JP Morgan Successful Cover Letter Example – The Ultimate Guide 2022

How to write a Cover Letter for JP Morgan

Is it JP Morgan or is it JPMorgan Chase & Co? A lot of the time there’s great confusion among students as to whether these two names are the same firm or different firms and the simple answer is that they are the same. The confusion seems to arise from the fact that the firm was formerly known as JP Morgan until it merged with the Chase Manhattan Corporation in 2000 to become the entity we know today as JPMorgan Chase & Co. So you could either choose to call it by its previous name or the full name today without consequences.

JP Morgan, the multinational banking and financial services holding company headquartered in New York is a firm with over 136 offices across 60 countries that employs more than 240,000 people. The firm enjoys a 200-year ancestry, having traced its roots to 1799 with the firm being built on the bedrock of more than 1,200 predecessor institutions. Their oldest predecessor is The Bank of The Manhattan Company which was formed in 1799 by Aaron Burr on the back of the New York State legislature to supply pure and wholesome drinking water to the city’s people. In 1955, The Bank of The Manhattan Company acquired Chase National Bank, a fundamental piece of the firm today, to form the bank, Chase Manhattan Bank. Another important predecessor is J.P. Morgan which was formed in 1871 by J. Pierpont Morgan and Anthony Drexel. Originally known as Drexel, Morgan & Co, it changed its name to J.P. Morgan & Co. in 1895.

JP Morgan has five major segments: Consumer & Community Banking; Corporate & Investment Banking; Commercial Banking; Asset & Wealth Management Banking; and Corporate. The Consumer and Community Banking arm provides services to its clients through its branches, automated teller machines, and online, mobile, and telephone banking platforms. The Corporate and Investment Banking arm offers investment banking, market-making, securities products, treasury and other services to financial institutions, investors, global corporations and governments. The Asset and Wealth Management division takes care of the full ambit of asset classes, including equity, fixed income, alternatives, exchange-traded funds, money market and multi-asset solutions.

For the fiscal year of 2021, JP Morgan reported total net revenue of $121.6 billion, a 1% increase from the $119.9 billion reported in 2020. The bank reports that the Corporate & Investment Bank sector is its largest source of revenue with it bringing in $51.7 billion. The Consumer & Community Banking segment is their next biggest revenue maker bringing in $50 billion. JP Morgan also reported that assets under management soared to a record high of $3.11 trillion as of December 2021.

Moving on if you want to become part of JP Morgan’s 200,000+ workforce you’ll most likely need to make an application and in your application, you’ll be needing a cover letter. Consequently, in the following sections, we will be discussing the four distinct parts that you need in your cover letter:

Cover Letter Introduction

A great cover letter allows you to introduce yourself as the best candidate for the role and there’s no better place to start this than with an excellent introduction. If your introduction is poor understand that the JP Morgan recruiter will not read on to find out about other things in the letter no matter how incredible you may be. Remember the phrase first impression matters. The first impression of the body of your cover letter is the introduction. Think about your cover letter to JP Morgan as a novel, if you start reading a book and the first few pages are engaging – no matter the genre – you will want to keep reading on. Thus, irrespective of the post you are applying for in JP, you must deliver an introductory paragraph that is substantial, effective, and engaging to the person(s) reading your letter; a letter that will satisfy their hungry brains. If you do this, you would have won an important battle – keeping the reader engaged with your application.

For example, in your introduction, you should aim to provide all or most of the following information: the role being applied for, how you found the role, your academic history, a bit of your work experience, and your unique personality. If you have attended events hosted by JP Morgan, this is the place to mention it. If you have met any of their representatives also mention it.

Why Should JP Morgan Choose you?

In this part of your cover letter, you need to act as a salesman or saleswoman – you need to sell yourself (and it seems that quite a few students have an issue with this). This section is one of the most important parts that you must execute properly if you want to get the role. This is where you make the case for why you’d be an exceptional hire. You do this by differentiating yourself from the rest by showcasing your experience & qualifications and how it will benefit JP Morgan. I’ll advise that this step gets at least one paragraph as it’s one of the most important sections because you need to sell your skills or abilities that you feel make you the ideal candidate for the position.

If you are finding it difficult selling yourself on your cover letter, this is what you need to do. Make a list of your experiences, skills and abilities (and any other achievements and responsibilities that you can think of). Then make a list of the skills or traits that JP Morgan desires that candidates possess in the role you are applying for. When you have carried out these tasks, the next thing to do is to look at the experiences, skills and abilities that you have that match what JP Morgan is looking for. These are known as relevant experiences. When you have highlighted them you then draft this section by telling them how through your previous experience or responsibility you were able to gain or apply the desired trait. When selling yourself in a cover letter the trick is to ‘show not tell. If you have experience in investment banking, private equity, venture capital, financial modelling, the legal field, forecasting, and risk management talk about it. Do share your story. Take the reader on your journey and let your personality come through on your cover letter.

Why JP Morgan and not any of its Competitors

Every company that exists is unique; as such JP Morgan is unique. JP Morgan is exceptional and if you fail to show that you are in touch with their uniqueness through your cover letter, your application will fail. If you have researched JP Morgan then this section will not be an issue. You should use such information to show them you are in the know of what their practice areas are, what makes them unique, their reputation, and so forth. Be specific about what is it about JP Morgan that attracts you to them. Was it the people you met at the firm? Is it JP Morgan’s expertise and specialism in Consumer & Community Banking that excites you? Find your reason and stress exactly why that means so much to you.

At every single opportunity speak JP Morgan’s language. JP Morgan has provided its purpose, mission statement, key principles and beliefs on its website. Use them when talking about why you desire them and not another firm. If your cover letter is tailored to JP Morgan, the recruiter is more likely to believe that your cover letter was tailored for them. Think about it this way: if you want to go on a date with someone special do you send the person a mass text asking them out or will you tailor it to the person?

Your Conclusion

You have done the above and you are feeling good about your chances but you must not let your guard down as your work is not yet done. You still need to deliver an excellent conclusion. To write a great conclusion, the conclusion must summarize your objective or reasons for applying to JP Morgan. In a compelling conclusion, the use of action words telling the recruiter what you want, when you are available and that you are looking forward to hearing from them should be present. If there’s something that you think is a flaw in your application such as a poor academic year or lack of investment banking experience, your conclusion is a good place to address it. Remember to sign off your letter as you would do in a formal letter.

JP Morgan Cover Letter Example – A Successful Application

Congrapps is regarded as the number one platform for verified successful career resources! We only collect actual cover letters & interview experiences of those who made it to the most competitive graduate and entry-level jobs in Banking, Finance, Consulting and Law in the UK. Our objective is to help graduates from around the world to achieve their dreams by levelling the playing field and giving access to the same information to everyone! The following sample answers to JP Morgan questions are from our database of successful cover letters that can be found on our platform at https://congrapps.com/company/jp-morgan-internship/applications

‘Please write about a recent news article that has interested you and how you feel that subject would relate to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (200 words).

Recently my attention has been drawn by an article about Filecoin’s Initial Coin Offering, which raised $200m in an hour. The article made me wonder if ICO can become a real alternative to IPO, potentially emerging as a challenge to JPMorgan’s Equity Capital Markets division. I learned that while ICO is similar to IPO because it allows companies to raise funds for development and that acquired tokens can be simplistically compared to “shares” of a company, there are some differences which, in my opinion, prevent ICOs from becoming a threat to IPOs in a near future. Primarily, while IPOs must go through a long procedural process ensuring safety and transparency, ICOs are not regulated, which makes investors very cautious about them, e.g. China has already banned virtual offerings. Moreover, “tokens”, unlike shares, do not have an established way to distribute profits to investors. The system of paying out dividends does not exist (yet), whereas buy-backing tokens would cause a great price volatility due to relative low liquidity. Finally, whereas IPOs are typically performed by more mature companies, ICOs are attractive mainly to early growth start-ups, hence they target different markets. Nonetheless, observing how fast business has evolved recently, JPMorgan should definitely keep an eye on ICOs’ developments and adjust its strategy to maintain a leading position.

Please describe your motivation for applying to this opportunity within JPMorgan Chase & Co. Please give details of any skills you have that would be relevant to this area (300 words)

What attracted me to JPMorgan is its excellence in banking rooted on values closely aligned with my core characteristics. Having attended firm’s campus event, I was delighted to hear about teamwork spirit dominating business activity, world-class competence of the people and solutions tailored to clients’ needs. Such qualities are reflected in JPMorgan’s outstanding track record, which includes 2016 ECM market leader position and advisory on the [Country] private company’s largest IPO ever [(Name of Company)]. I deeply respect Jamie Dimon, whose insightful comments help me identify key aspects of the current affairs. Having led JPMorgan over a decade, he is one of the firm’s greatest assets and I am convinced he will ensure its long-term dominance. Always excited to face the biggest challenges, I would be thrilled to join JPMorgan and commit to its success.
I learned principles of finance and accounting while working on Due Diligence and Valuation models during [Corporate Finance Case Competition]. The subsequent investment pitch delivered to EY representatives improved my interpersonal skills. Moreover, by compiling reports about [Country] IPOs at [Country Stock Exchange], I practiced analytical thinking. Later, I had a chance to verify and consolidate my technical skills at [Boutique Investment Firm], where I worked on M&A and strategic advisory transactions. I got an insight into different stages of deals’ execution and, by participating in meetings, I developed confidence in performing client-facing tasks.’

Do not Write Generic Cover Letters

If your application involves you writing a cover letter, please and please do not write a generic letter to that firm. If you feel that you cannot tailor your letter to that particular firm we advise that you don’t bother writing to the firm as it will be of no use – this is how strongly we feel about generic letters. The drawback of writing a generic letter is that quite often it will be littered with mistakes that can make the recruiter want to bang his/her head on the table. Can you imagine writing to JP Morgan but you address them as Goldman Sachs? This is an automatic red flag and will lead to your disqualification. Furthermore, even if you don’t have such mistakes a generic letter will often be lacking in uniqueness.
Instead of writing a generic cover letter why not bring out a few hours and apply the information we have provided in the above paragraphs to your cover letter? A few hours spent well on your cover letter can be the deciding factor in you getting quality years at your dream firm.

Charles is a writer, practising lawyer and personal trainer who loves learning and developing himself. He graduated from Middlesex University, London with eight first-class grades in the second and third years of his law degree, and received a postgraduate offer from Cambridge University. He loves strength training, boxing and encouraging people to succeed in their pursuits (legal ones)
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Congrapps is the №1 Platform for Verified Successful Career Resources! We collected the actual Cover Letters & Interview Experiences of those who made it to the most competitive graduate and entry-level jobs in Banking, Finance, Consulting and Law in London.
We help graduates achieve their dreams by levelling the playing field and giving access to the same information to everyone!