Cover Letter Tips for Beginning Food Scientists

Note: I’d like to thank past guests Nicole Gallace, David Despain, Bob Pudlock and plenty more for helping me research cover letters.

I met a lot of Cal Poly and UC Davis undergraduates at the California League of Food Processors and gave a lot of career advice to them. One thing that came up was that they found value on my resume piece, but mentioned that they would love to see a Cover Letter article.

Cover Letters are one of those things nobody knows how to do, so you frantically look up on google how to write one. There are many examples, but not many food science ones.

Are cover letters even important? Some managers don’t even look at them, or even get them and some do. It really depends on the hiring process or culture, which, unfortunately, you will never find when you apply for a job there.

In most if not all situations, it doesn’t hurt to have a cover letter when you apply for a job. In fact, when I asked my friends on Linkedin, many hiring managers who care about their team will read them.

Cover letters bring personality to your boring, robotic resume and it shows purpose, directs your best skills, and shows respect to your soon-to-be boss.

Here are a few tips about cover letters for food scientists.

Structure

Most basic cover letters follow a three-to-four paragraph approach. You want to make it look nice and concise, professional yet clever. Essentially, an Intro Paragraph, an Accomplishments Paragraph, and a Thank You Paragraph is the best way to write a cover letter. Let’s go through each.

Intro Paragraph

Who am I sending it to? It’s hard to tell. Especially when a giant website tells you to upload it. When I was applying to jobs, I was so anxious about this! But you realize it’s not a big deal. However, if you are anxious about how to structure the first couple of words in your cover letter, then here is an in-depth analysis.

“Dear….who?”

The hardest thing about Cover Letters is figuring out who you’re addressing it to. It is hard, or almost impossible to even stalk who you’re supposed to be sending your cover letter to. LinkedIn is like shooting in the dark when it comes to finding just the right person. Getting the right person is a really great advantage, getting the wrong name gets this awkward. People love it when they see a cover letter with their name on it, so it gives you great points if you get it right. The more research you do on the hiring manager, the more points you’ll get working with them. It shows that you care…or that you know the person.

“To Whom it May Concern”

A bit aloof and people make fun of the smallest things. You won’t get docked points by putting this, but you’ll get a chuckle. I did this a lot when it came to cover letters, and I regret doing it.

“Leave it Blank”

This is the middle of the road. You won’t get docked for this, but you won’t get brownie points. In general, if you’re not a fan of flatter, it’s ok to leave this blank. However, I would not recommend doing this approach if you send via email.

“To the Hiring Manager”

A bit better for structure, and it’s very safe. You won’t be differentiated if you choose this.

So the intro needs to convey a simple message: How you found the company you want to be a part of and why you want to join. Of course, if you get fired or something of that nature, probably not ideal to say. Do your research on the company website and products, dive into the history and learn something interesting about the food they make.

After introducing yourself, mention about your years of experience and roles. This is very important to put numbers as people are attracted to numbers. An example:

“I found your company via Indeed.com and I am interested in the Food Technologist position. I love your company’s mission in reducing food waste and I would like to be a part of it. I have 3 years as a product developer and believe I would be valuable for your team”

What if you have no experience? Well, the easiest way to replace the “I have X years of experience” with a simple statement:

“I am graduating from Cal Poly with a BS in Food Science and am looking for a job in June.” Replace with whatever college, degree, or month graduating you’re aiming for.

Accomplishments Paragraph

The second paragraph is like choosing the best food pic for your Instagram, you want to show the best of you through a simple, visually appealing format. In this case, how can you prove that you can do the job in three sentences?

There are two formats to consider: paragraph or bullet points. You are more than welcomed to do both.

For the paragraph, your job is to tell a story of why you feel like this company is great for either you or the mission that they are trying to achieve. This is much more effective for businesses that have social impact and it is well worth reiterating that you are passionate about the work they are doing. For example, how Beyond Meat is transforming how we think of meat, or how Regrained is transforming how we think of waste. Connecting your passion to the company’s mission goes very far when it comes to choosing between two experts.

Bullet points showcase your skill set. You should have no more than 3 to 5 bullet points that highlight why you are the best technical person for the job. The simplest way to do this is to look at the job description and just really, answer the bullet points.

I’ll look at a food science job online:

• Develop new products beginning at the concept phase through successful commercialization.
• Hands-on bench scale trials to supporting commercialization of new products and the processes needed for their cost-effective manufacture.
• Lead team with product cuttings, plant trials, and testing

So then I would put on my cover letter

• Created a plant-based protein bar from concept through commercialization in under one year. Sold over $15 million in product sales.

Or if you have no experience,

• Won an IFT Product Development Competition. In charge of designing prototypes and sensory testing.
• Supervised employees/students in a pilot plant/Starbucks/lab TA

If it’s a supervisor role, then leadership roles from various clubs and sports might be effective as well. Showing that you are good with people and can lead are generally very powerful skills, but you’ll always need to actually do the job to be considered. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Use very tangible examples to answer the bullet points to showcase to the hiring manager your best skillset. You don’t have much room here, but that’s what your resume is for.

Thank You Paragraph

Your first sentence for your last paragraph should be a reiteration on why the company you’re applying to is awesome and why it would be so cool to work there. However, that’s not the main point.

The point of this paragraph is to instill something called a Call to Action, a very simple marketing technique that tells the reader on what they should do next.

It’s simpler than it sounds, but the main purpose is to ask them to ask them to contact you.

So for example, here’s a simple and sweet Thank You Paragraph

“I love what Better Meat Co stands for and the potential it has to change the food industry and I want to be a part of it. I’ve attached my resume/CV and you can either reach me at [personal email] and [personal number] for more information. I would love to come and visit the office for an in-person interview”

Thank You,

[Your Name!]

Of course, you should personalize it to not only your unique style, but the company culture as well.

With these simple tips, you can formulate the perfect cover letter to tackle any job.

Note On Email Intros

If you know someone in a company, through alumni networks or of that nature, the best way to submit a cover letter is just through your email. Don’t be like “see attached for job offers” and then attach your word/pdf cover letter. The main reason for this is that opening up attachments takes a bit of effort, while forwarding the resume to the decision maker, less so. This is also a general rule of thumb when it comes to email etiquette in general.

Notes on Referrals

The industry is run by referrals and it is very helpful to include how you heard about this job in the beginning of the cover letter. It could be from your alumni network, a close friend, anyone. The more you associate knowing someone from the company, the better the chance of getting an in.

The cover letter can be the difference between choosing you or the other guy. A good one can make a good impression that might last all the way until you get hired. It never hurts to write one and if you really want the job, doing research and evaluating your accomplishments is worth it.