

In most cases, your cover letter should be going with at least your resume and transcript, and quite possibly references, letters of rec, writing sample, etc.

As an alternative, you can call the firm and ask how they'd prefer to receive any materials.

Interestingly my OCS said, when emailing/mailing cold, only send resume and cover letter and send transcript later upon request (or bring to interview). After all, the resume has your gpa. So what I am basically asking is how confident are you that one should send his/her transcript with the initial email?

[betsyanna]

I mailed cold with no transcript my 1L year and it worked fine. They'll ask for a transcript if they call you for an interview.

[yesofcourse]

I stated the reasons in another thread, but I recommend snail-mailing everything. It's easy for us to delete things like a resume when it's email. Subject line: "Employment with your firm." I get it on my phone and delete it. I mark it read and forget about it.

Mailing is a good situation because letters never get thrown out before a lawyer gets it. A secretary doesn't make the decision to throw stuff away, because they might accidentally throw out something important. If you mail something to a lawyer directly s/he is going to read it. They might instantly can it, but they're going to read it. The reason for this is that often important things like court orders are mailed. In addition, we tend to put stuff on our desks and it sits there for awhile, so they might end up seeing your resume a few times a day. Our hiring partner had a law student's resume and cover letter sit on his desk for like three weeks once... too bad it was terrible.

I hate to say it, because it doesn't necessarily apply in practice, but a nice resume and cover letter mailed on good paper really does stand out. It just makes you look professional, like you put time and thought into this mailing.

Also, along those lines, a lot of applicants are lazy and just want to email a generic cover letter and attach a generic resume, so very few actually stand out. Very very very very few applicants take the time to read the job ad, look at our website, and articulate a reason why they want to be with our firm as opposed to anyone who will pay a salary and benefits. Almost every single one says the same thing -- "I went to law school, got decent grades, maybe an A in contracts, I worked in a clinic, clerked for a state court judge, and I would be a good fit for your firm because I like law and you practice it. Please contact me if you want references." Imagine getting 50 of those. Something that indicates you actually looked at our firm, know what we do, and would be interested in doing it would be worlds above 99% of what I've seen. For instance, "I see that you argued the recent Supreme Court decision Smith v. Smith. I would like to discuss the Smith decision with you, as I have questions as to why the court decided XYZ. I understand that the Smith decision dealt with interpretation of New York's definition of 'good faith and fair dealing.' While clerking with Judge Bottomtooth, I helped draft an opinion addressing several aspects of good faith and fair dealing, which I would enjoy discussing with you." (or something, whatever) Yeah, it's brown-nosing, but I'll tell you what -- it works. Lawyers love to talk about themselves and to feel important. If you seem like you understand what the lawyer / firm does, that's huge. (of course, LOL, the risk is that the lawyer might say "We're not hiring, but let's grab lunch and discuss New York's good faith and fair dealing! I'd love to hear about that!" but hey, at least then you have a contact and someone who likes you).

So, my advice would be two fold: first, mail a nice looking resume and cover letter to the law firms, this way you know someone will read it. Second, write a cover letter that is specific to that law firm / hiring partner. Combined, you'll stand out over other applicants. That won't matter if they're not hiring, though.

Thank you very much for the response. Your second point is most definitely true. However, do you think that letting the recruiter know that you plan on contacting them in a week to confirm that he/she received the email (and actually doing it) could sufficiently counter the problem? e.g. if the recruiter did in fact just erase the email then upon calling, you could just email again when the recruiter says he/she did not receive it. ?? this was my strategy at least

[AJRESQ]

I stated the reasons in another thread, but I recommend snail-mailing everything. It's easy for us to delete things like a resume when it's email. Subject line: "Employment with your firm." I get it on my phone and delete it. I mark it read and forget about it.

Mailing is a good situation because letters never get thrown out before a lawyer gets it. A secretary doesn't make the decision to throw stuff away, because they might accidentally throw out something important. If you mail something to a lawyer directly s/he is going to read it. They might instantly can it, but they're going to read it. The reason for this is that often important things like court orders are mailed. In addition, we tend to put stuff on our desks and it sits there for awhile, so they might end up seeing your resume a few times a day. Our hiring partner had a law student's resume and cover letter sit on his desk for like three weeks once... too bad it was terrible.

I hate to say it, because it doesn't necessarily apply in practice, but a nice resume and cover letter mailed on good paper really does stand out. It just makes you look professional, like you put time and thought into this mailing.

Also, along those lines, a lot of applicants are lazy and just want to email a generic cover letter and attach a generic resume, so very few actually stand out. Very very very very few applicants take the time to read the job ad, look at our website, and articulate a reason why they want to be with our firm as opposed to anyone who will pay a salary and benefits. Almost every single one says the same thing -- "I went to law school, got decent grades, maybe an A in contracts, I worked in a clinic, clerked for a state court judge, and I would be a good fit for your firm because I like law and you practice it. Please contact me if you want references." Imagine getting 50 of those. Something that indicates you actually looked at our firm, know what we do, and would be interested in doing it would be worlds above 99% of what I've seen. For instance, "I see that you argued the recent Supreme Court decision Smith v. Smith. I would like to discuss the Smith decision with you, as I have questions as to why the court decided XYZ. I understand that the Smith decision dealt with interpretation of New York's definition of 'good faith and fair dealing.' While clerking with Judge Bottomtooth, I helped draft an opinion addressing several aspects of good faith and fair dealing, which I would enjoy discussing with you." (or something, whatever) Yeah, it's brown-nosing, but I'll tell you what -- it works. Lawyers love to talk about themselves and to feel important. If you seem like you understand what the lawyer / firm does, that's huge. (of course, LOL, the risk is that the lawyer might say "We're not hiring, but let's grab lunch and discuss New York's good faith and fair dealing! I'd love to hear about that!" but hey, at least then you have a contact and someone who likes you).

So, my advice would be two fold: first, mail a nice looking resume and cover letter to the law firms, this way you know someone will read it. Second, write a cover letter that is specific to that law firm / hiring partner. Combined, you'll stand out over other applicants. That won't matter if they're not hiring, though.

Thank you very much for the response. Your second point is most definitely true. However, do you think that letting the recruiter know that you plan on contacting them in a week to confirm that he/she received the email (and actually doing it) could sufficiently counter the problem? e.g. if the recruiter did in fact just erase the email then upon calling, you could just email again when the recruiter says he/she did not receive it. ?? this was my strategy at least

Are you working with an in-house recruiter or a recruiter with an outside company? If the recruiter isn't in-house, who cares what they think because they get paid if you get placed. Don't be obnoxious about it, but they get paid to place applicants. It's in their best interest to place you, so keep on them.

As for an in-house recruiter, they typically are told to screen resumes and look for certain things. Hiring partner might say "I want top 20%, must be from a T-10, must have law review or secondary journal, and must have an A in legal writing." If you're not that, they have deleted your resume because they were told to. Sorry. At that juncture, try mailing the hiring partner directly. The worst that happens is s/he deletes your resume and you're exactly where you started. The best that happens is s/he says "Oh, and also bring this kid in for an interview. Not quite what I was looking for, but I love the cover letter... knew all about that case I argued two years ago in the Supreme Court." (ain't gonna happen if you're 2.7 GPA at a TTT, but could happen if you're a borderline applicant who is slightly below the normal criteria that was axed by HR).

It doesn't hurt to confirm that the recruiter has received your resume, but do NOT be obnoxious about it. Chances are, they get in a bunch of resumes and they put them into 3 piles -- the "meets all the criteria", the "close" and "hahaha yeah right." If you mailed it, there is around a 95% chance they got it, someone looked at it, and made a decision about it as to which pile it went into. You don't want the recruiter going to the hiring partner and saying "By the way, this kid called me like 4 times this week to ask if we got his resume. What the hell is the matter with her?"

[usefultips]

This cover letter format site may be of help to you concerning the basics.

[yesofcourse]

This cover letter format site may be of help to you concerning the basics.

thanks. Everywhere I look says that spacing should be "standard business." What the hell does this mean. Should spacing be single, l.5., or double?

[vandalvideo]

This cover letter format site may be of help to you concerning the basics.

thanks. Everywhere I look says that spacing should be "standard business." What the hell does this mean. Should spacing be single, l.5., or double?

I do single; 12pt before, 18pt after para. That is what I assume to be business. That is what the template is that I find everywhere.

[yesofcourse]

This cover letter format site may be of help to you concerning the basics.

thanks. Everywhere I look says that spacing should be "standard business." What the hell does this mean. Should spacing be single, l.5., or double?

I do single; 12pt before, 18pt after para. That is what I assume to be business. That is what the template is that I find everywhere.

thanks. do you indent the paragraphs? And what is "para"?

[vandalvideo]

thanks. do you indent the paragraphs? And what is "para"?

Para is shorthand for paragraph. And nope, do not indent paras.

[yesofcourse]

and I'm guessing the goal is to keep it to one page?

[270910]

and I'm guessing the goal is to keep it to one page?

One page? Jesus. The shortest cover letter I submitted was 5, and career services was skeptical that it would be enough. I think the average amongst my classmates was 8.

[atlantalaw]

and I'm guessing the goal is to keep it to one page?

One page? Jesus. The shortest cover letter I submitted was 5, and career services was skeptical that it would be enough. I think the average amongst my classmates was 8.

for cover letters?! my writing sample was around that length. how much can you write about how your qualifications fit the job? are you 40 with a ton of work experience?

[Person]

and I'm guessing the goal is to keep it to one page?

One page? Jesus. The shortest cover letter I submitted was 5, and career services was skeptical that it would be enough. I think the average amongst my classmates was 8.

I am pretty sure this is a joke. The two law cover letter formats of which I know are three paragraph and four paragraph.

[ggocat]

and I'm guessing the goal is to keep it to one page?

One page? Jesus. The shortest cover letter I submitted was 5, and career services was skeptical that it would be enough. I think the average amongst my classmates was 8.

I am pretty sure this is a joke.

[DerrickRose]

and I'm guessing the goal is to keep it to one page?

One page? Jesus. The shortest cover letter I submitted was 5, and career services was skeptical that it would be enough. I think the average amongst my classmates was 8.

Weeks old thread I know, but I was looking through Cover Letter threads, and I caught this gem.

My nominee for post of the year.