Cover Letter Toolkit - Cover Letters

CONSULTING COVER LETTER TOOLKIT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Successful Cover Letters

Page 1 – 21

Top 20% Cover Letters

Page 22 – 42

Rewritten Cover Letters – Before vs. After

Page 43 – 56

SUCCESSFUL COVER LETTERS The following actual cover letters are from my students who successfully received job offers from one of the top 10 consulting firms. I have verified their job offer by retaining confidential copies of their offer letters. At the top of each letter, I listed the firms that invited the candidate to interview — a sign that the cover letter and resume were sufficiently interesting to warrant inviting the candidate to interview.

Page 1

Successful Cover Letter 101 Interview Intervie w Invites: Bain, BCG, Oliver Wyman (Undergrad Intern) "#$%&'( )&$* "#$%&'( +,,-*..

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Successful Cover Letter 107 Interview Invite: McKinsey (Undergrad) Candidate Name E-mail Address Country Dear Department of Human Resource [Company Name] I would like to apply for Consulting Analyst position in [Company Name] Jakarta Office . I know this information from your company website. I have graduated from Department of Industrial Engineering Institut Teknologi Bandung. One of the thing that I love from my major is it allows me to apply system thinking in all problems that I want to solve. Applying system thinking helps me to produce better solution that will drive better impact to the stakeholder that I serve. I feel that your company has the opportunity that I have been looking for to develop my passion and skills. I believe I can be a great addition for your company because of three reasons. Firstly, I have a lot of working experience. I had three internship periods (in PT. [Unilever ] Indonesia, PT. {BBN [Towers Watson ] Indonesia, PT. Aplikasi Sistem Bisnis) during my college life. During my internship, I worked in team with more senior people, solved real problems, and managed stakeholders. I believe this experience helps me to adapt faster to working environment thus enables me to contribute positively for the firm.

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Secondly, I always give my best effort to make my goal happen. I will not give up until it really happens. I have been joining parliamentary debating competitions since I was in high school and I finally won my first ever debating competition after involving for 5.5 years. My persistency led me also to be the [first Indonesian who won World University Debating Championship on English as Foreign Language Category {Interesting in 2014]. Thirdly, I have a lot of organizational and project experience. I was in charge as the President of ITB Student English Forum from 2012-2013. I was also involved as the project leader of Keluarga Mahasiswa Katolik Annual Easter Event and event coordinator of my student union charity event. This experience helps me a lot on how to work in group. To conclude, I believe that I can learn a lot from this company and contribute to this company as well. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to knowing the confirmation in the near future. Regards Candidate Name

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Successful Cover Letter 108 Interview Invites: Bain, BCG, Deloitte, McKinsey (Undergrad) Candidate Name – Candidate Address – Phone – E-Mail Company Name Company Address Application as Fellow at [Company Name]

Dear XXX, After completing an internship with [Booz] in 2012, I can say with confidence that strategy consulting is my ideal career choice; it not only offers an excellent learning curve, but also the opportunity to collaborate with inspiring people on a wide variety of industries.

{BBN

Earlier in 2011, I obtained a deep insight into the value-based culture of [Company Name]. Participating in the DIVE event in Rome, I was particularly impressed by the extraordinary integrity and honesty of [Company Name]’s consultants. This impression was confirmed by talking to [Person 1] at this year’s HSG Talents Conference. I believe that these distinctive [Company Name] values provide the ideal foundation to achieve personal fulfillment and team success on the consulting job. For this reason, I am applying for a Fellow position (generalist path) at [Company Name] starting fall 2014.

{Clearly Inter Int eres este ted d

During my graduate studies in Banking & Finance and International Management at the University of St.Gallen (HSG), I acquired valuable teamwork, business and analytical skills. Working for Booz, I applied and enhanced these skills in a consulting environment. Collaborating closely with experienced consultants, I was successful at delivering quality work in demanding and high pressure situations. My responsibilities included the development of a sales tracking model and the evaluation of a market survey. With great enthusiasm, I contributed to the project success by skillfully [analyzing large data sets], [drawing concise conclusions] and [thinking in an integrative manner ].

}

{Data/ Analytical Skills ! } Besides, I am a dynamic, proactive and entrepreneurial individual. After my exchange semester in Brazil in

2013, I coordinated the Impact Investing Research Platform at the HSG Hub in Sao Paulo. To initiate a consulting practice, I conducted a first reference project for an organic soy supplier. Within the informal and less organized Brazilian business context, I demonstrated strong intercultural and planning skills to execute the assignment. Particularly, I overcame the challenge to communicate effectively with the Brazilian management. Finally, the completed project opened the door for future consulting activities at the HSG Hub Sao Paulo. After these influential consulting consulting experiences, I am now eager to become a full-time full-time consultant at [Company  Name]. My constructive c onstructive and reliable attitude, as well we ll as my analytical a nalytical and interpersonal skills would w ould make a valuable contribution to [Company Name]’s unique culture and business. In return, I promise a relentless work ethic coupled with a particularly positive mindset. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to further exploring my opportunities and remain at your disposal by phone at XXX, or by email at XXX. Sincerely, Candidate E-Signature Candidate Name

Successful Successful Cover Letter 109 Interview Intervie w Invites: Bain, BCG, McKinsey (Undergrad) Company Name Company Address

Dear Insight Healthcare Recruiter, As a [medical student at Stanford University ] I was excited to hear consultants reflect on their enjoyment of mini-MBA orientation, on-the-job feedback lunches, and office social events of his first year: such a supportive and collegial environment is consistent with what I am seeking. In attending last week’s on-campus information session, I confirmed how well aligned my interests in systemlevel improvements to healthcare are with opportunities in management consulting. I believe that my qualifications and experiences in healthcare are well suited for this career path, and I applied specifically for Insight Healthcare as I am particularly interested in the associate role at [Company  Name]. [Company Name]’s excellent reputation, best-in-class healthcare systems and services practice, and welcoming environment for advanced professional degree consultants are an ideal match. The firm’s established payor/provider practices will allow me to leverage the analytical approaches that I have learned from implementing a free clinic’s electronic medical records system and hospital volunteer  program’s quality quali ty improvement improvemen t initiative. [Company [C ompany Name]’s global clientele, ranging from national nat ional government providers to nonprofits, offers potential engagements for me to draw on prior experiences navigating the global health space in India. The opportunity to broadly impact patient care is what fundamentally motivates me. Besides  providing a high-level h igh-level view bey ond that of the individual patient, pat ient, management consulting will w ill allow me to shape how healthcare is delivered through a data-driven, client-centric approach that I find appealing. Engagements to improve a hospital chain’s clinical operations, develop an integrated healthcare solution for a provider, or redesign a national healthcare system are all exciting, but to tackle those problems in a uniquely collegial, team-based setting is what I truly find galvanizing. No other industry, and no other management consulting firm, offers such an exceptional career experience. I would very much appreciate the opportunity to interview for Insight Healthcare. I look forward to hearing a favorable response from you soon. Sincerely,

Candidate Name

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{Add Yale undergrad with good GPA.},

Successful Cover 110 Interview Invites: A.T. Kearney, Bain, BCG (MBA) !"#$%$"&' )$$*'++

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Dear XXX, I wish to express my interest for the Consultant role as I believe my ability in managing international projects and leading global teams, coupled with my experience in interfacing with C- level executives are a great fit for [Company Name] .

{Academics?}

From the early stages of my career, I’ve been passionate about using customer analytics to generate insights that create impact in organisations and I always took pride in creating success for my firm. For instance, when I joined GfK Equity Research as employee #10 I knew I wanted to leave a mark and I have been instrumental in the division’s growth into an accomplished 60+ people venture. My role involved interfacing with clients on a daily basis, building and mentoring a global team of analysts and even setting up a new office in Asia, all of which required a huge amount of personal and professional commitment and plain hard work, but ultimately the gratification that came from having contributed to the success of an enterprise is something that is still with me. More recently at Quadrangle Group, I have managed several consulting projects in the technology and telecom industry, often combining customer and business data in order to drive change at my client’s organisations. For example, I led a cross functional project with the aim to define the customer lifetime value for a for a major telecom player and convinced C-level executives that the group’s customer strategy should be radically redefined. The magnitude of the intellectual challenge and the intricate political backdrop made this engagement particularly complex, but the reward I got from solving a difficult problem, combined with the satisfaction I experienced in driving improvements at my clients’ organizations, made it all worthwhile. Two years later, top executives of the firm still point to this project as a striking success and this is in my opinion a strong indicator of the fact that I am going to enjoy working as a consultant. So, why [Company Name]? Name]? In doing my research on which consulting firm would be the best fit for me, I had the pleasure to speak with many consultants from the UK and Italian offices and I believe there are two main reasons why [Company Name] is a good fit for me: [Company Name] is not afraid to re-invent the wheel if this means achieving a better solution for the client. While other firms may fit new problems to existing frameworks, I have learned that [Company [Company Name] is not afraid to work a solution from scratch if this is the right thing to do. I admire this approach, as it is very much in line with my values; [Company Name]-ers are the kind of people I want to spend time with. I’ve been surprised by how welcoming, friendly and sharp your people are. Specifically I admire your  ‘fact-base d’ approach, which resonates very well with my way of working. I know consulting is a team effort and working with the right people is extremely important to me. I welcome the opportunity to discuss in a personal interview my qualifications and fit for the position, feel free to reach me at "#$%&' ((( ) r phone XXX at your earliest convenience. Best regards Candidate Name

Improvement Opportun Opportunity: ity: Academic achievement.

{People Skills }

{Analytical Skills } {Leadership Skills }

Successful Cover Letter 111 Interviews Invites: A.T. Kearney, Bain, BCG, Booz Allen (MBA) Candidate Address Company Name Company Address Dear XXX: Please accept the following as my application for the Consultant position with [Company Name].  After two years at [ Teach For America], time as an analyst at Public Consulting Group, and a summer with the [Sam’s Club] strategy team, I am seeking a career in consulting in order to focus on problem solving in a data-driven, collaborative, and client-centered environment. Conversations with [[Person 1]] and [[Person 2]] in the Dallas office confirmed that [Company Name] shares my respect for data and my focus on results.  The lessons and skills I learned at Teach For America, Public Cons ulting Group, and Sam’s Club, combined with the logical, structured approach to problem solving I gained through the legal portion of my [ JD/MBA], have set me up for success in management consulting. The following skills will contribute to my accomplishments at [Company Name]:  Analytical problem-solving: This summer, I estimated the lifetime value of four types

of Sam’s Club members. First, I developed a conceptual model of member lifetime by interviewing membership experts, gaining an understanding of the underlying variables of membership. I then plugged the pertinent data into the model, calculating the NPV of lifetime values for each segment. Finally, I used my findings to value the firm as a whole and validated this against other company  valuations. I then passed the model off to Sam’s marketing-finance team to evaluate future initiatives to acquire new members.

{Brand Names

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{Did Homework

{Which school? LSAT? GMAT?}

{Analytical Skills }

Leadership: As a summer advocate at the TASO AIDS Clinic in Entebbe, Uganda, I led a team of {Leadership four advocates to write over 300 wills for AIDS patients. First, I helped the team clearly define  / People goals. Next, I invested each team member in the project by articulating the intersection between Skills }

their interests and our goal. As we proceeded, I constantly communicated our progress. Finally,  when our client pool began to dry up, I led the team to problem-solve and persis t, ultimately achieving our goal of 300 wills. Influence and communication: As a strategy intern this summer, I was asked to brief the CEO

of Sam’s Club on a rising competitor. Knowing that my report would touch on pain-points with several executives attending the presentation, I took time beforehand to identify those stakeholders, communicate findings to them, and seek their input on the topic. By being sensitive to and navigating the company’s complex social web, I delivered a well-received hour-long presentation/discussion with the leadership council at Sam’s. I hope to be placed on [Company Name]’s closed interview list. Feel free to contact me via email at XXX or XXX or telephone at XXX. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,

Wow. Excellent cover letter.

Candidate Name

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Successful Cover Letter 112 Interview Invite: McKinsey (MBA) Dear XXX, I am writing to apply for a consultant position at [Company Name], following the recent presentation at [Company Name] Singapore office. [Company Name] delivers value across multiple industries and markets around the globe. I admire [Company Name] not only for the quality of its people and the expertise it develops for clients, but also for [Company Name]’s inherent belief that every client’s challenge is unique and deserves a unique solution. This is exact what I want to pursuit in my future career. With over 10 years experience in the IT consulting and business software industry, I helped blue-chip customers from different industries harness technology to solve strategic issues and challenges. This has given me a strong passion for alleviating clients’ pains. I am eager to extend my experience to see how management consulting can bring real competitive advantage to clients. I believe [Company Name] will enable me to fulfill my passion and career target through its unique value creation and people development approach. I have worked in a broad set of roles across multiple functions at [SAP ], including {BBN consultant, project manager, sales manager and general manager. This exposure has equipped me with three skills that are relevant for the role with [Company Name]: •

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[Solid Leadership Experience  – I managed an international team of 15 from China, Australia, Germany, and addressed challenging and ambiguous situations such as contract negotiation, senior customer relations and expectation management

•

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Strong Critical Thinking –  –   My market entry proposals based on rigorous {Excellent, analysis lead to 20% service revenue increase, though it was wildly regarded as very clear.} not a common practice at the beginning Stakeholder Management – With insights into implementation and a focus on practical solutions, I achieve buy-in from diverse stakeholders and provide the best support to clients through a proven track record in delivery ]

I believe that these skills and experience can contribute to [Company Name] as well as its clients. Given my extensive market experience in Asia and Great China, I would like to choose [Company Name] Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong offices in order to make the best use of my knowledge for the company. Thank you for considering my application and I am very much looking forward to discussing my passion for [Company Name] and m y experiences in more detail with you. Yours sincerely, Candidate Name

Successful Cover Letter 113 Interview Invites: Bain, BCG, McKinsey (MBA) Candidate Name Address Senior Recruiter for INSEAD Company Name Dear XXX, I am currently completing my MBA degree at [INSEAD] and I am writing his letter to present {BBN my interest in joining [Company Name] as an Associate. This letter is a response to the opening School  position posted in INSEAD’s Careerlink website, and results from the previous contacts I had with the company through the presentations on campus, the coffee chats and the networking events, where I could appreciate the company culture. During my work experience, I’ve acquired expertise in the energy industry, developing projects in the oil & gas and renewables, and also in the manufacturing industry, working as a quality and project manager. I also had the opportunity to develop a wide functional expertise, from marketing and sales, to technical specialist, to project management. In the same way, I achieved, thanks to my managerial experience, some interpersonal skills that I consider as very valuable to work with clients and employees. Meeting the challenging client needs through team collaboration is one of the consulting facets I see the most interesting, and which make me want to aim to pursue doing this type of work. Therefore, my aim to be exposed to a broader range of business problems, industries and functions, and the entrepreneurial spirit of the company are the reasons why I believe that [Company Name] is the key right place for my professional development after INSEAD. For all these reasons, I believe that I am a good fit to [Company Name] and that I will be able to successfully help the firm’s clients achieve their objectives by providing new insights and committing to deliver lasting and impactful results. The office I want to apply for the Associate position is Santiago, since I think that my experience will be very valuable in the Operations practice in the medium and long term, and I think that Chile is the right place to do it, given its huge potential and amazing growth over the years. Thank you in advance for your time considering my application. I would greatly appreciate an opportunity to interview for a position as an Associate. Should you require further information,  please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Candidate Name Phone: XXX E-mail: XXX

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Successful Cover Letter 114 Interview Invite: McKinsey (PhD) "#$%&%#'( )%%*(++

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