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