Cover Letter - how personal can you get? Forum

[Anonymous User]

answered. thank you.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I don't think there's any way to put something like this in a cover letter without sounding defensive or like you're making excuses. Face it, if the employer cares about grades and has a problem with median, you're not going to convince them to think otherwise with a few lines in a cover letter. If they are more interested in what you've done and the good experience you can bring (which is what you want), there is no point in wasting the limited space in a cover letter defending your grades when that's not what the employer cares about.

But I am of the school of thought that you should only play up your positives in job application materials, and let the employer raise their concerns about anything specific if they interview you. Don't raise your own negatives, just be ready to respond if someone else does.

[reasonable_man]

No. Don't do that. It won't work right in a cover letter.

Focus on your experience and also on your interest in the particular firm and/or practice area. Keep it short. 2 Sentence Into. Two body paragraphs of about 3 to 4 sentences each (at most). Short conclusion paragraph. Done. First body paragraph - highlight some relevant experience. Second body paragraph - talk about the firm and how interested you are. Target firms that do well with diversity. Their are all sorts of rankings for this out there. Make those firms a priority.

Good luck. I am white as white can be, but came from a family with zero money and objectively lousy (and absent) parents. I worked part-time all through college and law school. It sucks - but it builds character and at the end of the day, your success will be your own and that's something you can be proud of.

[Anonymous User]

I really appreciate the advice. My understanding then, is that I would only bring this heavy stuff into convo if and when they interview me and ask about my grades?

[kcdc1]

Q: Your grades are a bit below our target for this position. Do you feel that your grades accurately reflect your academic and legal skills?

A: I think my experience this past year is more reflective of my skills as an attorney. [[Cite experience.]] As to my grades, I do hope there will be some flexibility on this point. I would also note that I worked part-time to support myself through school, whereas I've been able to focus my time more fully during my professional experience.


I'm honestly not even sure I'd go this far (everyone's got their excuse), but at least if you frame it this way, it's an argument for why your professional experience should be considered more relevant than your law school GPA.

[reasonable_man]

Q: Your grades are a bit below our target for this position. Do you feel that your grades accurately reflect your academic and legal skills?

A: I think my experience this past year is more reflective of my skills as an attorney. [[Cite experience.]] As to my grades, I do hope there will be some flexibility on this point. I would also note that I worked part-time to support myself through school, whereas I've been able to focus my time more fully during my professional experience.


I'm honestly not even sure I'd go this far (everyone's got their excuse), but at least if you frame it this way, it's an argument for why your professional experience should be considered more relevant than your law school GPA.

Agreed. This far, no further.

[Anonymous User]

Interview coach, hmm... Is that expensive? Even so, if I land a dream job as a result, it would be worth pretty much any cost.

[Anonymous User]

pretty mindblowing that people can afford to hire a coach just for interviews.

[Anonymous User]

pretty mindblowing that people can afford to hire a coach just for interviews.

yea but to be fair if i thought that a coach would help put me over the edge into a top big law firm job, the return on investment would be astronomical. i probably wouldnt spend $2,500 on it but i would definitely invest $500+. its so short-sighted to brush it off for being expensive, especially after dropping 200k on the law school education!!

[michmk29]

Mod edit: SPAMMER POST

[A. Nony Mouse]

All references to interview coaches are from the same spammer shilling for their company, so I would safely ignore them.

[reasonable_man]

All references to interview coaches are from the same spammer shilling for their company, so I would safely ignore them.

Pathetic.

[loh]

All references to interview coaches are from the same spammer shilling for their company, so I would safely ignore them.

Pathetic.

do they have no shame? their company is shit now if it wasn't already.