Cover Letters

Cover Letters are perhaps one of the most important documents your future employer might see! Along with resumes, cover letters shape an employer’s first impression on who the candidate is and what qualifications they have.  Below are some tips to keep in mind while writing your cover letter.

Be specific

Make sure you address the cover letter to the specific person within the company who will be reviewing your cover letter. Do research online and if necessary feel free to call the employer and ask for the appropriate individuals name and job title.

Sum up your qualifications
In the middle couple paragraphs, discuss your qualifications but make sure not to be too wordy. It is important that the employer know several of the key reasons why you are qualified and several specific examples to prove your qualifications but also realize that an employer reviews a cover letter for an average of 8 seconds. Because of this the key qualifications must be discussed succinctly!

Follow the formatting

Be sure to follow a strict business letter format when writing your cover letter! Examples of this formatting, other cover letter rules, and sample cover letters can be found on pages 33-41 HERE.