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Cover letters and recommendation letters

Two documents most candidates treat as paperwork. Done right, one shows real interest and the other removes the biggest doubt an employer has about you.

3 min read · By Marc Sleiman

Cover letters

Whether a cover letter is read depends on the employer. Many large technology companies rarely read them, and some application systems do not even ask for one. Government agencies, central banks, research organizations, consulting firms and most employers recruiting through the AEA job listings usually do read them, and interviewers sometimes bring up details from them. Since you rarely know for certain, write one whenever it is requested, and spend real effort on the few jobs you care most about.

What a good cover letter does

It signals credible interest in this specific employer. A generic letter that could be sent anywhere does the opposite. Say concretely why this organization, this team and, if relevant, this location: a product you use, a problem they are known for working on, a talk or paper by someone on the team, a reason you want to live in that city. Then connect two or three of your strongest experiences directly to what the posting asks for.

Structure

Keep it to one page and four short paragraphs. The first says which role you are applying for and gives your pitch in two sentences. The second and third each take one requirement from the posting and show, with a specific result, that you meet it. The last says why this organization and closes with a clear next step. Short, specific stories work well here; a single concrete example is more persuasive than a paragraph of adjectives.

Recommendation letters

For industry roles, letters matter less often than in academia, but when they are requested, they can settle the biggest doubt an employer has about a PhD candidate: will this person actually take the job, or are they waiting for an academic offer?

Ask your advisers to say you are focused on industry

If your search is only outside academia, ask your letter writers to say so clearly. Employers sometimes pass over strong candidates who seem mainly interested in academia, because they expect those candidates to accept an academic offer instead. One sentence from your adviser, such as “She is focused on a career in industry and is not on the academic market,” removes that worry.

Tell them what to emphasize

Ask your writers to mention specific skills that matter to employers outside academia: working with messy real-world data, explaining results to non-specialists, meeting deadlines, working independently, collaborating with people from other fields. Make sure the same skills appear on your resume and in your cover letter, so the letter reinforces what the employer has already read.

Give each writer a one-page brief

Make it easy for them. Send a one-page document with your job-search focus, the types of roles you are applying to, the three or four skills and experiences you would like them to mention with a concrete example of each, your resume, and a list of deadlines. It takes about an hour and it noticeably improves the letters you get.

Choose writers carefully

If you have a good relationship with an adviser, it is reasonable to ask whether you can see the letter or discuss its emphasis. If your relationship with a potential writer is weak, it is usually better to ask someone else. A lukewarm letter can do more harm than no letter. For industry roles, a supervisor from an internship or a client from a consulting project can be an excellent writer, sometimes better than a famous professor who barely knows your applied work.

Track them

Letters are submitted in different ways: through general services such as Interfolio or the AEA system, through employer portals or by email. Keep a spreadsheet with each employer, each writer and the status of each letter, and send writers polite reminders a week before deadlines.