Cover Letter Writing Strategies

In addition to a resume, applicants are typically required to submit a cover letter when applying for a job or internship. While cover letter writing may seem daunting, I hope this information will help guide you in the process.

Before giving an overview of the information to include in each section of the cover letter, I’d like to take a minute to talk about the importance of tailoring  your cover letter for each position. I was recently hiring for a catering position and several applicants sent cover letters about their marketing skills, research experience, computer skills, etc. While I was impressed with their experience and skills, I had trouble seeing how those experiences made them qualified for the catering position I was hiring for. My guess was that these candidates used the same cover letter for every position they applied for because the skills they wrote about were irrelevant to the job description and duties of the position I was hiring for. It made me wonder if they even read the job description or just applied to every job they found with the same materials. From my standpoint as the employer, I wanted to hire someone who had relevant experience and after reviewing over 50 applications I chose to interview applicants that highlighted the qualifications listed in the job description.

There are typically 4 sections in a cover letter: introduction, why you are an ideal candidate for the job, why you want to work for the company, and a closing. Below is a breakdown of each section.

Section 1: The first paragraph should be an introduction telling the employer what job you are applying for (they may be hiring for more than one position) and how you learned about the position. The last sentence of this section should be a thesis sentence with 3-5 skills that you have that make you a good fit for the position. In the next section you will give the examples of how you possess the 3-5 skills you mentioned in the thesis sentence.

Example Thesis Sentence 1: I believe my background in research, agriculture, and writing make me a good fit for this position.

Example Thesis Sentence 2: I would like to take this opportunity to show how my background in communication, social media, and web design make me highly qualified for this position.

Section 2: As previously mentioned, this section will be used to give examples of how you obtained the skills listed in your thesis sentence. Highlight specific examples of your skills. Make sure that the text in this section is not a replica of your resume, utilize the cover letter to give more descriptive example of your experiences and skills.

Section 3: In this section write about why you want to work for the specific company you are applying with. Check out the company website to guide what you write about in this section if you’re feeling stuck. For example, you might want to work with the company because you were impressed that they recently won an award as one of the top 50 companies for recent grads or because they put an emphasis on giving back to the communities they serve and that aligns with your personal philosophy. This section is important because it shows the company you have done your homework and are genuinely interested in their company.

Section 4: The last section is where you thank the employer for their time and consideration. Also, make sure to include your contact information, so the employer will know how to reach you if they would like to invite you for an interview.

Best of luck in writing your cover letters!