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Writing Great Cover Letters


Cover letters are an essential ingredient to your complete résumé package. This is the best opportunity for you to demonstrate your personal character, knowledge of the company and your business writing skills.

The following is a relatively generic format for creating your cover letter. Note that most cover letters are designed to target a specific company or at least a specific industry.

First Paragraph

You must spark the employer's interest. Focus on your unique characteristics, whether they are based on experience or personal traits that will benefit the company. Don't simply restate your résumé objective statement. You must command attention, not simply alert the employer that you are applying for a position (they already know that!).

Second Paragraph

Provide more detail about your professional qualifications or relevant educational background. Highlight your professional accomplishments and/or achievements, not responsibilities. Use active verbs when describing things that you have done and back it up with a statistic or concrete fact when possible. Tailor this paragraph to the position that you are applying for.

Third Paragraph

Demonstrate knowledge of the company, their industry, and the challenges that they may be facing. This is where you connect what the company needs in an employee and the skills that you bring to the table. You want to implicitly show your knowledge of the company without regurgitating something you read on the company's website. Alluding to general industry trends that are affecting the company will let the employer know that you can see the big picture and how your position affects the company's strategy.

Fourth Paragraph

This is the final paragraph of most cover letters. You should demonstrate your confidence and enthusiasm in working at the organization. Be sure to include a call to action, requesting an appointment with the decision maker (using the word appointment over the word interview helps make you sound more confident and professional). It is also recommended that you alert the employer that you will follow up with them, usually one week after sending your résumé package.

John Williamson is a Career Development specialist and a spokesperson for Vision-Resume.com


MORE RESOURCES:


Careers at FEMA  FEMA.gov

Jobs and careers | Veterans Affairs  VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs




Careers  University of Northern Colorado



Careers | Career Opportunities  West Virginia University


Careers  City of Phoenix (.gov)

Careers  City of Ontario, California (.gov)


Employment at WKU  Western Kentucky University


Careers at J&J  Johnson & Johnson Careers

Career Paths  FEMA.gov

Careers | Home  USDA (.gov)


Careers and Jobs at CRS  Catholic Relief Services

Employment Opportunities  Alabama Department of Public Health (.gov)

Careers  UC Santa Cruz

Work at Fairfield  Fairfield University

Careers - MDOT  Maryland.gov

Careers  Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Working for ICE  ice.gov


Careers at USCIS  USCIS (.gov)

Employment Opportunities | Game Commission  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov)

Careers  Johnson & Johnson

Store Hourly Job Areas  Target Corporation

Careers at TWU  Texas Woman's University

Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service)  National Park Service (.gov)

Work at Butler  Butler University


Explore Store Careers  Target Corporation

Domestic/Civil Service  careers.state.gov


Employment | Department of Corrections  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov)

Work With Us  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (.gov)


Careers at Simon & Schuster  SimonandSchuster.biz

Water Services Careers  City of Phoenix (.gov)

Career Opportunities  Gilead Sciences

Jobs  City of Rochester (.gov)


How to Apply  FEMA.gov

Careers at Willamette  Willamette University

Full-time jobs for students  Johnson & Johnson Careers

Careers  BASF

Jobs at Liberty University  Liberty University

Careers  Washington State University

Careers at the IOC  Olympics.com

Employment Services for PhD Mathematicians  American Mathematical Society




Careers and Employment  Willamette University

NASA Careers: Pathways  NASA (.gov)

Student internships at J&J  Johnson & Johnson Careers


Our Hiring Process  Target Corporation

Careers  The Ocean Cleanup






KPMG Careers  KPMG

UF Health Careers  UF Health Careers

Store Leadership Job Areas  Target Corporation





Careers  West Virginia Department of Education

Job search  KPMG


Careers at Union  Union College


The Gen X Career Meltdown  The New York Times



Work for the City of St. Louis  City of St. Louis, MO (.gov)

Current opportunities  Turner & Townsend

Interview Guide and Tips  Target Corporation

Job Opportunities  Bellevue School District




Job Seekers  Illinois Human Resources






Explore BCG locations around the world  Boston Consulting Group

Postdoctoral Research  Los Alamos National Laboratory (.gov)

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