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What is a Cover Letter? A cover letter is an introduction, a sales pitch and a proposal for further action all in one. It gives the reader a taste of what s to come not by simply summarizing the resume, but by highlighting the aspects of your background that will be most relevant to the reader. A cover letter also demonstrates that you can organize your thoughts and express yourself clearly and appropriately; in other words, it reflects your communication skills and, to some extent, your personality. Cover letters are typically one page documents, not longer. Like lots of things in life, they have a beginning, middle and end: usually an introduction saying who you are and why you re writing, followed by a sales pitch of what you have to offer and a genuine explanation of why you would like to work for that company, and finally a closing in which you propose steps for further action. These four components often amount to four paragraphs, but there are no hard and fast rules about exactly how you break up the information. Five Things to Think about Before Writing If you find yourself struck by writer s block after you write: Dear Mr. Or Ms. So-and-So, then you probably need to take a step back and put some more thought into your cover letter before diving into it. Asking yourself the following five questions will help you build a foundation for your letter and will make the actual writing go much more smoothly. 1. What does the prospective employer need? Which skills, knowledge and experience would be an asset in the job you are targeting? Closely examine the job description to ascertain this important information. 2. What are your objectives? Are you applying for a specific job, trying to get an interview or simply hoping to get someone to spend 10 or 15 minutes on the phone with you discussing opportunities in general at that organization? Make sure to clearly state your objective in the first paragraph. 3. What are three to five qualities that you would bring to this employer or this job? If you re responding to a job listing or classified, then choose qualities that match the job requirements mentioned in the ad. It is recommended to reference skills, tasks and responsibilities using language / words that are similar to those mentioned in the job posting. If you re not applying for a specific job opening but are inquiring about opportunities at the company, then think of which skills, knowledge and experience would typically be valued. Visiting the company s website may help you determine these qualities. 4. How can you match your experience to the job? What are at least two specific accomplishments, projects or jobs you can mention which give credence to the qualities you identified in question number 3. 5. Why do you want to work for this particular organization or person? What do you know about them? What is it about their products or services, philosophy, mission, organizational culture, goals and needs that relates to your own background, values and objectives? Has the company been in the news lately or completed a project that matches something you have studied? If yes, mention that connection with the cover letter.
Addressing the Letter: Contact Information You should always use a contact name both in the address of the cover letter as well as in your salutation. The salutation should never include a first name, but should read as follows: Dear Mr. Smith: or Dear Ms. Smith: Use Ms. because it applies to any woman, regardless of marital status, whereas other abbreviations are more specific and may be offensive if you use the incorrect one. Job postings will sometimes list a contact person. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the job posting to see if a contact name is listed. If a contact name is not provided, please use the Business Card database on one of the computers in the CDC lobby to find a contact. Please ask a CDC staff member for assistance with this. Otherwise, you can try to locate a department head / hiring manager from the company s web site, or you can use LinkedIn to try and find a contact name. Another resource is Hoover s Company Profile which is an online database you can access from the Gordon Library website. You could also try to find the name of a hiring manager in the Human Resources department of the company, or when all else fails, use the name of the CEO. Anatomy of a Cover Letter You are now ready to put fingers to keyboard and start hammering out that letter. If you re bewildered by how you re actually going to write a cover letter, it can help to break the letter down into its various parts and concentrate on just one section at a time. Here s what goes into each of the four main sections of a cover letter when applying to a specific job: The Opening This is where you tell employers who you are, why you re writing and how you heard about the organization or the specific opening. The who you are part is a brief introduction of yourself with a phrase like: I am a senior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) graduating in May with a major in biology. Be sure to include your degree, major, year and the fact that you are a WPI student. The why you re writing part is where you mention which position you are applying for, or what your job objective is if no specific opening has been advertised. Then be sure to tell them how you heard about the organization or the job. You might say, for example, I saw your listing for a Mechanical Designer at the Career Development Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Or, I read about the expansion of your East Coast operations in the New York Times and am interested in discussing entry-level opportunities you might have available. Also, you should mention the name of a person from that company who might have referred you to the job opening, if that is how you learned about it. Be sure to include your referrer s department also. The Sales/Matching Pitch Before writing this section, be sure to read the job description carefully. Reflect upon and highlight the key qualifications/skills expected in the candidate for this particular job. Then take a look at your resume and identify in writing which projects, experience or activities provide evidence or demonstrate that you have acquired these particular qualities. For example, instead of writing, I have excellent collaboration skills, it is much stronger to write, Through my extensive project work at WPI where students work together to solve real world problems, I have gained excellent collaboration skills. Or you could reference a specific project on your resume to discuss. Providing evidence that you have the skills the employer is looking for is much more compelling than just saying that you have these skills with no proof. You may begin or end this paragraph with a statement that provides an overview of your qualifications, and then write about examples to prove you are a viable candidate.
The Flattery This is the why I want to work for your company section of your letter. It s where you flatter the reader a bit by commenting on something positive about the organization and letting them know why you would want to work there. You might mention the organization s reputation, sales record, size, corporate culture, management philosophy or anything else that in which they take pride. Prospective employers like to know that you have chosen them for a reason and that they re not just one of hundreds of companies you re writing to as part of a mass mailing. (Even if you are doing a mass mailing, you must tailor each letter to flatter the reader and show that you ve done some research on that organization or that person). Be sure your flattery is genuine and specific. Be sure to take a look at the company s web site for ideas if you are stumped. The Request for Further Action Some people think of this final section of a cover letter as the closing, but it s much more than that. The closing paragraph should not only thank the reader for taking the time to read your letter or for considering you as a candidate for a job. It should also discuss where to go from here about opening the door to further contact. It s where you suggest how to proceed, usually by saying that you will call or email the reader to follow up and see if a meeting can be arranged. The important thing is to end the letter in an assertive, but courteous, way by taking the initiative to follow up. Be sure to include your e-mail address and phone number in this paragraph. Once you have written these four sections of the letter, go back and smooth out any rough edges of your writing and check for typos, misspellings and grammatical errors. Then you re ready for Sincerely or Best Regards and your signature, and you re off and running on the road to a great job. For more information about Cover Letter Writing see the CDC website: http://www.wpi.edu/admin/cdc/resumes.html or log in to your Job Finder account and watch the Cover Letter Podcast. Sending a Cover Letter via Email When you are emailing your resume and cover letter to a company contact, there are two ways in which you can send the cover letter. Either option is acceptable. It is a personal preference as to which approach you take. Option 1: Attach to the email both the cover letter and resume as two documents. Then, write a brief note within the body of the email explaining why you are writing (i.e. to apply for X position, to inquire about opportunities related to Y). Indicate your resume and cover letter are attached. Option 2: Attach the resume only to the email. Copy and paste the text of your cover letter directly into the body of the email. Note: it is still acceptable to send a cover letter via mail. You should follow the process requested by the employer.
10 Rules of Cover Letter Writing 1. Tailor your letter as much as possible to the job, target reader and industry. 2. Talk more about what you can do for the prospective employer than about what they can do for you. 3. Convey focused career goals. Even if you d be willing to take any job they d offer you, don t say so, be specific. Use the company s department / division names as a starting point. 4. Don t say anything negative about your employment situation or your life in general. 5. Don t write, My name is.. It is not appropriate in a formal cover letter. 6. Don t make empty claims that aren t backed up with examples. 7. Don t write more than one page. Cut to the chase and don t ramble. 8. Check, recheck and triple check your letter for typos and other errors. 9. Get other people s opinions of your letter before you send it. Ideally, bring a copy of your cover letter and the respective job description to the CDC for a critique. You can make an appointment or accomplish this during our walk-in hours. 10. Do not simply repeat information that is in your resume. Instead, provide the transferable skills you gained through the factual information provided on a resume. For example, a project on your resume will provide a lot of details, but on a cover letter you want to capture the less tangible skills you acquired, such as organizational skills, leadership skills, analytical skills, etc. Keep easily accessible copies of all letters you mail, fax or email along with a log of when letters were sent so that you can follow up on them. Other Types of Letters Inquiry Letters An inquiry letter is a simple request for information. You may be inquiring about opportunities for an internship or full time position. You may request an annual report or descriptive brochure of the company. You may request the names of persons to whom you could direct further inquiries of a more specific nature. For example, you may write to the local chapter of your professional organization and request the names of two or three members who might be willing to give you information regarding employment prospects in a particular field of interest.
Thank You Letters Thank-you letters after informational or job interviews are important. They re a way to show that you are still interested in a specific position, add information that you might have forgotten in your earlier discussion, and generally indicate that you are well mannered and professional in your approach to the job search. Often times, thank you letters set you apart from other candidates. After an interview, if you know the company is making quick decision send a thank you note via email. Otherwise, a hand written thank you note through the mail is always professional. If you handwriting is not particularly neat, then you can type out the letter. Just don t forget to sign it! Remember, you should send a thank you letter after any of the following interactions: Interview Information Session with a Company Career Fair Conference Alumni Networking Event Follow-up Letters A follow-up letter is one that you might send after a thank-you letter if there has been a delay in hearing from an employer. It should be polite and positive, restating your interest in the position and asking for a report on the status of the selection process. A similar type of letter is one that seeks to clarify a specific aspect of your interaction with the employer. In such circumstances, however, a telephone call might be even better. It is evidence of the importance you place on the information you are seeking and allows for a more immediate and personalized response to your request. Acknowledgement Letters An acknowledgement letter is used to formally accept or reject an offer. If accepting an offer, you should indicate a date on which you are available to begin work. After accepting an offer, you should also send letters of regret to any employers who are still considering you for employment. Writing this type of letter is good business practice. It is a courtesy to these employers as well as an opportunity to thank them for their time and interest in considering you for employment. Reference Letters Reference letters are less commonly used today in job-hunting with the exception of certain fields such as education, nursing, and librarianship. If you have a letter from a previous employer, it would probably be an item to bring with you to an interview and use if the need arises. The best reference letters are ones that are specific about the thing that you accomplished in a previous job. Good reference letters avoid broad, general statements that are unsubstantiated and could easily apply to most applicants. You can help the person you ask to write a reference letter by providing a summary description of items that might be commented on. For example, for a professor you might list the projects or papers done and some of the comments noted by the professor about each.
SAMPLE COVER LETTER 100 Institute Road Worcester, MA 01609 August 22, 2010 Ms. Dianne C.Strand Manager of Human Resources Atlantic Coast Industries, Inc. 2900 Virginia Beach Boulevard Virginia Beach, VA 23464 Dear Ms. Strand: I am writing to apply for the position of Systems Analyst at Atlantic Coast Industries, which was advertised at the Career Development Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). As a senior majoring in Management Information Systems at WPI, my education, experience, and career interests make me a viable candidate for this position. Your position requires experience in computer systems, financial applications software, and end-user consulting. My coursework has provided training on mainframes, minicomputers, and microcomputers as well as with a variety of software programs and applications. My practical experience at WPI s computer center as a programmer and as a student consultant for system users gave me valuable exposure to complex computer operations. Additionally, I worked as a cooperative education student in computing operations for a large bank where I gained knowledge of financial systems. My enclosed resume provides more details on my qualifications. My background and career goals seem to match your job requirements well. I am confident that I can perform the job effectively. Furthermore, I am genuinely interested in the position and in working for Atlantic Coast Industries. Your firm has an excellent reputation and comes highly recommended to me. I am very interested in the Dynamo mainframe project your firm is currently working on and the possibility of being a contributor to your organization. My enclosed resume provides more details on my qualifications. Please consider my request for a personal interview to discuss my qualifications further and to learn more about this opportunity. I shall call you in two weeks to see if a meeting can be arranged. Should you need to reach me, please feel free to call me at 508-831- 5260 or email me at lwatson@gmail.com. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to talking to with you. Sincerely yours, Lisa Watson
Your Street Address City, State Zipcode THE COVER LETTER FORMULA TOP OF LETTER: Date Contact Name, Their Title (if you know it) Company Name Company Street Address City, State Zipcode Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name of Contact: PARAGRAPH 1: Who you are / Why you are writing State the position for which you are applying and how you learned about it (if applicable, include the name of the person from the company who referred you name drop any contacts you have encountered!) Include your degree, major, year in school, and school name (if senior, include graduation date) o Tip: Do NOT start with My name is State why you are interested in the position PARAGRAPH 2: The matching game Prove to the company you can do the job by matching your skills/experience to the responsibilities/qualifications stated in the job description o Tip: Focus on what skills/experience you DO have, not what you don t o Tip: Use the language from the job description and provide specific examples! Explain how the company can benefit from hiring you and how you are the right person for the job PARAGRAPH 3: Flatter the company Demonstrate knowledge of the company (do your research!) and what they do o Tip: Use the company s website! (also read any recent news articles and their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube page) Tell the company why you are excited to work for them specifically PARAGRAPH 4: Thank you / What s next In one sentence, reiterate your interest in the position Thank the employer for their time/consideration and that you look forward to hearing from them State that you are available for an interview and include your email/phone number Sincerely (or Regards), Your Full Name SIGNATURE: if you are providing a hard copy of your letter, sign here TIPS FOR FINDING A CONTACT NAME: Start with the job posting often there is already a contact person listed for the position If there is no contact name on the posting, you ll have to do some research o 1. Check the company website, 2. Business Card Database at the CDC, 3. Hoovers Database (accessible through the Library website), 4. CareerSearch Database (accessible through Shortcuts in JobFinder), 5. LinkedIn o The best contact person is a hiring manager in the area you are applying (Manager of, VP of ) or if you can t find that, the next best person is someone in Human Resources o If you are really struggling, the CDC staff is here to help! ALWAYS include a name NEVER write To whom it may concern:!
THANK YOU NOTE WRITING CHEAT SHEET Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude WHY write a thank you note? What can I accomplish by spending the time to write thank you notes? Why is the thank you note a touch point? Should I send it through e-mail or write a handwritten note? A word of caution.. WHEN do I send a thank you note? WHAT should I write in a thank you note? How long should it be? Make writing thank you notes a life-long habit They can help to set you apart from other candidates, and may have tremendous value in moving your candidacy forward and positioning you above the competition -Demonstrate respect and etiquette -Extend the conversation from the interview -Clarify anything you felt you didn t articulate well during the interview -Introduce new information you forgot to mention in your interview -Remind the employer of your candidacy -Overcome any objections that may have been raised in the interview -Illustrate your polished communication skills -It allows you to express your interest in the job again -It may remind the employer of your conversation when he or she might be considering other candidates -E-mail and handwritten notes are equally acceptable, but remember that e-mail is much quicker and ensures your message will arrive to its destination immediately -E-mail is preferable if you know the employer is making a quick decision -Hand written notes really make you stand out and are a great option if you know the company will take longer to make a decision -Write legibly! Or type the note, print it and mail it -What matters most is sending one! -While sending a thank you note can help you get a job, sending a poorly written note can have the opposite effect. Proofread! Within a few days after.. -An interview -A corporate information session -The Career Fair -An informational interview -A networking event -Resumazing or any time you interact with an employer -First, thank the employer for his or her time -Second, remind the employer of your conversation, by either highlighting, elaborating on or adding new information -Third, convey your enthusiasm for working at his or her company -Finally, wrap up with a reminder of your gratitude and a soft request for further action Absolutely no longer than a page. Preferably, a thank you note does not need to be longer than six or seven sentences -There are many opportunities in the work force to write thank you notes to your boss, to colleagues or to constituents who have made an impression on you or who have helped you in some manner -Thank you notes will help you convey your respect and gratitude, and can go a long way towards professional development and team building