I would appreciate it if you could comment on this cover letter that I am sending along with an application to a consulting firm
_____________________________________________
Dear Recruiting Team at XXXX,
I am writing to apply to the Associate position with XXXX. About more than a month ago, I had a chance to talk to one of the associates at XXXX's Chicago office. Mr. A talked about his work at XXXX, and how he ended up finding the right niche for himself in working with retail clients. He also talked about XXXX's interesting externship program and the opportunity to explore an industry for a year through this program. That conversation wasn't the only reason, but was a significant motivator for me to make a decision.
I graduated from ???1 University, which is not a target school for XXXX. Although I had an opportunity to continue my graduate studies in ???2 University, I decided to move to Silicon Valley and co-found a startup. I wanted to both start something, and learn from the brightest people in the startup scene.
I emigrated to the US in 2012, and since then, I have been working with a variety of teams, learning and contributing to each of them. I have previous internship experiences with YYYY working on a software product, with ZZZZ, working with a project management team, overseeing the firm's expansion in north America and with WWWW Consulting as a summer consulting analyst working on a major healthcare project with government of California. I have interned in Silicon Valley, with a stealth startup, reinventing their sales process and saving them the entire monthly fees for their CRM platform and reducing their payroll costs around 50%. Finally, I co-founded an energy company with a group of seasoned entrepreneurs with a goal of delivering clean energy to underserved areas of the world. All of these experiences, along my volunteer and administrative roles at school, have transformed me into a team player and team builder, innovator, self-leaner and linear thinker. What I can bring to table for XXXX is first, my teamwork-based lifestyle, that I have a track record of it, second, a goal oriented, linear problem solving mindset and third, an eagerness to find the gaps in my skill-set and to fill them with learning through teamwork.
I have a long term goal of becoming a leader in technology and a short term, five-year plan of learning. Consulting is the right incubator for my plans ahead, for three main reasons. It provides me with an opportunity to get exposed to a variety of industries and practices. The short term nature of projects implies a fast paced environment, that will allow me to learn a lot, very fast. Finally, the nature of the work, connects me to a large network of employees and alumni that can be translated into a magnificent opportunity to transfer the knowledge and experience to myself, and find the gaps in my skills, through collaborating and connecting with peers and mentors.
I think XXXX is the right environment for me to start my consulting career. XXXX has a larger emphasis on creative and innovative work and a stronger focus on both teamwork and individual contribution compared to the main competitors, AAAA and BBBB. XXXX also has a unique focus on a customized approach to client problems in a collaborative environment. These two main differences create the best match for my background and future plans, providing me with learning from teamsmanship and practicing innovation, and therefore are the basis of my decision to choose XXXX.
Finally, I would like to have an opportunity to discuss more about myself and hear about XXXX, first hand from XXXXers. I would like to express my strong interest to join the team at XXXX and want to be considered for an interview. If you have any question or if there is any piece of information missing, feel free to reach out to me over the phone or email.
Sincerely,
Mr. D
_____________________________________________
Dear Recruiting Team at XXXX,
I am writing to apply to the Associate position with XXXX. About more than a month ago, I had a chance to talk to one of the associates at XXXX's Chicago office. Mr. A talked about his work at XXXX, and how he ended up finding the right niche for himself in working with retail clients. He also talked about XXXX's interesting externship program and the opportunity to explore an industry for a year through this program. That conversation wasn't the only reason, but was a significant motivator for me to make a decision.
I graduated from ???1 University, which is not a target school for XXXX. Although I had an opportunity to continue my graduate studies in ???2 University, I decided to move to Silicon Valley and co-found a startup. I wanted to both start something, and learn from the brightest people in the startup scene.
I emigrated to the US in 2012, and since then, I have been working with a variety of teams, learning and contributing to each of them. I have previous internship experiences with YYYY working on a software product, with ZZZZ, working with a project management team, overseeing the firm's expansion in north America and with WWWW Consulting as a summer consulting analyst working on a major healthcare project with government of California. I have interned in Silicon Valley, with a stealth startup, reinventing their sales process and saving them the entire monthly fees for their CRM platform and reducing their payroll costs around 50%. Finally, I co-founded an energy company with a group of seasoned entrepreneurs with a goal of delivering clean energy to underserved areas of the world. All of these experiences, along my volunteer and administrative roles at school, have transformed me into a team player and team builder, innovator, self-leaner and linear thinker. What I can bring to table for XXXX is first, my teamwork-based lifestyle, that I have a track record of it, second, a goal oriented, linear problem solving mindset and third, an eagerness to find the gaps in my skill-set and to fill them with learning through teamwork.
I have a long term goal of becoming a leader in technology and a short term, five-year plan of learning. Consulting is the right incubator for my plans ahead, for three main reasons. It provides me with an opportunity to get exposed to a variety of industries and practices. The short term nature of projects implies a fast paced environment, that will allow me to learn a lot, very fast. Finally, the nature of the work, connects me to a large network of employees and alumni that can be translated into a magnificent opportunity to transfer the knowledge and experience to myself, and find the gaps in my skills, through collaborating and connecting with peers and mentors.
I think XXXX is the right environment for me to start my consulting career. XXXX has a larger emphasis on creative and innovative work and a stronger focus on both teamwork and individual contribution compared to the main competitors, AAAA and BBBB. XXXX also has a unique focus on a customized approach to client problems in a collaborative environment. These two main differences create the best match for my background and future plans, providing me with learning from teamsmanship and practicing innovation, and therefore are the basis of my decision to choose XXXX.
Finally, I would like to have an opportunity to discuss more about myself and hear about XXXX, first hand from XXXXers. I would like to express my strong interest to join the team at XXXX and want to be considered for an interview. If you have any question or if there is any piece of information missing, feel free to reach out to me over the phone or email.
Sincerely,
Mr. D