I love to write. I love to write letters. I’ve always hated writing cover letters. I’m pretty sure most people do.

The struggle, in my opinion, is sitting at your computer, trying to imagine who the reader will be. More times than not, even the most adept internet sleuth will come up with limited information, at most, about the hiring manager. Maybe they’ll find their job history, or a few articles they’ve written, and (hopefully not) their personal social media. (Eek.) But still, who are they? Do they have a sense of humor? Do they prefer a detailed intro or just want a quick note to know you’re not a psychopath?

How do you write for an audience you know nothing about? Simple. You write for yourself.

When I recently came across a job posting that fit my credentials, I toiled on Google Docs for longer than I’d like to admit, before saying “F*ck it. Let’s do this a new way.” I knew it was a risk to go out on a limb, but the alternative was writing a boring cover that I wouldn’t be proud of and was unlikely to help set me apart from the rest of the candidate pool. And this role was, after all, content-focused.

I spent some time gathering screenshots from their blog, opened up a design program, and got to work creating an “article” with tips on how to hire the best Content Marketer. Tips which, you can imagine, supported hiring someone with credentials that happened to match mine. (I even created the key art!)

Did it work? Well, I got an interview (but declined to continue the conversation based on the location requirements.) Perhaps more importantly, however, I was proud of writing something that reflected my personality, my sense of humor and what I can bring to the company. That’s the point of a cover letter.

If they like it, perfect. If they don’t, then they probably won’t like me. And that’s just fine. Onto the next.