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I was working on a project where the two other person before me failed to get the job done as expected. Basically that was the reason they hired me, and fortunately I did it better than expected.

How can I express it in a proper English in the cover letter when I'm applying for a new job?

Just in the case that it might help, the first person lost the job (employer didn't renew the contract) however he's still promoting himself using the project name and saying he were working on the project. The second person got fired, however he is also doing the same like the other one.

I think, I have to mention it somehow that it was my effort to make the project successful, because that could potentially land me the job, but I really don't know how should I express that that doesn't sound negative, etc.

P.S. I know that I have to discuss it while they are interviewing me, however I prefer to increase the chance by putting that in the cover letter first.

Mahdi
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  • This question appears to be off-topic because it is a writing advice request. – MetaEd Aug 29 '13 at 03:02
  • @MετάEd You're right. I agree with you and I appreciate your note, however I believe this question might be helpful for others as well. It's not just asking for a personal advice, it's about letter writing and how to express such a thing in a positive way, how to choose proper words, etc. – Mahdi Aug 29 '13 at 06:12
  • @Mahdi Could you please send your resume to me. – pramod Feb 22 '14 at 13:39

1 Answers1

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You can say you "Completed" the job, or that you "saw it through to the end", and that you "excelled at' the job to emphasize your aptitude in completing it.

If you want to emphasize that you are the one who completed it, and that neither of the other individuals could, you could say you "made it work", which tells your prospective employer that it was a job that had previously not been working, and that you "made it work and improved the quality of the product" both states that you finished it AND improved the job.

I don't think there's any one word to describe what you've done though. You may be better off just explaining the exact situation as such: "Where two previous employees failed to complete [this job], I was brought on and finished the job, meeting and exceeding the standards."

Zibbobz
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  • Thanks, that's nicely phrased, I really like it. Thanks for the help! – Mahdi Aug 26 '13 at 18:33
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    You also could point out that you turned around a struggling project. – bib Aug 26 '13 at 20:34
  • @bib VERY nice. I would highly recommend bib's suggestion, as it illustrates that the project was being poorly-handled prior to your intervention. – Zibbobz Aug 26 '13 at 20:43