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Cover Letters Intro
1. Sign in, Hand in, Name out
Why do we submit Cover Letters?
Importance of Cover Letters
It lets the employer know of your intentions!It is your brand and your FIRST impressionDemonstrates written communication skills
This means ZERO mistakesYou can elaborate your stories
Use your Skills Matrix
Ultimately: WHY YOU?
Demonstrate the 3 things!
Can I do the job?
Do you want the
job?
Are you a good fit?
But remember! The resume is about YOU.
The cover letter is about
THEM and WHY you make a good match!
5 Essential Components
1. Opening
2. Skill-Matching
4. Closing
3. Brandin
g
5. Integration
1. The Opening Paragraph
Intro to the hook
Interest / Passion + Company Fit + Summarize Skills [+ Optional Name Drop]
2. Skill-MatchingSkills (from Skills Matrix)
+ Experience (2-3 examples)
+ Education (how you will leverage BCom)
+Matching Qualifications (any other qualifications
that set you apart)
Skill-Matching
Each Line proves that you have the necessary skills to be
successful on the jobDon’t forget to always link back to
the job posting!
CConte
xt
AAction
RResult
LLink
3. Closing
“Mr Smith, thank you for looking at my application. I hope that I have shown you that my interpersonal skills, my leadership skills, and my ability to perform on a team make me a perfect fit for ABC position. Thank you very much and hope to hear from you soon.”
NOT AT THIS LEVEL
• Possibly the most important part of your cover letter.• Your final
impression!
• Restate your skills! BUT use different wording.
• Show your passion!
• Thank them.
• Use a call to action
4. What is BRANDING!?
3. Branding
• Branding is about leaving a good impression!
• It must be consistent throughout your cover letter.
• Make sure it fits with both the company’s values, culture and expectations and yours.
• Use industry jargon/company specific language
Branding• What are the main products or services the company offers? Why is
this interesting to you?• In what locations do they operate/how many employees/annual
revenues?• How would you describe the organizational culture? What do you think
the working environment will be like?• What are the values and/or mission statement? How do these align
with your values system?• What are the names of the top local executives/recruiters? Who
will you address your cover letter to?• Do you know anyone within the organization? What is the nature of
that relationship?• Who are the primary competitors? What do they do better and where
can they improve? (A brief SWOT analysis of the industry)• What is the topic of a recent media article about this company?
Please summarize the main points.• Does the company have a Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/Glassdoor
presence? Have you connected with them via social media?• Have you gained any additional insight from these mediums?
• Overall, what in your research piqued your interest in this company?• What are your most marketable skills for this position? What are your
strongest most relevant stories from your skill matrix assignment?
5. IntegrationVisual Matching: Your cover letter and resume must use the same formatting.
Do NOT send in a generic cover letter and generic resume (40% of your grade is matching!)
There are hundreds of you in COMM 202. And even more people applying for your dream job! Find a way to be different.
Other tipsBe active, not passive
“I had to check customer orders”“Customer orders were checked”
Avoid using long-winded sentencesBe succinct & to the point!
Cover letter must match resumeHeader, Font Size, Font Type, Margins, etc.
If you do bullet points: bolded terms flow with last sentence of intro paragraph.
Bad grades / relocation
Cover letters allow you to address any “elephant in the room” situations (i.e. relocation, bad grades, etc.)
Language choices – overly emotional words (deeply honoured, it would be a blessing)You want to show that you are on an equal
playing field and qualified for the role.
Olympic Analogy
Take Aways!
Personal connectionResumes are you, CLs are themDifferentiate yourself
Action Items Cover Letter Assignment
Write your cover letter draft Bring two printed cover letter drafts to next tutorial for
peer review Final Resume & Cover Letters due Mar 21st, 2PM
Group Office Hours (next week) Sign up on COOL Bring your resumes & cover letters
Next week: TUTORIAL
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