If you are having trouble getting interviews, here’s an angle you might not have thought about:

Imagine you are the HR person that has to go through that stack of applications. And even worse, you need to interview lots of people. You have to ask the same questions over and over again, and you get the same answers all the time. It will bore you to tears.

Would it not be great if at least one application stood out from the rest?

Would you not invite that person?

Let’s talk about cover letters. First of all: They should be short. Keep it between 10 and 20 typewriter lines and avoid typical clishés and “I love your company so much”-ass kissing.

Instead talk about your passions.

Consider this cover letter:

“Do you want to know what my career goals are?

The sky is the limit. Literally. One of my biggest passions in life is the construction of model airplanes. Sometimes I buy the hulls and engines and assemble them together, sometimes I go from scratch and do everything from writing my own blueprints to gluing together the fuselage from many parts. My biggest success so far is a DC-10 in 1:30 scale with an actual jet engine. In any case, I am very precise about my hobby and I take it very seriously. I believe that my passion to finish complicated tasks combined with a joyful playfulness is one of my key characteristics and that it would be appreciated and valued in your company.

Plus I think working in Chicago would be a big plus. Before we moved upstate our dad used to take me and my brother out to the lake and we would sail all day. That’s something I’d like to do again. Well, that and getting season tickets for the Cubs.”

Chances are you share at least one passion with the interviewer now. In this case the application would fit an engineering position, but be creative and I’m sure you will come up with something fitting, no matter what your profession is.

You will get invited to the job interview and it will be a breeze. You will spend most of the time talking about your hobbies.

Now how is that for career advice?

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