Never fear, UA's Liz Koblyk has some sage advice for what to do to land what might be your dream job: Treat your cover letter as a work plan.
This makes a lot of sense, really. Even if you do have experience in the field you are applying to, why not be proactive in your cover letter? As Koblyk explains, use the cover letter as an opportunity to
discuss what you would do in the role, rather than just what you have done in the past. In order to use this approach effectively, you can’t offer vague reassurances about your potential. Instead, treat your cover letter as a very brief work plan. ... You aren’t laying claim to skills you don’t have, but are giving a window into your thoughts on how you’d manage key tasks of the role.To do this well, you are also going to have to do some background research -- which is a skill you already have as an anthropologist! (When you get that first interview, you can also roll this angle into how great you'd be for the position...). But before you get ahead of yourself, Koblyk advises that you
Find out what you can about the organization and the challenges you’d be facing, whether through news coverage, reports and SWOT analyses that a company has published, or through networking. For example, it might be through networking that you find out that there is a need for more thorough evaluation of programming, or a more collaborative approach with funding bodies.Good luck with your next application! For more advice on figuring out what your career as an anthropologist might look like, check out our pages on: