Cover Letter One aspect of strategic planning is to develop a strong team of people. Discovering and retaining top talent may lead a company to success. Your goal for this journal assignment is to showcase why you would make a good candidate for an organization. To stand out from other candidates, you will want to write a cover letter for each position in which you apply. Cover letters allow you an opportunity to highlight your skills and competencies for potential employers. For this assignment, you will develop a cover letter, reflect on your most relevant skills, and assess what action steps you can take to make your cover letter stronger. To write an impactful cover letter, you should answer the following questions before you begin composing it. Starting with these questions will help provide a clear and concise message for the person reading your cover letter. Why are you interested in the position? Consider what makes the position, organization, or company interesting to you. What three skills or competencies do you possess that match the skills the employer is seeking in a candidate? You can find these skills by viewing the job description. These specific skills are the reason every cover letter should be unique for each job you apply for. Begin by reviewing the following Forbes’ articles: Forget Cover Letters – Write A Pain Letter, Instead! (Links to an external site.) Stop! Don’t Send That Cover Letter (Links to an external site.) Tips For The Perfect Resume And Cover Letter (Links to an external site.) Once you have reviewed the articles, identify a position of interest as a potential job opportunity. You may use any job search website. Two popular employment websites are Indeed  (Links to an external site.) and CareerBuilder. After you identify a position of interest, use the job description to identify three skills or qualifications that match your background. Next, develop a cover letter by creating a three- to four-sentence paragraph highlighting your matching skills. Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment. Required Resources Text Abraham, S. (2012). S trategic management for organizations . Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ Chapter 1: Strategic Management Chapter 2: Leadership, Governance, Values, and Culture Chapter 3: Strategic Thinking Articles Collamer, N. (2014, February 4). The perfect elevator pitch to land a job (Links to an external site.) . Forbes . Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/02/04/the-perfect-elevator-pitch-to-land-a-job/ This article provides information about how a 30 second summary about being the perfect candidate can help during a job interview and will assist you in your Elevator Speech discussion forum this week. Accessibility Statement does not exist. Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.) Ryan, L. (2014, October 12). Forget cov.

1. Cover Letter
One aspect of strategic planning is to develop a strong team of
people. Discovering and retaining top talent may lead a
company to success. Your goal for this journal assignment is to
showcase why you would make a good candidate for an
organization. To stand out from other candidates, you will want
to write a cover letter for each position in which you apply.
Cover letters allow you an opportunity to highlight your skills
and competencies for potential employers.
For this assignment, you will develop a cover letter, reflect on
your most relevant skills, and assess what action steps you can
take to make your cover letter stronger.
To write an impactful cover letter, you should answer the
following questions before you begin composing it. Starting
with these questions will help provide a clear and concise
message for the person reading your cover letter.
Why are you interested in the position? Consider what makes
the position, organization, or company interesting to you.
What three skills or competencies do you possess that match the
skills the employer is seeking in a candidate?
You can find these skills by viewing the job description. These
specific skills are the reason every cover letter should be unique
for each job you apply for.

2. Begin by reviewing the following Forbes’ articles:
Forget Cover Letters – Write A Pain Letter, Instead! (Links to
an external site.)
Stop! Don’t Send That Cover Letter (Links to an external site.)
Tips For The Perfect Resume And Cover Letter (Links to an
external site.)
Once you have reviewed the articles, identify a position of
interest as a potential job opportunity. You may use any job
search website. Two popular employment websites are
Indeed (Links to an external site.)
and CareerBuilder. After you identify a position of interest, use
the job description to identify three skills or qualifications that
match your background. Next, develop a cover letter by creating
a three- to four-sentence paragraph highlighting your matching
skills.
Carefully review the
Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)
for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
Required Resources
Text
Abraham, S. (2012).
S
trategic management for organizations
. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

3. Chapter 1: Strategic Management
Chapter 2: Leadership, Governance, Values, and Culture
Chapter 3: Strategic Thinking
Articles
Collamer, N. (2014, February 4).
The perfect elevator pitch to land a job (Links to an external
site.)
.
Forbes
. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/02/04/the-perfect-
elevator-pitch-to-land-a-job/
This article provides information about how a 30 second
summary about being the perfect candidate can help during a
job interview and will assist you in your Elevator Speech
discussion forum this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Ryan, L. (2014, October 12).
Forget cover letters - Write a pain letter, instead! (Links to an
external site.)
Forbes

4. . Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/10/12/forget-cover-
letters-write-a-pain-letter-instead/
The article provides information about how a pain letter may be
a replacement for a cover letter and will assist you in your
Cover Letter journal this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Ryan, L. (2014, November 7).
Stop! Don't send that cover letter (Links to an external site.)
.
Forbes
. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/11/07/stop-dont-send-
that-cover-letter/
This article provides information about pain letters and will
assist you in your Cover Letter journal this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Schawbel, D. (2012, September 9).
How to craft an elevator speech that makes a big impact (Links
to an external site.)
.
Forbes

5. . Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/09/05/how-to-
craft-an-elevator-speech-that-makes-a-big-impact/
This article provides information about the importance of
elevator speeches and will assist you in your Elevator Speech
discussion forum this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Shavin, N. (2014, July 16).
Tips for the perfect resume and cover letter (Links to an
external site.)
.
Forbes
. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/naomishavin/2014/07/16/tips-for-
the-perfect-resume-and-cover-letter/
This article provides tips about resumes and cover letters and
will assist you in your Cover Letter journal this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Multimedia
Abel, M. [Ashford University]. (2015, July 30).
Forbes Mentor Week // Dr. Murad Abel

6. (Links to an external site.)
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tQIFLVToqc&feature=yout
u.be
In this video, Dr. Murad Abel provides information about
showcasing your skills to a future boss or business ally and
enables you to craft the perfect “elevator speech” to make a
memorable impression. This video will assist you in your
Elevator Speech discussion forum this week. This video has
closed captioning and a transcript.
Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Crayton, M. [Ashford University]. (2015, July 29).
Forbes Mentor Week // Dr. Marcus Crayton // Ashford
University
(Links to an external site.)
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gio83k9jtgQ&feature=youtu
.be
In this video, Dr. Marcus Crayton provides information about
how to make sure hiring managers, recruiters, and peers are
primarily focused on you and shows you the critical elements of
your brand and how you can boost your profile in-person and
online. This video will assist you in your Elevator Speech
discussion forum and Cover Letter journal this week. This video
has closed captioning and a transcript.
Accessibility Statement

7. (Links to an external site.)
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Ivy, K. L-D. [Ashford University]. (2015, July 27).
Forbes Mentor Week // Dr. Karen Lynne-Daniels Ivy // Ashford
University
(Links to an external site.)
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/wath?v=A4fSedq0_HI
In this video, Dr. Karen Lynne-Daniels Ivy provides
information about how to make sure hiring managers, recruiters,
and peers are primarily focused on you and shows you the
critical elements of your brand and how you can boost your
profile in-person and online. This video will assist you in your
Elevator Speech discussion forum and Cover Letter journal this
week. This video has closed captioning and a transcript.
Accessibility Statement
(Links to an external site.)
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Recommended Resources
Articles
Arends, B. (2014).
Pixar’s secret management trick (Links to an external site.)
.
Forbes
. Retrieved from

8. http://www.forbes.com/sites/brettarends/2014/06/03/pixars-
secret-management-trick/
This article provides information about Pixar’s management
strategies and may assist you in your Elevator Speech
discussion forum and Cover Letter journal this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Guthrie, D. (2014).
Miami Dolphins: Leadership, organizational culture and empty
words (Links to an external site.)
.
Forbes
. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougguthrie/2014/02/25/miami-
dolphins-leadership-organizational-culture-and-empty-words/
This article provides information about the culture within the
organization and may assist you in your Elevator Speech
discussion forum and Cover Letter journal this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Kotter, J. (2012).
The key to changing organizational culture (Links to an external
site.)
.

9. Forbes
. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2012/09/27/the-key-to-
changing-organizational-culture/
This article provides information about the solution to making
changes in organizational culture and may assist you in your
Elevator Speech discussion forum and Cover Letter journal this
week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Moorhead, P. (2014).
Lenovo's plans to acquire IBM's X86 server business could be
its best strategic decision yet (Links to an external site.)
.
Forbes
. Retrieved form
http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2014/04/17/lenov
os-plans-to-acquire-ibms-x86-server-business-could-be-its-best-
strategic-decision-yet/
This article provides information about Lenovo’s future
acquisition plans and may assist you in your Elevator Speech
discussion forum and Cover Letter journal this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)

10. Olsen, E. (n.d.).
Mission statements (Links to an external site.)
.
OnStrategy.
Retrieved from http://mystrategicplan.com/resources/mission-
statements/#Defining%20Your%20Mission _math_education
This article provides information about how to create a strategic
mission statement and may assist you in your Elevator Speech
discussion forum and Cover Letter journal this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy