Scientist cover letter

Scientist Cover Letter (With Examples)

You’ve done your time in school and earned the right accreditation; perhaps you’ve even got some experience under your belt. Now, it’s time to step up your game and apply for that dream job. The first thing to do is to write a cover letter.

It’s not as easy as you think, and your cover letter needs to be spot-on perfect. This is a tall order in the modern world. How do you stand out from the crowd?

That’s why we’re here to help. At Zippia, we’re experts in what jobs are out there and what hiring managers want from their applicants. That’s why we’ve put together the best advice for getting that scientist job – and it all starts with your cover letter.

Cover Letter Facts

Your cover letter is your first impression, it’s your chance to stand out from the crowd immediately, and it can mean everything. Here’s the kicker. Most hiring managers say that a resume is not enough. They want that cover letter. So, you can’t skip it.

That same group of recruiters also admits that they don’t really read cover letters. In fact, the average time spent reviewing a cover letter is six seconds. Imagine that, six seconds.

What does this mean? It means that your cover letter needs to be incredible. It has to be eye-catching, powerful, well-written, and well-organized. It has to make you seem like the best candidate for the job at a glance.

Parts of a Scientist Cover Letter

It’s a little frustrating to know that your cover letter is so critical, and yet it might not get read. Don’t let this get you down; it’s just a challenge, and you can overcome it.

The key is making a cover letter that begs to be read, one that uses that six-second perusal to grab attention and keep it. This is the elevator pitch of your professional abilities and skills. Treat it that way.

Let’s start with the boring stuff. Before you get creative, nailing the essential parts of a cover letter is critical. This is a good place to begin. Your cover letter needs to include:

• Your contact information. Make sure it’s easy to contact you by putting your contact information at the very top of the cover letter.

• Employer’s contact information. You can include the employer’s contact information as part of the heading or the salutation, but it’s not always necessary. This is somewhere you can cut out content if your letter is too long.

• Salutation. One thing you can’t omit is the salutation. “To Whom It May Concern” is still a common introduction but not a good one. If you can (it’s not always possible), find out who your application is going to and address it to that individual. That’s a big way to get their attention right off the bat.

• Opening. Why are you writing? Start getting creative here. They know they have a job opening, so you can immediately tell them that you’re the best candidate.

• Cover letter body. In a perfect cover letter world, the body of your letter contains three paragraphs. They are:

  • First paragraph. Highlight your education, experience, qualifications, and highlights of your career. Consider bullet-points to be more of a stand-out candidate.

  • Second paragraph. Your knowledge of the company and how you fit into their culture, their mission, etc.

  • Third paragraph. Thank the recruiter for taking the time to read your cover letter. Let them know you’re available for any questions they may have or if they need additional information.

• Closing. In the closing, use something straightforward and professional, such as “Sincerely,” “Best Regards,” or “Appreciatively.”

• Signature. In the past, when actual letters were sent, there were four lines between the closing and your typed signature. In this spot, you handwrote your name. If you’re sending a real letter, this is the route to take.

  If you’re emailing your cover letter, then you can leave only one line blank, go to the next line and type your name. Follow your name with your email address and your phone number. This again gives them a quick way to contact you.

• CC/Attachment. If you are sending the email to another person, perhaps there are two hiring managers, then each one should find the abbreviation CC (it stands for carbon copy) at the bottom of the letter on the left-hand side.

  Typically, it’s written as CC with a colon and then the name of the other recipient — for example, CC: David Lewis.

  If you’re adding an attachment, which in this case is probably your resume and maybe some work samples or additional documentation, then you should write “attachment” at the bottom of the letter also. You might want to do a colon and list the attachments, but that’s not required.

Scientist Cover Letter Opening

Cover letters used to be very formulaic, which is probably why so many of them still are. The cover letters that get ignored are the ones that state something obvious like you’re applying for the job of Scientist that you saw advertised on Zippia, and you think you’d be a good fit for the role.

You can see why this doesn’t grab anyone’s attention. They probably don’t care where you saw the job; they know you think you’re a good fit or you wouldn’t be writing. There is a little merit to listing what job you want, but not too much.

This is where you need to get creative and grab their attention. Try something like this cover letter opening sample.

See how this introduction is better as it dives right into your qualifications and even mentions a referral, which should grab their attention.

Scientist Cover Letter Body

Remember that the body of the cover letter should ideally have three paragraphs. You want the entire letter to only be one page long, so this is where you get a little room to adjust your length and format.

We recommend using bullet points for quick and easy reference, but it tends to make the letter appear longer. Check out our sample scientist cover letter body.

Scientist Cover Letter Closing Lines

Remember to keep the closing very professional. You really don’t need to include a sentence asking for a meeting, so use your best judgment there. Check out this example.

Sample Cover Letter for a Scientist

Now that we’ve looked at the key sections of a cover letter, let’s put it all together and see what we’ve come up with.

Scientist Cover Letter Tips

Here are a few more tips to help you land that job and make your cover letter a standout. So, consider doing the following:

• Customize. Make sure your cover letter points out your career highlights. You don’t need to cover everything, just the highlights.

• Add statistics. Science is often about numbers or data. It’s a great idea to have some statistics to back up your successes.

• Approximate. If you don’t have the exact skills they’re looking for, make sure to point out how the skills you have do relate to what they want.

• Job research. Point out important research that the potential employer has done. They’ll be impressed with your knowledge, and if you can talk about how that research affected or inspired you – all the better.

• Proofread. Yes, this is a tip that can be applied to anyone applying for any job. But it’s worth mentioning because one error can ruin your chances. Let that sink in. One error — It’s worth proofing your cover letter several times if you’re serious about the job.