How to Use a
Job Description
to Prepare a
Cover Letter
Created By: Amy Middleton
Twitter: @orangewalk
Personal Site: crankybabicult.com

A quick aside-
These slides vary in length
click through at your own pace
(don’t use auto-play)

Why Cover Letters Matter
 Now, imagine you are looking for
someone to do a service for you…
You want someone to
walk your dog.

Why Cover Letters Matter
 You create an ad:
Dog Walker Needed
Must love dogs.

Why Cover Letters Matter
 George emails you:
I love dogs!
I have 6 of my own and
we go walking every day!

Why Cover Letters Matter
 Ringo emails you:
To whom it may concern.
Please see attached
resume.
{ }
Meanwhile Ringo is thinking:
If I didn't love dogs, why would I be applying as a dog walker?
I've already addressed this in my resume.
I hate cover letters.

Why Cover Letters Matter
 Who are you more impressed by?
 Whose resume are you going to bother
to open?

Why Cover Letters Matter
 Now imagine that your dog has
diabetes, and you need someone
who can meet his medical needs
while going on slow, labored walks with
him.

Why Cover Letters Matter
 You make your ad:
My dog has diabetes, and I
need someone who can
meet his medical needs
while going on
slow, labored walks with
him.

Why Cover Letters Matter
 George emails you:
I love dogs!
I have 6 of my own and
we go walking every day!

Why Cover Letters Matter
 Paul emails you:
So sorry to hear about your dog! My terrier had cataracts
and a heart condition towards the end of his life, and I
learned everything I could about the disease in order to
care for him. Our slow walks together are some of my
best memories of him.

Why Cover Letters Matter
 Who are you going to follow up with on
this ad?

What You are Seeking is Seeking You
 If you are an employer, you want to know
that the person you hire isn't just a great
person.
You want to hire the right
person for your specific job.

What You are Seeking is Seeking You
Your goal as a job candidate is
to prove you are what the
employer is looking for.

What You are Seeking is Seeking You
This presentation will help you

use the job description
to prepare a cover letter
that proves you are what they are
looking for.

The Job Description
 Think of the job description as
Your secret weapon

The Job Description
 They are showing you exactly what they are
looking for.

The Job Description
 But when job descriptions stop looking like this:
Dog Walker Needed
Must love
dogs.

The Job Description
 And start to look more like this:
Responsibilities:
Student advising duties include counseling students about academic
policies, programs, and options, assisting students in the development
of meaningful educational plans, and supporting students by helping
them to identify and assess alternatives and the impact of their
decisions. An Advising Dean supports students as they develop greater
responsibility for their educational goals, evaluate post-graduate
options, and transition to life after college.
Resource referral duties include maintaining a comprehensive
knowledge about all academic policies and procedures, core
requirements, pre-professional information, and all non-major specific
information. An Advising Dean will work collaboratively with
faculty, academic departments, the Center for Career Education, other
campus resources and other departments within the Division of Student
Affairs to provide students with necessary scholastic, co-curricular and
personal resources.
Programming duties include supporting the programming efforts of the
Center for Student Advising and large scale Student Affairs programs
such as the Summer Advising sessions, Pre-First Year Summer
Program…

The Job Description
 It’s hard to know what you should be
responding to.

The Requirements Outline
 This should help you get a better handle on things:
Exercise 1: Create a
Requirements Outline

The Requirements Outline
In this exercise, you'll turn the
job description into a
bulleted outline.

The Requirements Outline
 A paragraph contains too many ideas to
deal with at once.
Resource referral duties include maintaining a
comprehensive knowledge about all academic policies
and procedures, core requirements, pre-professional
information, and all non-major specific information. An
Advising Dean will work collaboratively with
faculty, academic departments, the Center for Career
Education, other campus resources and other
departments within the Division of Student Affairs to
provide students with necessary scholastic, co-
curricular and personal resources.

The Requirements Outline
 Step 1: Break paragraphs into sentences.
 Resource referral duties include maintaining a comprehensive
knowledge about all academic policies and procedures, core
requirements, pre-professional information, and all non-major specific
information.
 An Advising Dean will work collaboratively with faculty, academic
departments, the Center for Career Education, other campus resources
and other departments within the Division of Student Affairs to provide
students with necessary scholastic, co-curricular and personal
resources.

The Requirements Outline
 Even a sentence has too many ideas to
deal with at once.
 Resource referral duties include maintaining a
comprehensive knowledge about all academic policies and
procedures, core requirements, pre-professional
information, and all non-major specific information.

The Requirements Outline
 Step 2: Break sentences into unique ideas.
Resource referral duties include maintaining a comprehensive knowledge about all

academic policies and procedures, core requirements, pre-professional information, and
all non-major specific information.
 Resource referral duties include
 maintaining a comprehensive knowledge about
• all academic policies and procedures
• core requirements
• pre-professional information
• all non-major specific information

The Requirements Outline
 Your Requirements Outline should be concise:
no sentences or serial commas.
Resource Referral Duties
maintain a comprehensive knowledge about

 academic policies and procedures
 core requirements
 pre-professional information
 all non-major specific information
work collaboratively with

 faculty
 academic departments
 the Center for Career Education
 other campus resources
 other departments within the Division of Student Affairs
provide students with necessary resources:

 scholastic
 co-curricular
 personal

The Requirements Outline
 Once you’ve created a Requirements Outline, you
should know exactly what the company is looking
for.
Now it’s time to show that you are
the right person for the job.

The Response Outline
 It’s time for:
Exercise 2: Create a
Response Outline

The Response Outline
Your Response Outline is going
to respond to each item in
your Requirements Outline.

The Response Outline
Requirement Response
 Must be a hard worker  I am a hard worker

The Response Outline
 Try to Respond to each Requirement using
Skills
Experience
Accomplishments

The Response Outline
 Your Requirements Outline asks for:
•Knowledge of
lifesaving and
first aid techniques.

The Response Outline
 You could respond with skills:
Requirement Response
Skills
•Knowledge of
lifesaving and
I know first aid
first aid techniques.
and CPR.

The Response Outline
 You could respond with experience:
Requirement Response
Experience
•Knowledge of
lifesaving and I have been a certified
first aid techniques.
American Red Cross Water
Safety Instructor for the last
three Summers.

The Response Outline
 You could respond with accomplishments:
Requirement Response
Accomplishments
•Knowledge of
lifesaving and Last Summer, I rescued a
first aid techniques.
child using CPR.

The Response Outline
Remember, the purpose of this
outline is to help you confidently
respond with your strengths and
abilities.

Filling in Missing Pieces
 At this stage, avoid using qualifiers such as
However
But
Even though

Filling in Missing Pieces
“I don't know the software,
but I can learn”
is better framed as....

Filling in Missing Pieces
“I can learn the software
because ___________.”
 I already know other products in the suite.
 I am familiar with the interface.
 I have used a similar program for two years.

Filling in Missing Pieces
 Your Requirements Outline states:
•Must have at least 6
months exp wrapping
sandwiches
(hoagies, heros,)
{ but you don’t! }

The Response Outline
 If you have five months’ experience rather than the
required six, you could say :
Requirement Response
Experience
•Must have at least 6
I have several months’
months exp wrapping
sandwiches
experience wrapping
sandwiches

The Response Outline
 If you are a skilled gift wrapper but have no sandwich
wrapping experience, you could say:
Requirement Response
Skills
•Must have at least 6
I am an adept wrapper, with 8
months exp wrapping
months’ experience quickly
sandwiches
wrapping packages of various
sizes.

Putting it All Together
 By this point, your Response Outline
should be a reflection of your
Requirements outline, making it clear
that you are the person the company is
looking for.

Putting it All Together
Requirement Response
 5+ years relevant work  I’ve worked as an Administrative
experience Assistant for the past 7 years.
 Highly proficient with MS  I’m an expert at MS Outlook including
Outlook applications
• Calendar (I support the calendar of 3
• calendar EVPs and 2 SVPs)
• email • email
• evite • evite
 Confidentiality and  I am professional and discrete with
discretion are required with confidential matters.
private business matters  I’m a great organizer. I created a
 Well organized filing system that was rolled out
corporate-wide.
 Strong interpersonal and
multi-tasking skills  I have strong
interpersonal, verbal, and multi-
 Precise attention to detail
tasking skills.
 Excellent verbal skills
 I have excellent attention to detail.

Putting it All Together
Requirement Response
work collaboratively with
  I have worked
 faculty
collaboratively with
 academic departments
 faculty (often liaising
 the Center for Career
with students and
Education work collaboratively
with
clarifying policy)
 faculty
 academic departments
 academic departments
(including establishing
 the Center for Career
Education course requirements)
 other campus resources
 Campus resources
 other departments within
 Student Life Dept.
the Division of Student
Affairs

Putting it All Together
Your Response Outline
provides you with the meat
and potatoes of your
Cover Letter.

Putting it All Together
 Review it
 Feel good about it
 Own it
Use it

Putting it All Together
 Armed with a solid list of your
 skills
 experience
 and accomplishments
tailored to your Job Description,
writing your Cover Letter should be easy!

Finishing Touches
A few final suggestions
for your Cover Letter

Finishing Touches
Use your Response Outline
as a resource, but only
include relevant items

Finishing Touches
Do some research
about the company
beyond what you’ve read
in the job description

Finishing Touches
Be professional but personal
Show personal interest
in the position and
company

Finishing Touches
Get feedback on your
Cover Letter
Invite someone (or everyone)
to review it for grammar,
punctuation, and content

Finishing Touches
 If you can edit the subject line, include your
name (this helps the recipient find your letter if your
email is forwarded and it loses the “from” line)
 FWD: Internet SEM/PPC Professional
 FWD: Amy Middleton: Internet SEM/PPC Professional

Finishing Touches
Good luck!
All the best in your job search