Best approach for a Cover Letter (BCG / Mckinsey)

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, I think you are overthinking the contents and structure of your cover letter since there are several ways to approach it. As long as you maintain the primary purpose of the cover letter, you should be fine.
• Moreover, while you should certainly tailor the cover letter to the specific companies you are applying to, the overall structure and contents should remain consistent.
• For the structure of the cover letter, I would advise you to start with a brief introduction, if necessary, followed by why you are the ideal candidate for the position, then explain why the company is the right fit for your career goals, and end with final remarks, if necessary.
• Lastly, while the second and third parts of the cover letter should always be included and detailed, I would highly advise you to include an introduction or final remarks only if there is something specific you want to mention. For example, an introduction could reference a recruiting workshop you attended and the recruiter you met, and final remarks could indicate your availability for interviews within a specific time frame.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

(edited)

Hi there,

There are going to be many approaches, so please remember that there are multiple right answers here.

Please don't get too caught up on that - just write well, demonstrate your experience/experience, and demonstrate that this cover letter is for that company.

Personally, I advocate the appoach of an intro paragraph summarizing your skills/match. Then 2-3 paragraphs defending your skills (and tieing it back to that specific company's traits/asks).

By the way, you do not need a Cover Letter for McKinsey!

Hi there,

Great responses so far and you'll see that there isn't a ‘right' way of doing things regarding structure/format.

What I would say, however, is that style matters. Many candidates chose a cautious way of narrating their story on paper (or during the interviews e.g. McKinsey's PEI). I always advise against that and instead  make it sound exciting to really hook the reader. There's various techniques for this and it's really quite effective.

Please let me know if this is something I can help with.

Best of luck!
Moritz