Writing a winning cover letter.

Writing a winning cover letter. Your cover letter can get your resume read or tossed in the trash. It is your sales pitch on paper. Provided courtesy of the TTC Knoxville What does a cover letter do? • It introduces you. • It states what you want. • It sells your skills. • It gets the reader to look at your resume. Cover Letters are: • Sent anytime you send your resume out by mail, fax or e-mail. • Always written in standard business letter format. ( see examples ) • Used to personalize your resume & target your skills for the employer. What goes in a cover letter? FIRST PARAGRAPH: State your reason for writing. Name the job for which you are applying. State how you found out about the position. SECOND PARAGRAPH: Sell yourself and your skills to the employer. This is the key paragraph. If you get their attention here, they will read your resume. THIRD PARAGRAPH: Addition info. about you if needed. FOURTH PARAGRAPH: Contact information. Tell them you will be contacting them. Four kinds of cover letters. • Invited Cover Letter • Cold Contact Letter • Referral Letter • Job Match Letter Invited cover letters are used for: • Responding to a newspaper ad • Responding to a job that is posted on the company’s web-page or the internet. • Contacting an employer that you were referred to by your area Career Center or Job Service office. INVITED COVER LETTER David Kevin Sparks 5555 East Hill Knoxville, TN 37917 (865) 555-5555 May 19, 2010 Steve Boat Smart Productions P.O. Box 210 Knoxville, TN 37950 Dear Mr. Boat: I spoke with you yesterday, May 18th, about the Props Builder position posted at the Tennessee Career Center. I am very interested in the position and think that it would allow for variety and work enjoyment. As per our conversation, I am forwarding my resume for your review. As you can see in my resume, I have extensive experience in construction and using hand tools. I enjoy manual labor and try to push myself at every task I undertake. I follow directions well and can be given few instructions and will follow through without supervision. I am self-motivated and will complete tasks regardless of the distractions going on around me. I am a team player and will cooperate with others to get the job done. You will also notice that I have been at all of my previous jobs for at least five years. I am very punctual and dependable. I would like to further discuss your needs and my qualifications. You may contact me at 555-5555. I will call you Friday morning to see if you have any questions and if we can arrange a time to interview. I look forward to meeting with you. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, David Sparks Cold Contact letters are used for: • Contacting a company that has not advertised any openings. You will need to match your skills to the perceived needs of the employer on your cover letter. This strategy requires that you make a personnel contact with the employer before or after you send your resume and cover letter. COLD-CONTACT COVER LETTER ROSE B. PILL 55 Rock Lane Knoxville, TN 37921 865-555-5555 March 30, 2010 To Whom This May Concern: I am very interested in a position in the banking industry. I have been doing sales audit work for the last year and enjoyed working with numbers. I would like to be considered for banking or any positions available that may fit my qualifications. By being self-motivated and competitive, I can be beneficial to your corporation. I have a strong background working with figures, 10-key, and data entry. As you will see in my resume, I have a B.S. in Accounting. I also have experience with AS400, Windows, and Quickbooks. I am looking forward to meeting with you personally in order to discuss my qualifications in greater detail. I would like to thank you for your consideration, attention, and forthcoming response in advance. Sincerely, ROSE B. PILL Referral letters are used when: • You learn of a job opportunity through a person. You will need to include in the cover letter the name of the person who gave you information about the possible opportunity. Get permission from the person before you use their name. REFERRAL COVER LETTER Joseph T. Stone 936 Pike Drive Moss, TN 37803 (423) 555-5555 June 10, 2010 Housing Authority 100 Towers Lane Moss, TN 37801 Buster Head informed me about the new position opening up with the Housing Authority for the Section 8/Public Housing Inspector. This sounds very interesting, and I would like to be considered. My resume is enclosed for your review. During my 11 years at BellSouth, I worked with the public on a daily basis providing quality customer service. Included in my activities, I resolved telephone service problems at the customers’ home or business and established new service for customers in all types of buildings, houses and mobile homes. In addition, I inspected and assured that it was safe to install telephone service and followed building codes and regulations. I also installed phone service in public housing, so I am not only familiar with the facilities but also with the HUD policies and procedure. Often, it was necessary to assist customers who were very angry at a situation or with scheduling problems. I routinely diffused volatile situations and scheduled service at the customer’s convenience. This valuable experience provided me the opportunity to work with a diverse population. In addition, while serving in the Air Force, I was responsible for the clerical duties of a civil engineering office at a missile site and maintained all the facilities including electrical, heating and plumbing and the grounds according to regulations and code of the United States Air Force. I look forward to talking with you further about your requirements and my qualifications. I can be reached at 555-5555. I thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Tim Stone Job match letters are used to: • Match your skills with the employer’s needs by using bullets or bolding your skills in the body of your cover letter as discussed in the advertisement. JOB MATCH COVER LETTER - Bolding Tim P. Farm P.O. Box 5566 Knoxville, TN 37928 865-555-5555 May 25-09 Ms. Jane Cross Enet Industries 55 Right Lane Vonore, TN 37849 Dear Ms. Cross: In a recent correspondence with Lynn Johnson, an associate in your customer service department, it has been brought to my attention the availability of a position in your customer service department. The position is defined as Customer Support. From my repeated conversations with Lynn, I feel confident that I would suit this position well. I have enclosed a resume for review and consideration. In reviewing my resume you can gather from my background that I am competent in the area of Customer Service and problem solving. My pursuit of a medical degree has afforded me some knowledge of medical terminology. Additionally, my time served as a Customer Service manager has taught me to have an attentive ear, patience, empathy toward the client, and the ability to remain level headed in moments of absolute chaos. I feel competent in offering my skills as a potential employee for your company. I can be contacted at 555-5555. Due to a prior engagement I will be unavailable until June 1st. I can also be reached through Lynn Johnson as I converse with him daily by email. Thank you for your time. Respectfully, Tim Farm JOB MATCH COVER LETTER - Bullets February 24, 2010 Ms. Jane Smith Work Incorporated 555 Pine Street St. Paul, MN 55555 Dear Ms. Smith, I am very interested in the position of Administrative Assistant listed in the Daily Tribune on February 24, 2010. qualifications you mention match my experience in this career field. Your needs - Detail oriented, experienced administrative Assistant My Qualifications - 4 years Administrative Assistant experience with responsibility for numerous detailed reports The skills and - Assist Customer Relations Manager - Corporate experience with major clients a must - PC knowledge a plus - Assisted Customer Relations Manager for 2 years - Regularly served purchasing agents at Fortune 500 Companies - Hands on experience with Microsoft Office, including Excel Enclosed is my resume for your review and consideration. As you can see, I am an excellent candidate for this position. I am looking forward to meeting with you to discuss this opportunity. You can expect to hear from me on Tuesday, March 1 to arrange a meeting. Sincerely, Job Seeker BAD COVER LETTER EXAMPLE June 10, 2010 Rich J. Noname 5656 W. Crest Dr. Knoxville, TN 37923 865-555-5555 PartyBoy@utinet.net Human Resource Manager; I am responding to the employment opportunity posted in the Knoxville News-Sentinel for Lumber Yard Manager. This letter is in regard to that job opportunity. I have the skills you require. Hiring anyone else would not be in your best interest. I meet your requirement of Log Buying, Timber Cruising, and Logging Management, through my 6 years as a Private Forest Consultant. I meet your requirement of, Good People Skills, both through my 11 years in grocery retail and my 3 successful years in sales, and 2 years with American Free Tree Program. I am a highly motivated, goal-oriented individual and require very little supervision. Due to the nature of my past work history deadlines were constant, so I am well aware of the need to interact with team members and customers in a liaison capacity. During 1998-1999 I gained valuable experience with The Learning Company in a technical support/sales capacity. This position ended when the company moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. From Jan/93 to Aug/95 my capacity was the Regional Volunteer Coordinator in a 3-county area near Athens, Ohio for the American Free Tree Program (501) (c3). My duties included, but were not limited to: locating, organizing, and training financial, distribution, and organizational Directors and other volunteers; fund raising through targeted potential donors. This project was very successful in my area as expectations were far exceeded. I facilitated meetings, incorporated personal public speaking, and corresponded with local professionals, city/county government, local schools, as well as coordinating events with local media. From Jan.92 to Jan.98 I operated a sole proprietorship in a three-state region. This has given me invaluable experience in small business management. I have attached my resume, MS-Word 97 attachment, for your review and consideration. It does exceed the minimum qualifications as stated on your job posting and I thought it to your benefit to see my successes and abilities as a self starter. My salary history is as wide and varied as my employment history. More specifically, my salaries have been in the $20,000-$40,000 range. I am available for an interview at your earliest convenience to discuss how my education and experience can benefit your company. Please respond to this e-mail as I have been experiencing infrequent connection problems. I look forward to talking with you. Sincerely, Rich J. Noname encl... Following up: • After you mail your cover letter and resume you need to follow up with the employer like you stated in your cover letter. • Give them a call. • After the call send them a thank you card in the mail.