I applied to McKinsey with this Cover Letter - and got in! | Cover Letter for Job Application
Summary
TLDRIn diesem Videotutorial erklärt Heinrich aus der Firma Learning, wie man eine erfolgreiche Bewerbungsschreiben und CV für Karrieremöglichkeiten in Beratung oder Banken erstellt. Er teilt seine persönlichen Erfahrungen und zeigt seine eigene Bewerbung, die er für eine Praktikumsstelle bei McKinsey in Deutschland verwendet hat. Er geht detailliert durch die einzelnen Abschnitte des Schreibens und gibt Tipps, wie man sein Profil hervorhebt und die besten Aspekte seiner Erfahrung präsentiert. Darüber hinaus reflektiert er über Änderungen, die er heute vornehmen würde, und bietet einen kostenlosen Schreibhilfen-Template an.
Takeaways
- 😀 Eine Cover Letter und ein CV sind zwei essentielle Dokumente für Bewerbungen in Karrierefelder wie Beratung oder Banken.
- 🔍 Die Cover Letter sollte mit einem formellen Briefkopf beginnen, der den Namen und die Adresse des Bewerbers sowie die des Personalverantwortlichen und das Unternehmen enthält.
- 📆 Es ist üblich, den Ort und das Datum in der rechten oberen Ecke der Cover Letter anzugeben.
- 📝 Eine gut formulierte Cover Letter sollte einen Betreffzeile haben, die den Zweck des Schreibens klar macht, wie z.B. 'Bewerbung für eine Praktikumsposition bei McKinsey & Company'.
- 🎯 Die erste Absatz sollte präzise die Position, den Bürostandort und die Verfügbarkeit des Bewerbers angeben.
- 🏛 In den folgenden Absätzen sollte der Bewerber relevante Erfahrungen und Fähigkeiten hervorheben, die für die Bewerbung relevant sind.
- 📈 Es ist wichtig, spezifische Erfolge und Projekte zu erwähnen, die zeigen, was der Bewerber in der Vergangenheit geleistet hat, anstatt allgemeine Eigenschaften zu behaupten.
- 🔑 Die Cover Letter sollte nicht länger als eine Seite sein und sollte in einfacher, professioneller Formatierung vorliegen.
- 🔄 Der Bewerber sollte die Gelegenheit nutzen, um sein Interesse an der Firma und dem spezifischen Job zu erklären und seine Motivation zu verdeutlichen.
- 📧 Die letzte Absatz sollte den Wunsch des Bewerbers nach einer Einladung zu einem Vorstellungsgespräch klar zum Ausdruck bringen.
- 🔗 Es wird empfohlen, die Cover Letter nicht nur als Wiederholung des CVs zu betrachten, sondern sie als Möglichkeit zu nutzen, zusätzliche Informationen und Persönlichkeit einzufügen.
Q & A
Was sind die beiden Dokumente, die in einer Bewerbung für Beratungs- oder Bankenkarriere notwendig?
-Die beiden Dokumente, die in einer solchen Bewerbung notwendig sind, sind ein Cover Letter und ein CV.
Was ist der Hauptzweck des Cover Letters in einer Bewerbung?
-Der Hauptzweck des Cover Letters ist es, den Antragsteller vorzustellen, sein Interesse an der Stelle zu bekunden und seine Motivation und Fähigkeiten zu erläutern.
Warum sollte man in der ersten Absatz des Cover Letters präzise angeben, worauf man sich bewirbt?
-In der ersten Absatz sollte man präzise angeben, worauf man sich bewirbt, um den Antrag für den Recruiter leicht verständlich und übersichtlich zu machen.
Was sind die drei Hauptinformationen, die in der ersten Absatz des Cover Letters enthalten sein sollten?
-Die drei Hauptinformationen sind die Position, auf die man sich bewirbt, die Bürostandort, an den man sich bewirbt, und die Verfügbarkeit, wann man anfangen möchte.
Welche Bedeutung hat die persönliche Anrede des Recruiters im Cover Letter?
-Die persönliche Anrede zeigt, dass der Bewerber ein Minimum an Recherche geleistet hat und das Cover Letter persönlich anspricht, was eine bessere Verbindung aufbaut.
Wie wichtig ist es, im Cover Letter auf die spezifischen Anforderungen des Unternehmens einzugehen?
-Es ist wichtig, auf die spezifischen Anforderungen des Unternehmens einzugehen, um sicherzustellen, dass die Bewerbung den Kriterien entspricht und den Recruiter Informationen bietet, die für die Auswahl relevant sind.
Was bedeutet 'Show, don't tell' im Kontext des Schreibens eines Cover Letters?
-'Show, don't tell' bedeutet, dass man konkrete Beispiele und Erfahrungen angeben sollte, anstatt sich selbst zu beschreiben. Statt zu behaupten, wie man ist, sollte man zeigen, was man kann, durch Beispiele von Erfolgen und Projekten.
Warum sollte man im Cover Letter nicht nur die Informationen wiederholen, die bereits im CV enthalten sind?
-Man sollte im Cover Letter nicht nur die Informationen aus dem CV wiederholen, um den Recruiter zusätzlichen Wert zu bieten und mehr Tiefe in der Bewerbung zu schaffen.
Was sind die drei Hauptempfehlungen, die Heinrich im Video für das Schreiben eines effektiven Cover Letters gibt?
-Die drei Hauptempfehlungen sind: 1) Das Cover Letter sollte als Hygienefaktor behandelt werden, 2) Man sollte nicht nur die Informationen aus dem CV wiederholen, sondern zusätzlichen Wert hinzufügen, und 3) Man sollte darauf achten, dass das Cover Letter nicht länger als eine Seite ist und professionell formatiert wird.
Wie kann man das Cover Letter Template von Heinrich erhalten, das er im Video erwähnt?
-Das Cover Letter Template kann durch den Link in der Videobeschreibung abgerufen werden, der auf der YouTube-Plattform für das Video von Heinrich zur Verfügung steht.
Outlines
😀 Einleitung in die Bewerbungsschreiben-Analyse
Der Sprecher beginnt mit einer Einführung in das Bewerbungsschreiben und seine Bedeutung für eine erfolgreiche Bewerbung in Branchen wie Beratung oder Banken. Er teilt mit, dass er bereits Videos über das Schreiben eines guten CV erstellt hat, einschließlich eines Beispiels, das er selbst für die Bewerbung bei McKinsey verwendet hat. Der Sprecher kündigt an, dass er in diesem Video die Struktur und den Inhalt des Cover Letters analysieren wird, das er für seine erfolgreiche Bewerbung bei McKinsey in Deutschland verwendet hat. Er betont, dass er einige persönliche Informationen aus dem ursprünglichen Dokument entfernt hat, um seine Privatsphäre zu schützen, und gibt zu, dass das Cover Letter nicht perfekt war, aber effektiv genug war, um ihn zum Vorstellungsgespräch und später zur Einstellung einzuladen.
📝 Anleitung zum Aufbau des Cover Letters
Der Sprecher geht detailliert durch die einzelnen Abschnitte des Cover Letters und gibt Empfehlungen für die Schreibweise. Er betont die Notwendigkeit, das Cover Letter mit einem formellen Briefkopf zu beginnen, der den Namen und die Adresse des Bewerbers sowie die des Personalverantwortlichen und der Firma enthält. Der Sprecher empfiehlt, den Ort und das Datum auf der rechten Seite des Briefkopfs anzugeben und eine Überschriftszeile zu verwenden, um den Zweck des Briefes klarzustellen. Er erklärt, wie man den Zweck des Briefes in der ersten Paragraphe präzise darstellt, einschließlich der gewünschten Position, des Bürostandortes und der Verfügbarkeit. Der Sprecher gibt auch Ratschläge, wie man seine aktuellen Studien oder Berufserfahrungen in den Brief einbezieht, um dem Personalverantwortlichen einen Überblick über seinen aktuellen Lebensabschnitt zu geben.
🎯 Betonen von Stärken und Motivation
Der Sprecher empfiehlt, im dritten und vierten Absatz des Cover Letters spezifische Erfahrungen und Fähigkeiten hervorzuheben, die den Bewerber für die Position eignen. Er betont die Wichtigkeit, statt bloß Behauptungen über die eigenen Fähigkeiten zu machen, konkrete Beispiele für Erfolge oder Projekte zu geben, die diese Fähigkeiten untermauern. Der Sprecher reflektiert auch über seine eigene Bewerbung und erkennt, dass er im Nachhinein möglicherweise stärkere oder aussagekräftigere Beispiele hätte anführen können. Er betont, dass es wichtig ist, nicht nur die CV-Informationen zu wiederholen, sondern auch neue Perspektiven und Motivationen zu teilen, die den Bewerber für die spezifische Firma und Position eignen. Der Sprecher schlägt vor, im letzten Absatz die nächste gewünschte Schritte zu beschreiben, wie zum Beispiel die Einladung zu einem Vorstellungsgespräch.
🔖 Schlüsselempfehlungen für effektive Bewerbungsschreiben
Der Sprecher gibt drei Hauptempfehlungen für das Schreiben von Bewerbungsschreiben. Erstens, dass das Cover Letter als Hygienefaktor betrachtet werden sollte, da es selten jemanden einlädt, weil das Cover Letter außergewöhnlich gut ist. Zweitens, dass man vermeiden sollte, nur die Informationen aus dem CV zu wiederholen, sondern stattdessen zusätzliche Informationen und Perspektiven geben sollte, die den Bewerber von anderen Kandidaten abheben. Drittens, dass das Cover Letter kurz und übersichtlich gehalten und keine übertriebenen Formatierungen enthalten sollte. Der Sprecher betont, dass die Einhaltung dieser Ratschläge dazu beitragen kann, dass das Cover Letter effektiver und leserfreundlicher ist.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bewerbung
💡Anschreiben (Cover Letter)
💡Lebenslauf (CV)
💡Top-Down-Kommunikation
💡McKinsey
💡Berater
💡Persönliche Informationen
💡Studium
💡Bewerber
💡Projektbasierte Aktivitäten
Highlights
The necessity of including a cover letter and CV in applications for high-profile careers like consulting or banking.
The speaker's previous video on crafting a great CV and a specific example used for a McKinsey application.
Introduction to a follow-up video showcasing the actual cover letter used for a successful McKinsey application in Germany.
The importance of reflecting on past applications and considering changes if writing a cover letter today.
Tips on starting a cover letter with a formal letterhead, including personal and company details.
The significance of addressing the cover letter to a specific recruiter and the value of personalization.
Inclusion of a clear subject line in the cover letter to state the application's purpose.
The recommendation to state the position, office location, and availability upfront in the cover letter.
Providing context about the applicant's current educational or professional status.
Highlighting key experiences that set the applicant apart and are relevant to the job requirements.
The 'show, don't tell' principle in cover letters, emphasizing concrete experiences over generic claims.
Self-criticism of the cover letter's third paragraph and suggestions for improvement.
Discussing additional key qualities and experiences that could contribute to the job, beyond the initial 'spike'.
The importance of expressing genuine motivation for the job and the specific firm in the cover letter.
Recommendations for the final paragraph, including a clear call to action for the next steps in the application process.
Reflections on the cover letter as a 'hygiene factor' and advice on keeping it concise and professional.
Advice against repeating information from the CV and the value of adding unique insights in the cover letter.
Encouragement for viewers to engage with the content, ask questions, and subscribe for more career advice.
Transcripts
- Are you interested to get into a high profile
career like consulting or banking?
Because if you do, your application for sure
needs to contain two documents.
First, your cover letter, and second your CV.
So I already made some videos
talking about what it takes to write a great CV.
And I even made one video showing you the very CV
that I used to successfully apply to McKinsey
as a consultant.
If you haven't seen it yet
and wanna check it out, no problem,
there's a link somewhere above here where I will insert it.
As I got lots of positive feedback
on the video I now want to follow it up with a second video,
showing you how the actual cover letter looked like
that I used to successfully apply to McKinsey in Germany.
In this video, I will walk through paragraph by paragraph
through the cover letter that I used
for my McKinsey application.
And given that this application
was already a couple of years ago,
I will also share some reflections.
What I would probably change today
if I would now need to write such a cover letter
because I by no means believe
that my old cover letter was perfect.
Though of course it was good enough
to get invited to the interview,
and then later also to get me into the firm.
So welcome to another coffee break here on my channel
Firm Learning, my name is Heinrich,
and on my channel I want to help you to become successful
in the first years of your career.
Now, before we jump into the cover letter,
now for the sake of transparency, I did a couple of changes.
So first I translated the whole cover letter in English
because I applied in German.
And then also took out some personal information
just to protect my privacy and I also changed some
minor details also just to protect myself.
But overall these changes are rather minor
so you can treat it as the actual cover letter that I used.
But now let's jump into it.
So I have the cover letter here in front of me
and indeed now let's go over it paragraph by paragraph.
And first of all,
make sure that you start your cover letter
with a formal letterhead that is formative
just in the way that is customary for your region.
So usually this will look something like this.
So you start with your own name, with your address
in the top right.
Then later the recruiter name,
then the company name,
and then the office address of the company.
Here it's always great to include the actual name
of the recruiter that will then read your application.
Usually if you Google the head of recruiting
or something like that, this will be possible for you.
And this makes it always a bit more personal
than just writing the company name.
And it shows that you did a minimal amount of research
just here in the beginning.
Then it is customary to include the location and the date
here in the right-hand side of the cover letter.
And then it's good practice to include a subject line
at the beginning of your cover letter in bold,
just to make it clear what this letter is all about.
So here I wrote application for a consulting internship
position at McKinsey & Company.
Because when I applied to McKinsey, I applied as an intern.
And then after the internship I got a full-time offer.
So this is how I got in.
So then clearly state the objective
of your letter here in such a subject line.
Next you formally address your recruiter.
And then you start with the first paragraph
of the actual application.
Now probably one of the things that I've seen
most people do wrong,
if people send me cover letters
and just ask me to review them.
And this will be what you write in the very first paragraph.
In the spirit of top-down communication,
and if you do not know what top-down communication is
I made a video about that.
I will link at somewhere above here.
But in the spirit of top-down communication,
do yourself a favor and in the very first paragraph,
very precisely state what you want.
And in the case of an application,
I would strongly recommend you to always include
three key pieces of information.
So the first is what is the position
that you are applying to.
So in my case, this was here
the business analyst intern position.
The second information should be what is the office location
that you are applying to?
What office would you be interested to join?
And then third, clearly state your availability.
So when do you wanna do the internship?
When do you wanna start for full-time position?
And if it is for an internship,
indeed also clearly state what the time duration
is that you wanna do.
And of course here make sure to check the requirements
of your firms because many firms have a minimum duration,
or sometimes also maximum duration
that an internship can take.
So make sure that you meet these requirements
when you phrase it here in the first paragraph.
So these are key information to take in for any recruiter.
So don't hide information like this
somewhere in the middle of your body,
but make sure to include this in the very first paragraph.
Next, provide some context where you currently stand
in your life, so in your educational journey,
on your career journey.
So if you are a student, right,
what you're currently studying,
and also when do you expect to graduate.
Because this of course will be relevant information.
When you are an experienced hire,
so here clearly state whether
you are currently employed or not.
And if you are employed, when you could quit the job,
when you could quit the company.
So just make it really clear for the recruiter
where you currently stand in your educational
or professional journey,
to have them put you into the right box.
So here I wrote about that I was currently at the time
studying at the University of Munich.
I told them when I expected to graduate,
I told them what I was currently studying
and also tried here to make a link to how my studies
relate now to the requirements of the job.
Now let's move to the third paragraph.
And here in the third paragraph,
I would recommend you to now pull out one or two key
instances of experience,
key things that you did in your life
that you believe are really the cherry on top
of your application.
What are really the things that you stand out for?
What is your spike?
What is the spike in your application?
No, of course this will often also be included
in your cover letter,
but really try to find something
that now the recruiter can take and use as an information,
if they want to defend your case,
what is really the punchline,
why they should invite you to an interview.
So here now I talked about a special study program
that I attended in Munich.
It is quite a renowned program in Munich at least.
And then I also told them how this really
relates to the job.
So talking about these project based activities that I did,
and also linking it to an internship at Accenture,
at another consulting firm that I did earlier.
And here the important phrase to remember,
that you should really have in your mind is show don't tell.
So what many people do wrong
is they tell in their cover letter,
they tell in their CV, instead of showing.
So what this means is they will write things
like I am smart, I am a great team player,
I am creative, I think out of the box.
So people pretty much just make bold claims
about themselves.
But the problem with this is of course that talk is cheap.
Everybody can just write things like that into their CV
or into their cover letter.
No way this really distinguishes you from other candidates.
So instead of making cheap claims about yourself,
rather show what you're capable of doing,
mention the specific things that you did that really portray
these virtues that you can bring to the table.
So instead of just talking about how you would be great in
project based environments,
just rather show the actual experiences that you already
collected, where you worked in projects,
where you delivered impact,
where you showed that you can bring
all these virtues to the table.
And now looking critically at my cover letter
I think that this paragraph is not strong enough.
So if you read this,
while this might be great and some nice achievements,
this is now not something that leaves you in complete awe,
this just doesn't sound like a super awesome
and great achievement.
So that time, if I would rewrite it today,
I would dig even deeper into what the real spikes
in my profile are that I really wanna show
here to the recruiters.
So now just to do a very short break here,
because if you find this to be helpful,
I now have a new offering for you.
Because I put together a cover letter template
that is very similar to this cover letter.
So you get a cover letter very similar to this
in an open Microsoft Word format
with a couple of additional remarks
that will help you to write your cover letter.
So this would help you as a starting point
to put your own cover letter together,
check out the link in the video description
to my cover letter template.
I hope this will be of value to you,
but now back to my cover letter.
So what I did here in my fourth paragraph
is that I talked about another key quality
that I believe that I would be able to bring to the table
based on my past experience.
So pretty much a mirror of the third paragraph,
but bringing in another point, another spike
that I believe would have really helped me
in the application.
So specifically I wanted to stress some experiences of mine
in the client service,
just to show that I would be able to face
and handle difficult client situations on the job.
Again now, when I read this today,
probably I would have written something else
in this fourth paragraph,
and this is rather to make it more about motivation.
So, but this is okay if you have really something strong
that you want to share,
probably it's a good idea to talk a little bit
also about what actually motivates you
to become a consultant.
Why do you wanna do this job?
And then also why you chose this specific firm
over other firms, right?
So for instance, if you apply to BCG, or Bain, or McKinsey,
what is your motivation to specifically apply to that firm
over some other firms.
And here now if you believe that you have no clue
why you wanna pick that specific firm,
I would recommend you to talk to some alums of these firms.
They will easily be able to tell you some very specific
things that make this firm very special,
and then this is indeed what you can write.
But here also the truth is that the recruiters
are very much aware of the companies like McKinsey,
BCG, or Bain.
To some extent they are pretty similar
so the expectation is not that now you will come up
with some crazy points here right.
But of course, it's always just nice to show
that you have some real passion for a company.
People just love to read that,
why their own firm is special.
So just dig deep here a bit,
just to come up with some nice and thoughtful points.
Now in the last paragraph,
I will talk about what the next step would be
from your perspective.
So what would you like them to do now?
What is your ask now?
And of course in a recruiting context,
usually next step is then to be invited to an interview.
So yeah, I would write exactly that,
write that you will be glad for an opportunity
to introduce yourself in an interview.
And then the recruiter can use this to make a reference
to that when they contact you.
So let me now share three key reflections
and recommendations that I can give you
regarding your cover letter.
First, you need to realize that the cover letter
is a hygiene factor.
Pretty much nobody gets invited because their cover letter
is so awesome, so don't freak out about it.
Follow this basic clean, simple structure,
and you will be fine.
Use it as a means to convey the key pieces of information
that you wanna let the recruiter know.
And then also use it to really underline
the key strength of your profile.
Use the cover letter to really help the recruiter
understand what the strongest aspects
of your application are.
Second, don't make the mistake of just repeating
what is on your CV.
People will have your CV,
they will look very diligently at your CV.
So don't just in a sterile way
copy what you wrote in the CV,
but rather use the cover letter to add some color,
to add some additional pieces of information
that you will usually not find on your CV
and therefore to really add value with your cover letter.
Throughout the layout, and here make sure
that your cover letter is no longer than one page.
Nobody wants to read a two page cover letter.
Keep it brief and simple,
and the recruiter will be thankful for that.
And then also avoid crazy formatting on your cover letter.
Your cover letter just needs to be black and white.
A very simple, basic font like Arial.
Do not use any crazy formatting,
any crazy colors, anything like that.
This will for sure not help you in your application,
keep it strictly professional and you will be fine.
So if you took any value out of this video at all,
please destroy the like button for the YouTube algorithm
and also subscribe to my channel,
and also turn on the notification bell
to stay up to date on all my content.
Also, if you really wanna help me out with the algorithm,
please leave me a comment below in the comment section.
Of course there, you can also ask me any questions
and I will do my very best to answer every single one.
If you want to see even more from me
I also have an Instagram account.
My handle is firmlearning.
And also have a mailing list,
there's a signup link to that
in the video description below.
Now, if you would like to have a little bit more help
with your cover letter,
and have this nice, simple layout that you can use as well,
check out my cover letter template
that I provide to you in a Microsoft Word format.
There's a link to that in the video description as well.
I wanna take a moment and say thank you
to all the members of Firm Learning.
You guys are really helping me to run this channel.
The members benefit from all kinds of different
member only perks.
So if you are interested to become a member
as well and support my channel,
click on the join button
that is next to the subscribe button to see all the details,
what this is all about.
So big thank you to all you guys who watched until the end.
I really feel honored and privileged
to have the opportunity to make these videos for you.
I'm always super happy to hear from you guys
if you have any feedback, or the video was helpful or not,
so please leave a comment below.
I release a new video every week,
I will be back next Saturday.
So until then, good weekend to all of you,
and bye-bye.
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