Transcript COVER LETTERS: important to

COVER LETTERS: important to...
LOOK GOOD AT FIRST SIGHT:
position yourself
COVER LETTERS: important to...
HIGHLIGHT YOUR SKILLS: how is your
experience transferable?
COVER LETTERS: important to...
CLOSE GAPS IN YOUR WORK/STUDY
RECORD
COVER LETTERS: important to...
SELF-PROMOTION…Brand yourself
“Dear XX,
One of social service's most enthusiastic and dedicated
individuals is applying for a professional position with
your foundation. That would me, supported with solid
experience, a new academic degree, and lots of
promise.”
COVER LETTERS: important to...
DEMONSTRATE YOUR
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
“I will stop by and introduce myself and share my portfolio with you.
Will next week be convenient? I will contact you this Thursday at 11:00
to determine if such arrangements would interest you”
“Please expect my telephone call in the coming week to arrange a
meeting”
“As a follow-up to this correspondence I will call you next week to
determine if my qualifications meet your needs”
DIFFERENT TYPES OF COVER LETTERS
 Job and reply letter
 Prospecting letter (sent to a selected small number of employers
with whom you have some sort of connection - same industry,
personal meeting, affinity group, etc.)
 Broadcast letter (sent to big numbers of potential employers)
 Networking letter (sent to those with whom you have some kind of
affinity: fellow alumni, members of your church, civic organization,
etc. asking for job leads, nor for job interviews)
 Resume letter (direct postal or online mail document that doesn't
contain a separate resume per se. Here you can use a storytelling
approach)
DIFFERENT TYPE OF COVER LETTERS
Job fair cover letter (left to companies at a job fair)
Follow-up letter (an after-interview communication, a follow-up
letter designed to spur decision action or to revive your
candidacy)
Professional branding statement (a short paragraph used as a
way to define yourself and to stand out)
Online profile (a Web portfolio where you can combine bios,
interests, accomplishments, publications, photos, links, etc.)
Email cover note (short and to the point, sent in the body of the
email to introduce your attached resume)
5 TIPS + 1
Write in vigorous, vibrant and animated
language
Use an action close
Address your letter to individuals
Bait your letters with other benefits
Use postscripts or a motto to dramatize some
information
Be yourself!
5 MISTAKES
Typos and other flubs
Writing the wrong tone and style
Summarizing your resume wastes the readers'
time
Canned cover letters are treated like junk mail
Too many unsupported assertions don't work!
Don't brag, just brand!
JOHN SMITH
58 Island Street
Austin, TX 19319
555.999.000
[sample WEAK cover letter 1]
April 17th, 2012
Think Things Sportswear
3838 Main Street
Austin, TX 91919
RE: Secretary/Interpreter position
Dear sirs,
I have seen your advertisement for the post of secretary/interpereter in the Evening Standard and I should like to apply for it.
As you can see from the enclosed resume I am 24 years old and single. I went to St. Martin School in Houston and then took a
two-year secreterial course at Marino College. I worked as a secretary for Green & Red from 2009 to 2011. I was responsible
for typing, filing, scheduling the Export Manager's appointments, answering the telephone calls and carrying out all the
foreign correspondeance. I was recently let go due to a reduction in force, which is why I wish to apply for the position you
offer.
I have recently completed courses in French and Spanish, which I can speak and write fluently. My shorthand speed is 110 w.p.m.
And typing 70 w.p.m. I am familiar with word processing as I have been attending computer evening classes for the last six
months.
A copy of a reference from my previous employer is enclosed. I hope you will take my application into consideration and look
forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
John Smith
What are the weaknesses and strenghts of the
previous cover letter?
• …
• ...
What to do
1) Customize and use names
Mail, cell, home telephone, email, blog address,
skype address
Date
Inside address below the date
Name of the person, correct prefix, job title
On the right side a subject line: “RE: ...”
What to do
2) Use the right language : hook the reader >
quotation
Ex:
 Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
(G.B.Shaw)
What to do
3) State why you are writing: Job interview?
Meeting? Application? Information?
What to do
4) Explain why you are a top candidate
 I am particularly well-qualified for your … position, as the following
highlights illustrate:
 For your convenience, I will keep this letter especially brief. The job
you're trying to fill seems to have my name on it, thanks to my
qualifications in... [skills] and... [experience]
 As my resume shows, I have successful experience in …. Briefly, I
offer: [bulleted lists of accomplishments]
 What you're asking for and what I can deliver sound like a match!
 Please allow me to highlight some of my accomplishments that are
relevant to your requirements
 I am long on effort and enthusiasm, although short on experience.
Examples of my passion for doing the job well are in references I
gained as a student, such as the following achievements: ...
What to do
5) Read and reread:
Be precise: no typos!
Be concise:
- “I am a person who believes that the values of fervent
dedication, cooperative teamwork and adaptive creativity
are crucial components of any totally successful research
venture” NO
- “Dedication, teamwork and creativity are essential to
successful research” YES
Watch the words (spam filters; no word such as
investment, money, free, urgent, testing)
In emails use unformatted text rather than
HTML or rich format
Against the writer's block:
Whom do you picture reading your letter?
Against the writer's block:

Which qualities of yours do you want to emphasize?
Against the writer's block:
What benefits do you bring to the reader's
company/institutions?
Against the writer's block:
What special skills or talents set you apart from
the competition?
Against the writer's block:
What do you like about the company/institution
to which you are applying?
FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS
50 USEFUL ADJECTIVES!
You will find I am…
I offer the following strengths…
I have always been…
My friends / professor / former employer describe/s me as...
Determined
Creative
Responsive
Motivated
Patient…
Areas of skills and qualities:
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
PROBLEM-SOLVING/CREATIVITY
INTERPERSONAL ABILITIES/TEAMWORK SKILLS
SENSITIVITY TO DIVERSITY
PLANNING + ORGANIZING
LEADERSHIP + MANAGEMENT
A funny cover letter template:
http://the-toast.net/2014/04/24/cover-lettertemplate/
Effective communication


You can locate, understand and interpret written
information in … languages at … level
You can communicate thoughts, ideas,
information and messages in writing and create
documents such as...

You are at ease in public situations

You are reserved but insightful

You can discuss unclear points

...
Problem solving / creativity

You can recognize a problem and devise a plan
of action to deal with it

You generate new ideas

You work with enthusiasm

You adapt to new situations

…
Interpersonal abilities


You respect the feeling of others, assert
yourself when appropriate, and take interest in
what the others say
You show understanding and adaptability in
group settings

You can mediate problems

You can motivate people

…
Sensitivity to diversity

You work well with people who have different
ethnic, social, or educational backgrounds

You are diplomatic and tactful

You can anticipate needs

You are flexible and easy-going

…
Planning and Organizing


You can set realistic personal goals and monitor
progress toward these goals
You can use efficient learning techniques to
acquire and apply new knowledge and skills

You can analyze data and facts

You are committed to your work

You can meet deadlines

…
Leadership and management


You communicate thoughts and feelings to
justify the position you champion, encourage or
convince others
You present the facts and arguments of your
position and listen to and understand other
party's position, create possible ways to resolve
conflict and make reasonable compromises

You accept supervision

You can work independently

…
Mistakes to avoid

Sentence fragments
NO
“Although I work in Detroit, making 200 dollars an
hour.”
YES
“Although I work in Detroit, making 200 dollars an
hour, I would like to move to Chicago.”
Mistakes to avoid

Run-on sentences
NO
“I finished writing my cover letter, it's great!”
YES
“I finished writing my cover letter. It's great!”
Mistakes to avoid

Dangling participles
NO
“Running across the water, we saw a huge water
beetle”
YES
“We saw a huge water beetle running across the
water, ”
Mistakes to avoid

Misplaced modifiers:
NO
“Ben taught the dog, an inveterate womanizer, to
bark at all blonde women”
YES
“Ben, an inveterate womanizer, taught the dog to
bark at all blonde women”
Remember
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Use commas anywhere you would pause if you
read the sentence aloud
Use commas in series: “cover letters, resumes,
and interviews make up part of the job search
process”
Use a comma after a conjunction (and, but, for,
nor, yet, or, so) to connect two clauses
Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements
An exercise on commas...
One afternoon last December an assassin on board a
K.L.M. flight from Mexico City arrived at Amsterdam’s
Schiphol Airport this was not a business trip the killer
who was thirty-three liked to travel and often
documented his journeys around Europe on Instagram
he wore designer clothes a heavy silver ring in the shape
of a grimacing skull and a gold necklace his passport
was an expensive fake and he had used it successfully
many times but moments after he presented his
documents to Dutch customs he was arrested the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration had filed a Red Notice
with Interpol —an international arrest warrant— and
knew that he was coming only after the Dutch authorities
had the man in custody did they learn his real identity
José Rodrigo Arechiga the chief enforcer for the biggest
drug-trafficking organization in history Mexico’s Sinaloa
cartel