COVER LETTER

MODULE INTRO:

While not always required, the cover letter allows you to personalize your application and go above and beyond. The letter is the preface and bridge to your résumé, providing a career context and demonstrating your particular interest in this role and company. The letter allows rooms to express your personality, passion, and excitement, and also to demonstrate that you've done your research. Cover letters should be customized per role.

Content

  • Recipient: An addressee is personally mentioned
  • Intro Greeting: Strong, warm, and charming
  • Tone: Overall feeling is professional yet personable
  • Fitting: Language and formatting fits the role and company
  • Organization: Each paragraph has a purpose and theme
  • Passion: It's clear how much want and are right for this role
  • Customization: Keywords from the job description are applied
  • Context: Background information to your career is provided
  • Accomplishment Details: Include as much relevant information as possible
  • Differentiation: It's clear why you and not someone else are right for this role
  • Bridge: You are connecting your experiences to the role
  • Knowledge: Demonstrate your research on the role and company
  • Help Them: Explain how you could benefit the company
  • Personality: Illustrate your persona through your writing
  • Language: Demonstrate your mastery of persuasive prose
  • Keywords: Include relevant keywords for scanners
  • Closing: Close by ephasizing why you are the perfect fit for this role
  • Single Page: Keep the letter to just one page
  • Appropriate Length: Ideally, the doc is between 3-5 paragraphs
  • Memorization: You can recall everything listed
  • No Regurgitation: You are not rewriting your résumé
  • No Fluff: No irrelevant or excessive material
  • Contact: Email, cell phone, and LinkedIn are included and hyperlinked

Language

  • First Person: You are using "I" and "My"
  • Strong Verbs: Each verb is powerful and aggressive
  • Correct Tense: Past experiences in past tense, etc.
  • No Negatives: Do not include "Not", "Didn't", etc.
  • No Subjectivity: No phrasing is up for interpretation
  • No Excessive Punctuation: Avoid multiple commas per sentence
  • No Typos: No grammatical errors or spelling mistakes
  • No Typos: No grammatical errors or spelling mistakes
  • No Typos: No grammatical errors or spelling mistakes
  • Read Aloud: The document is coherent and understandable

File

  • Format: File saved and shared as a .pdf, not .doc
  • Consistency: When exported, doc appears unchanged
  • Style: Layout and design is similar to your résumé
  • Naming: File titled First-Last-Letter.pdf
Matt KleinStep 06.