Firefighter Cover Letter Sample

1. Make it Personal

Instead of addressing your cover letter, “To Whom It May Concern,” make an effort to find the hiring manager, station chief, or human resource director’s name and address it to them personally:

If your research doesn’t produce a specific person to whom your application will be sent, address them by their job title, as in:

• Dear Station Chief,

You’d be surprised how far a little bit of personalization can go.

2. Highlight Additional Skills and Qualifications

While your range of abilities should be detailed in the skills section of your resume, your cover letter is a great place to mention any additional training, education, or certifications that you hold.

This is particularly important when applying for a job as a firefighter as this field offers a wealth of speciality areas that will likely contribute to hiring decisions. For example, the candidate in the downloadable sample indicates their additional licensing, saying:

3. Bullet Point Achievements

Highlight your proudest professional accomplishments with two to four bullet points in the body of your cover letter. A hiring manager’s eye will immediately be drawn to this section, and it allows you to concisely convey the most notable of your achievements:

4. Add Numbers to Quantify Your Achievements

As noted in our tips for crafting a firefighter resume, quantification goes a long way in grabbing – and holding – a hiring manager or station chief’s attention. Take advantage of this in your cover letter as well by including numerical evidence to showcase positive results that you’ve achieved.

The best place to include quantification is in your bullet point section. Notice how the candidate in the example above uses numbers to evidence their accomplishments by writing:

• Being honored with the CSFA Medal of Valor for leading an isolated unit in a 5,000 acre containment effort during the 2016 Monterey County Soberanes Fire

And:

• Expanding Fire Safety and Prevention program rom 5 to 12 annual community events

Quantification helps put a value on your achievements and, subsequently, you as an employee.

5. Let Them Know Why You’re Applying Here

What made you want to apply at this station or position? Sharing with the chief your motivation for submitting an application to the job will not only help them connect with you on a more personal level, but it will make you a more favorable applicant as they’ll understand your goals.

If you want to have an even greater impact in doing this, follow up your explanation of what draws you to this job with how you will contribute to those efforts:

Downloading the free sample above and using these expert tips will make your job – and your future employer’s hiring decision – easy.

However, if you want to save time and have your CL crafted by professionals, check out our cover letter builder to customize your own in mere minutes.