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You are here: Student Success Skills » Preparing for a Career » Preparing a Cover Letter

Student Success Skills

Preparing a Cover Letter

by jack
July 13, 2012

Many organizations will require a cover letter to accompany a resume. Even if this is not required, it’s good practice to use a cover letter with your resume. Outlined below are the key elements of a cover letter. As you read each section, you might want to look at the attached model cover letter.

First Paragraph

  • Introduce yourself.
  • State the position title and where you saw the ad (include date).
  • Indicate if someone recommended you.
  • Hints: General referrals come from family or friends who know someone at the prospective employer’s company.
  • You should always get approval from your referral to use their name in your cover letter.

Second Paragraph

  • Indicate your interests – include your career interests and your interests in the specific organization.
  • Identify with the product/service.
  • What you read or heard about the employer – positive things.
  • Discuss opportunities to practice your profession.

Third Paragraph

  • Highlight why the employer would be interested in you.
  • Some things to talk about: experience, academic credentials, honors. (This is not a rehash of your resume. Include items not specifically covered in your resume).
  • Key points from your resume (elaborate on them)
  • Keep statements factual.

Fourth Paragraph

  • Can provide explanations for what is on their resume (example: low GPA – you worked while in school).
  • Always make positive statements about your credentials.
  • Don’t ever say you meet the company’s criteria. That’s being presumptions.

Final Paragraph

  • Indicate the follow up YOU plan to do (call to provide further information, arrange an interview, find out job specifics).
  • Thank the person for their time and consideration.

Here are some other points to consider in doing your cover letter.

  • Keep it to one page
  • Write the letter to a specific person rather than to the employer in general.
  • The person who should receive the letter would be
    • Organization leader for small companies.
    • Recruitment or human resource manager for large companies.
    • Someone who you know who will get you letter to the right person.
  • Make sure to use proper business letter style
  • Every cover letter should be specific to the employer. Don’t waste postage on a generic cover letter.

 



Ms. Edna Gordon
StratfordElectronics
1520 West Main Street
Fairmont,WV26554

Dear Ms. Gordon:

I am a freshman in Manufacturing Engineering fromCyberTechUniversity. My advisor, Dr. William Tabott, suggested I write since he feels that I may be able to contribute to Stratford Electronics. Ever since I started developing electrical devices in high school, I have used Stratford Electronics components, and I have always been impressed with their performance characteristics. I would really enjoy being a part of your engineering team.

As you can see from my resume, I have previous experience in the electronics industry. Last summer I worked for Allied Electronics as a line employee. My boss stated that I “had made a real difference”.

My senior project in high school physics was to develop a design concept for a new robotic application in looking for scratches on a metal sheet. I also learned CADD software use while in high school.

I am proud of my academic record. I was able to maintain a 3.8 GPA in high school while holding a job that will allow me to finance 80 percent of my college expenses. This often required 30 hours per week of work. I feel that I have the personal discipline and initiative to be successful.

I would like to give you a call next week to see if I can arrange an interview. Thank you very much for any help you can give me.

Sincerely,

John Smith.

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