Chef Cover Letter Advice from HR Pros

Introduction

Modern cover letters have very specific requirements. Some of them are spelt out and you can find them online. Others are not usually public knowledge and are only known to professional job recruiters and HR experts, many of whom are often unwilling to share this information. Even so, if you intend to develop a robust, compelling, and ultimately effective modern cover letter, you have to adhere to the best chef cover letter examples made from the tips provided by the aforementioned professionals.

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In this article, we have assembled some of the most useful tips from HR professionals with a high proficiency in resume and cover letter building. If you will use these tips to construct your cover letter for chefs, you will be a step away from landing the chef job of your dreams.

The Header

The first feature of cover letters that makes them stand out from resumes is structure. The modern cover letter is made up of three major sections, as well as two others that are formalities. The main sections are the opening or introductory section, the middle paragraphs, and the closing. The other sections are the header and the greeting. Compared to the others, the latter sections are much shorter and would not require you to crack your head on what to write to convince the recruiter that you are the best chef for the job.

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Correct & Incorrect

According to the expert recruiters we consulted, the header and greeting sections are as important in modern cover letters as any other sections. Specifically, these sections serve as markers for hiring managers to determine whether or not you are a serious candidate for the chef position or are well-informed enough to be considered qualified. What we mean by this is that once a recruiter picks up your cover letter, the first areas their eyes would move to would be the header and greeting sections. Due to the structure of the modern cover letter, these sections stand out: the header at the beginning of the cover letter and the greeting that follows immediately after. The implication of this is that once you flop with your header, the recruiter might not care to go further. So, knowing what to include to win the attention of the hiring executive is important.

Generally, the header section is the part of the cover letter that introduces you. Every other section can be duplicated by other candidates. This is because the header section only holds your personal information, namely, your name, certifications (or credentials), and maybe the date you submitted the cover letter.

Here are some of the tips that we got from professional recruiters on the best way to write the header section in a chef cover letter:

1. Make sure your full name comes first: Telling you that writing your full name is the first thing you need to do in your cover letter may seem like overkill. However, there are different chef cover letter examples that you will find online, some with the name of the applicant written across the cover letter as if to claim ownership of the paper. So, make sure that your name comes before anything else.
2. Include certifications in abbreviations: In addition to your name in the header section, you must also include some of your most relevant educational or professional certifications. Furthermore, these certification titles must be written in block letters.
3. Add your city of residence: The last information that you are required to add in the header section of your chef cover letter is your residential address. Because of the connotations of this feature in traditional cover letters, many job applicants don’t understand that their addresses also serve as a measure of their qualifications. For example, if the advertised chef position is located in New York and your residential address is in San Francisco, you will likely not get the job. You don't need to input your street address. The city address is enough.

The Cover Letter Greeting

Because this section is the shortest among the sections of the cover letter, few candidates try to understand what salutation they use to address the hiring manager. What these candidates don’t know is that recruiters often have their eyes peeled for this and so it serves as a kind of qualification section.

There is very little space for innovation in the greeting section of your chef cover letter. There are a few standard phrases that you can choose from. However, the best one to use depends on the situation as there is no standard for the greeting section except that it must be acceptable to recruiters.

So, here are some tips to guide you in writing the best greeting section for your chef cover letter:

1. Use the name of the recruiter: Without question, the best salutation or greeting for your chef cover letter is one that refers to the name of the recruiter. The effect of this choice is strong and multiple: one, you tell the recruiter that you are up-to-date with the courtesy of modern cover letter writing; and two, you demonstrate to the hiring manager that you conducted a research and found their name. Both of these effects are bonuses for you; so as long as you can find the name of the recruiter, don’t hesitate to use it in your chef cover letter.
2. Write ‘Dear Hiring Manager’ or ‘Dear Recruiter’ if you cannot find their name: There are many cases in which the name of the recruiter is not known. If this is the case for you, you are allowed to use ‘Dear Hiring Manager,’ ‘Dear Hiring Team,’ or ‘Dear Recruiter.’ As long as you address them along these lines, you will pass the informal test of the hiring executives in charge of the qualification rounds.
3. Do not use more than 3 words in the greeting section: The suggestions we have shared so far are 3 words max—Dear Hiring Manager. Adding more words is trying to be innovative and that is not allowed with the greeting section.

The Cover Letter Introduction

The Introduction section of your chef cover letter is the paragraph where you can get innovative. Even though this paragraph is usually short, it holds all of the information contained in the rest of your cover letter in such a way that the hiring executives can read it and skip everything else. As a result, this section packs the most information in the fewest words possible, starting and ending with the exact requirements of the advertised chef position.

The easiest way to think of the Introduction section of a modern cover letter is as the equivalent of the Resume Summary section in modern resumes. This implies that the section easily sums up the most salient points of your chef cover letter, delivering the recruiters with everything they need to decide whether or not you qualify for the advertised position. So, once the recruiter reads your introduction and gets hooked, they are very likely to recommend you for the job.

All of these show the importance of writing a good introduction section. But what does this section contain exactly? As we mentioned earlier, the introduction section in a modern cover letter summarizes everything. Specifically, it is like a key that captures the most essential aspects of your cover letter, especially your credentials, professional experience, and the assurance that you are qualified for the advertised chef role.

Based on the tips we obtained from the hiring experts, here are some of practical must-dos for writing a compelling introduction section in your chef cover letter:

1. Focus entirely on the job description: With modern cover letters, the smaller the section, the greater the level of importance that hiring professionals place on it. The introduction section is usually no more than 5 sentences in total, so you have a short window within which you must introduce yourself and prove your worth as a chef that is qualified for the advertised role. An easy way to achieve this is to follow a format: to emphasize what you are (a practiced and professional chef), what you have and can do, and how you fit the requirements of the job. Once you manage to script your introduction section along these lines, your chef cover letter will be on its way to completion.
2. Draw attention to your years of experience: Although this may not be altogether important, professional experience is a common requirement for chef or restaurant cook positions. So, if the job description highlights years of professional experience, make sure to mention it in your introduction.
3. Refer to relevant hard and soft skills: After professional experience, skills are the qualifying variables of job recruitment. Once again, the hard and soft skills that you include in the introduction section of your chef cover letter must align with what is in the job description.
4. Strong closing: Also, you must close your introduction section in a strong manner. The best way to go about this is to tie the job requirements to your capacity to fulfill them. Thus, close your introduction section by assuring the recruiters that you are a suitable candidate on the basis of the job description.

The Middle Paragraphs

Most of the tips from the HR professionals on compelling chef cover letters have been highlighted in the Introduction section. This is because every other section, that is, the middle and closing paragraphs are simply extensions of what has already been captured in the introduction section.

So, if you want the middle paragraphs of your chef cover letter to stand out, you have to adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Write around the specifications of the job description: The middle paragraphs are essential because they hold the most information in your chef cover letter. Therefore, you may be tempted to go off topic. Don’t fall for this temptation. Only write about your education, professional certifications, and professional experience in this section.
2. Highlight your achievements: If you intend for your middle paragraphs to stand out, make a note of at least 2 of the most compelling achievements in past employment. Use bullet points to show these achievements since many recruiters will only spend a few seconds in your middle paragraphs.
3. Write in a straightforward manner: Your use of the English language is very important here. Do not write in long and flowery language. Be concise and straight to the point.

Conclusion and Closing Section

The Conclusion and Closing section of your chef cover letter is how you seal the deal. Therefore, it is also a very important section. Remember that this is an extension of the last line of your introduction section. Also, it stands out because it is the last or second-to-the-last line in your cover letter. Thus, it is very visible and will not take recruiters long to read it.

To close your chef cover letter effectively, you must be polite but not overly polite. A ‘Thank you’ is essential, but a ‘Thank you so very much. I am so very very grateful’ is overkill and unpleasant. Also, make sure you emphasize that you are qualified for the role and request that the hiring executives contact you if they have questions.

If you have questions about writing compelling cover letters, you can consult these articles:

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Conclusion

You can write a convincing cover letter with the tips in this article. If you stick to their specifications, you will land the job of your dreams as a chef.

HR content specialist

Sam M. Dike

Sam is a HR content specialist. He enjoys sharing career advice and helping professionals land the right jobs. You`ll always find him conquering quests in video games when he`s not writing about human resources.