Cover Letter Slidedoc

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How to Write a Cover Letter

2. Table of Contents
About cover letters 3
About letters of application 4
About letters of interest 5
Empirical research about cover letters 6-11
Standard parts of a cover letter 12
How to format and write a cover letter 13-25
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3. About cover letters.
The terms cover letter and letter of application are often used
interchangeably, but they are different.
A cover letter works together with a resume, hence the word "cover.”
It's purpose is to capture the attention of the reviewer with just
enough specific detail to show how the candidate is a good fit and
interest the reviewer in reading the resume.
Cover letters are rarely over 1 page.
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4. About letters of application.
A letter of application (also called a letter of qualifications) is a much
more comprehensive document.
Typically, it contains paragraph-length descriptions of work history
and professional experience. So, it is typically more than one page
and considered a stand-alone document.
Although this type of letter can be used for employment and sent at
the same time as a resume or CV, it is also used to apply for a place
in an institutional or academic program.
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5. About letters of interest.
A letter of interest or statement of interest is also similar in some
ways to both. Sometimes in letter format, sometimes not, a
statement of interest is sent with applications to graduate programs
and includes:
• Your specific area of academic interest,
• How your past education and other experience prepares you to
be successful in the program,
• Your goals: what you hope to achieve in graduate school as well
as your career goals.
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6. Are cover letters still relevant?
Do a search for how to write a cover letter and, just as in writing a
resume, you will find no shortage of advice on how to write one, but
you'll also see headlines like these:
• Is a cover letter really necessary?
• Is the cover letter dead?
• Are cover letters still relevant?
• Are optional cover letters really optional?
• Cover letters are transforming into e-notes.
To find the answers to these questions, it helps to look at evidence.
What does the empirical research tell us about cover letters? In
2014, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)
surveyed almost 600 Human Resource Managers asking them
about cover letters and resumes.
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7. Empirical Research
In 2014, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)
surveyed almost 600 Human Resource Managers asking them
about cover letters and resumes.
The next slides present key findings from the surveys.
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8. How much time do you spend reading a cover letter?
According to the survey, 83% of
respondents report they spend
less than 1 minute for an initial
reading of a cover letter.
In larger organizations, the time
was even less: 30 seconds.
The initial reading is just to
determine if the candidate
seems like a good fit for the
position.
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9. How important is the cover letter?
32%
28%
9%
18%
13%
Very important Important Neither important Unimportant Very unimportant
nor unimportant
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10. How important is it that the letter be tailored to the job?
41%
28%
20%
7%
4%
Very important Important Neither important Unimportant Very unimportant
nor unimportant
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11. What content in a letter is most important to you?
• 51% said how the candidate’s work experience
meets the job requirements.
• 48% said how the candidate’s skills meet the job
requirements.
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12. Standard parts of a cover letter.
Date
Recipient’s name, title, and address
Subject
Salutation
Body
Closing
Signature
Enclosures
12

13. Clcmng
Company Name and/or Logo
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Chicago , IL 60611 ·2273
November 18, 20XX
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Block
How to format a cover letter.
Most common format for
cover letters is block format.
All elements of the letter are
aligned to the left margin of
the page.
13

14. Cover letter salutation.
Use a formal salutation followed by the recipient’s full name and
ending with a colon.
Dear John Doe:
Hello John Doe:
Use the person’s title if applicable: Dear Professor John Doe.
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15. Using a subject line.
Subject lines immediately cue the reader as to
what position you are applying for.
In American English, the subject line is
commonly placed above the salutation.
In British English, the subject line is commonly
placed below the salutation.
To distinguish your subject line from the rest of
the letter use “Subject:” or ”Re:” (which is an
abbreviation for “regarding.”
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16. How to write the cover letter introductory paragraph.
State the position you are applying for and where you learned of it.
Doing this is a courtesy and helps the employer know which ads
drew the most qualified candidates.
Follow this sentence with a “thesis statement” that serves to interest
the reviewer and forecast what is in the letter.
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17. Example of cover letter’s first paragraph.
I am writing to apply for the summer internship position posted on
your website. Currently, I am a second-year student at the University
of Idaho studying microbiology and pre-health studies. The work I
have done in my STEM classes and labs; and volunteer positions
I've held where I learned and applied the standards of hospital care
to serve low-income individuals have all prepared me well to meet
the demands this internship.
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18. How to write the body of the cover letter.
Write a targeted letter that shows you did the work necessary to
write a specific letter for this position.
Organize this information into paragraphs of one topic each. Apply
readability principles: be concise; be precise; and be direct.
Connect your skills / qualifications to the business or organization's
needs. Show, don't just tell, how what you offer matches what they
seek.
To show, you need to support each claim you make about a skill or
qualification you have with specific examples to support that claim.
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19. Examples of cover letter topic paragraphs.
Topic: Education
• Describe course projects; field and bench research;
communication (writing, presenting, multimedia); collaborations
etc.
Topic: Employment History
• Describe relevant employment; internships; paid or unpaid work.
Topic: Accomplishments
• Describe relevant accomplishments with specifics.
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20. Example 1 of a paragraph in cover letter’s body.
For a professional writing course, I composed a
technical white paper, marketing brochure, event flyer,
press release, and a public policy report.
[Writer could also provide more detail about these
would be of specific interest to employer based on the
job description such as audience, purpose, tools used
etc.]
These and other samples of my writing can be viewed
at my e-portfolio.
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21. Example 2 of a paragraph in cover letter’s body.
For one of my most recent projects, I created a shell to run in a
Linux environment. This shell supports path, history, and tripwire
functions. I thoroughly researched the strategies necessary to
implement the shell, such as to use of fork() and exec(). The result
was a shell that reliably executes.
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22. Example 3 of a paragraph in cover letter’s body.
For one of my most recent projects, I created a shell to run in a
Linux environment. This shell supports path, history, and tripwire
functions. I thoroughly researched the strategies necessary to
implement the shell, such as to use of fork() and exec(). The result
was a shell that reliably executes.
22

23. Cover letter closing.
Use a formal closing followed by a comma.
Sincerely,
Best regards,
I look forward to hearing from you,
If sending as an attachment through email or uploading to an
employer web portal whether you need to sign and scan or add a
digital signature may not be necessary. Follow the application
directions.
If sending through snail mail, sign the letter.
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24. Examples of cover letter closing.
Example 1:
I am available for an interview at your convenience, and I
welcome the opportunity to discuss my qualifications for this
position in person.
Example 2:
I am available anytime after 11:30 Monday through Friday to
further discuss my qualifications for the tutoring position. I
welcome the opportunity to contribute my tutoring skills to help
students at your school to be successful life-long learners.
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25. UI CAREER SERVICES
Career Services
Career Services offers assistance in every aspect of writing, formatt ing and proofread ing resumes, cover letters and
curriculum vitae. Their site also provides basic outlines and examp les.
• Resumes, Cover Letters, &CVs
University
of Idaho Here is a list of their other services :
• Hire a Vandal(exclusive job and internship online tool where employers post positions in search of a Vandal to hire)
• Search Jobs & Internships (Access to the Hire a Vandal database)
• Explore Careers, Majors, and Interests (including career assessment)
• Professional Dress
• Interviews
• Networking
• Internships
• Salary & Benefit Negotiat ions
• On the Job Etiquette
• Graduate Schoo l Placement Files
UI Career Services
Follow the link to UI Career Services posted to the project 5 page to
find a cover letter outline as well as examples of cover letters.
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