



Blow your cover letter, and you risk being screened out. You want it to make the hiring manager take notice of you, and gain you a coveted spot on the to-be-interviewed list. Think of your cover letter as both tool and opportunity. That misses the point because the combination of a cover letter and resume can be one of the best ways to market yourself. You need an introductory email or cover letter to go with it.Īnd not just an "I'm applying for XYZ job, and here is my resume" email. It isn't enough to have a standout resume or CV. State how your three key skills can benefit the companyĮach semester, we hold a Cover Letter workshop to assist students in creating their own cover letters.Whether you are a seasoned professional looking for new creative opportunities, or a recent graduate entering the job market, these days you need to know how to write a cover letter if you want to get that dream job.Stay focused on your request for an interview.Restate your request while wrapping up your entire package.The three key skills should be tailored to a specific job posting by identifying key skills within the job posting and matching it to your resume.Typical skills should focus on a core skill, aspect of a core skill, tool used to accomplish a task, and/or communication skills.Skills can be from any internship experience, research experience, project experience, or anything else relevant from your resume Each body paragraph focuses on each skill.The three body paragraphs focus on your three key skills of the opening paragraph.If "fishing" for a job, emphasize what you can bring to the table for the company in general focusing on your three key skills.If applying to a job posting, notify the reader where you found the job posting, the job description, and three qualities you can bring to the table in the position.It introduces your three key qualifications for the job, which usually are taken from the job posting, and goes into those qualifications in detail. The format of your cover letter is formulaic writing. When properly written, the letter can help the reader navigate and highlight important items on your resume. Cover letters are written specifically to each individual job posting, using the key skills the job posting is looking for. A cover letter details your qualifications for a particular job.
