Why parroting creates valuable cover letters

When I write cover letters, I use a process I call parroting. Often my clients look at me strangely because they are wondering what parrots have to do with creating valuable cover letters just like you may be now.

How to use parroting in your cover letter

The art of using parroting in your cover letters stems from the way parrots repeat what you say.

A good cover letter will let the employer know that you actually read the job description. The easiest way to do this is to parrot back part of the description in the cover letter.

How do you bring value to the company?

My goal is to not only let the hiring manager know you know how to read.

In addition, show how you bring value to the company and how you fit the particular position.

This cover letter opening for a recent client shows you what I mean:

You seek a Construction Accountant who will support overall accounting procedures, including accounts payable and receivable, billing, job costing, general ledger and support construction leadership. I see many correlations with my current job as Accounting Specialist, with The XYZ Group, a full-service commercial construction contractor with offices in Wisconsin and Iowa. I am interested in your position as the next step in my career.

Create valuable cover letters to sell you

This young client was moving out-of-state. She needed to make sure the company understood that she would be a good match for the position. This opening paragraph was parroting the job description.

As the cover letter progressed, we continued to demonstrate how she had the capabilities needed to do the job.

She was interviewed for this position but in the end did not end up at this position. Instead, using a similar strategy, she applied for a job with another company and this is what happened:

Was hired today by ABC Construction for an even better position than I interviewed for at DEG Construction. Very excited about it – ABC is a great company! Thank you for your assistance – I truly feel I wouldn’t have this new job had I not hired you to do my résumé.

Find the correlation between what you do and what the company wants. Use parroting to explain why you have the qualifications that they desire.

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