Nearly 4 million green-collar jobs could open up in the U.S. in coming decades. How can you land one? Submit a stellar cover letter, and you’ll vastly improve your chances.
A lot of employers put great stock in these tidy summaries of why you want a green job and why your qualifications make you the best candidate. Follow general guidelines for good cover letter writing. Make sure to tailor each letter to the specific job you seek. (Generic letters reek of resume blitzes from people looking for any old job.)
After that? Green up your letter with these rules of thumb.
Get personal. A green cover letter is the perfect place to mention your passion and resolve about the environment. Don’t simply regurgitate information that’s already in your resume. Instead, use the letter to expand on the information or offer new details. Touch on the reasons you care about the cleanup at the local river; mention your organic garden; describe how you’ve declared every Monday a “no-consume day” and never spend a dime; or explain why your detail-oriented nature makes you uniquely suited for the job.
Don’t overlook the green. Employers want to know what relevant green experience you’ve had, even if it’s not necessarily work experience. Perhaps you took classes in environmental studies or are handy with statistics (an important skill for many green jobs). Maybe you have experience fighting bushfires or grew up in grizzly country. Talk about your green-related experiences to keep your application from landing in the “don’t call” pile.
Spell out how your greenness will pay off. If you’re trying to snag a job as a sustainability coordinator, for example, and your resume lists eco actions you led on your college campus, your cover letter could describe why the campaigns mattered to you, what they taught you, and how you could bring similar successes to your employers. They need to know why hiring you will bring page hits, customers, profits, or similar rewards.
Be specific. Address the key points raised in the job posting. If a non-profit that deals with energy efficiency is looking for an “experienced, take-charge individual who is self-motivated,” use those words in your cover letter to help prove you are that person.
On the other hand, avoid hype. Employers are looking for an honest assessment—not blather. Job hunters sound clueless when they write, “You won’t find a better-qualified candidate than me.” And, alas, it’s usually not true.
CleanTechies offers professional resume writing services specifically targeting green positions. Certified expert resume writers with years of experience and almost thousand of resumes written help job seekers at any career stage craft professional resumes. CleanTechies writes resumes targeting roles in renewable energy, resource efficiency, green building, and sustainable transportation as well as other environmental and sustainable positions. CleanTechies is dedicated to helping green job seekers pursue their dream careers.
This article was written by Amy Linn and originally appeared on SustainLane.
4 comments
Very good advice. I agree that a qualified cover letter comes from the heart. Also I would like to add that a hand written cover letter will work wonders, rather than a typed one. Of course, it needs to be scanned when e-mailed.
Writing cover letters is something that is overlooked by many people. There is more to writing a decent cover letter than just slapping it together. It’s important that quality is put into the cover letter so that it is not just tossed after first glance by an employer. This is a great article because it can help increase those chances of improving that cover letter.
I have learned many times about this but now I knew the right thing of this. There is more to writing a decent cover letter than just slapping it together. thanks.
Thank you for this information. It was a big help honestly. Prior reading this, I was done with my Cover letter and realize it was a crap. Thank you for such useful information you have here.
Comments are closed.