Aditi Upadhyaya, a political science graduate, in Toronto on Wednesday. Ms. Upadhyaya says she performs well in interviews but finds written applications difficult to master.Duane Cole/The Globe and Mail
Name, age: Aditi Upadhyaya, 21
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Toronto
Where she lives: Toronto
Her dream job: Political research, public policy or public sector roles
Roles targeted: Policy adviser, administrative assistant, executive assistant, policy assistant, public relations internships
The job search so far: Since graduating in the fall of 2025, Ms. Upadhyaya has applied to hundreds of jobs but has received only two or three interview opportunities. She spends at least an hour every day on LinkedIn looking for roles, applying and connecting with people. She landed her current short-term contract position at a non-profit through a cold connection on LinkedIn. However, that’s expected to wrap up at the end of March. As her three-month contract comes to end, she is looking for something long term.
Her main challenge: While Ms. Upadhyaya says she performs well in interviews, she finds written applications difficult to master. Most positions in her industry require a cover letter. She takes time to tailor both her cover letters and résumés to each posting, including using keywords to hopefully get through any automated systems reviewing her application.
Ms. Upadhyaya has a method for cover letters, but she suspects there’s something that she’s not doing right.Duane Cole/The Globe and Mail
Writing cover letters can be time-consuming so Ms. Upadhyaya has a method: For each application, she reviews the job description, highlights the required skills and experience, and emphasizes the most relevant points in the cover letter, instead of repeating her résumé. Still, she suspects there’s something that she’s not doing right.
“I feel like I’m not able to translate the experience and skills I have in a way that completely aligns with what the job is asking for,” she said. “I know it has to be reframed in a certain way to match whatever it is they need, but it ends up sounding more generic than specific.”
Elizabeth Monier-Williams, a certified career strategist with a background in marketing and communications, says Ms. Upadhyaya isn’t doing anything wrong. “It’s just a really aggressive and competitive market.”
With a few tweaks, here’s how Ms. Upadhyaya can strengthen, tidy up and focus her cover letter.
How to format it
Ms. Upadhyaya’s cover letter is fully justified, meaning the left and right edges of all paragraphs are flush with the margins. “That’s a style robots like, but human eyes do not,” Ms. Monier-Williams said. This block-like appearance can be hard to read, so she suggests using indents and crafting shorter, more concise paragraphs for more white space and readability.
“Think about the person who is sitting there reading your letter,” Ms. Monier-Williams said. “They probably don’t have a lot of time. That’s why being concise and to the point will really help.”
Another tip: Mention in the beginning of a cover letter where you learned about the opportunity – whether through LinkedIn, a job board, friends or colleagues. “Companies always want to know where their posts are getting the most capture,” she said.
Show your results
As the job market becomes more competitive, application materials are shifting to results-based storytelling. Ms. Monier-Williams suggests always thinking about the “so what?” factor. Directly mention the impact of a particular campaign, promotion or event you were involved in.
Job seekers should highlight the results of what they’ve done. For example, if you organized an event to support an initiative, you should include details about what was required and the wins for the organization.
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“Tell me what’s the scale and scope of things you’ve touched,” Ms. Monier-Williams said. “That tells them about the throttle you can handle. What can we throw at you that you’ve already seen, so you’re not going to be fazed by it?”
Instead of mentioning “diverse teams and external stakeholders,” be specific. Is it a 10-person or a 60-person team? How many projects have you managed? What were the outcomes of those projects? “As much as you can, put numbers, scale, and scope, so people can see what you bring to the table,” she said.
The rule of three
Before drafting any application materials – whether it’s a portfolio, résumé, cover letter – applicants should develop three key talking points for every job that helped them qualify for the position, said Ms. Monier-Williams. “You should know those three points inside out and backwards,” she said.
This approach keeps applicants consistent across interviews, cover letters and while selecting portfolio pieces.
End with the company
In the last paragraph of a cover letter, the candidate should explain why they think the organization is interesting. “This is where I want to see more integration with what the company is doing,” Ms. Monier-Williams said. Candidates should read recent news releases to brush up on the company’s current initiatives and mention that work and why they like it. “It shows me you understand what we are and where you sit,” she said.
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