Five Things to Avoid in a Consulting Cover Letter

Many applicants don’t exert sufficient effort in writing a cover letter. Some even believe their resume would already speak for their credentials. This mindset often leads them to writing letters at the eleventh hour, committing a few stumbling mistakes in the process. Read this post and be familiar with these common errors.

The candidate’s resume was exceptional. It has highlighted relevant skills for the management consulting position. It has stated valuable accomplishments in his previous work experience. It follows the resume structure we suggested in this blog post. The presentation was neat and impressive.

However, when the recruiter read his cover letter, his application was instantly put aside. Most probably, he has committed one of the common mistakes applicants make when writing a cover letter.

Mistake 1: Writing a Generic Cover Letter

Recruiters feel the sincerity of your cover letter. The more personalized it is, the greater the chance of getting through. It may be wise to keep a standard management consulting application letter but make sure that you edit it for every vacant position you apply. Each company has a different set of requirements and your letter must be tailored in such a way that their needs can be met if they choose to hire you.

Mistake 2: Neglecting the Face Value

The content of a management consulting cover letter is much more important than its form. However, it doesn’t mean you can disregard the letter’s face value. Use a neat and standard-sized paper. Mind the margins and spaces between the paragraphs.  Limit your font to the formal ones (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Tahoma, etc.). Never use colors and fancy fonts; keep your cover letter simple and professional. Send it in a PDF file.

Mistake 3: Restating Resume Information

Do not just restate your work history on your cover letter in a paragraph form. Concentrate on how you would connect the company’s goals to the services you can render from a general point of view. You can also explain the noticeable inconsistencies or gaps on your resume. For instance, if you are an engineer turned into an aspiring consultant for popular consulting firms like PWC and Monitor, state the reason for the career shift.

Mistake 4: Being Too Casual

You are encouraged to write your resume with a tinge of your personality to get easily noticed by the reader. However, you can’t be too comfortable or informal to include slang words. You must still use the correct tone, language and style. Stay polite because recruiters also assess how professionally you can compose your thoughts.

Mistake 5: Forgetting to Proofread

Ask someone to check the letter for you before you submit it. If you proofread it yourself, you might overlook typos, spelling errors and grammatically incorrect sentences. “Deaf Mr. Williams” or “I am billing to come for an interview” are too embarrassing; they must be avoided.  Getting some objective feedback from another party would be helpful as well. We can do this for you. Our experienced team can provide you with feedback on your cover letter and resume, and increase your chances of landing an interview.