The role of the cover letter to explain to potential employers why you are sending them your resume. It is extremely important that your send a cover letter with your resume and it put time into writing it.
Don’t assume the reader knows what you are looking for – make sure you are very specific: If you want an internship, then say so! Or maybe you are looking for possible future opportunities. Again, be up front and honest about what you are looking for.
Because the cover letter is seen first, the goal of the cover letter is to convince the reader to look at your resume. As such, it must be very well written and targeted to that specific employer. You can view our sample cover letters to get excellent ideas on how to write a great cover letter.
Your cover letter should highlight and attract attention to the elements of your background (education, leadership, experience) that are relevant to a position you are seeking. Be as specific as possible, and use examples.
Reflect your attitude, personality, motivation, enthusiasm, and communication skills. Provide or refer to any information specifically requested in a job advertisement that might not be covered in your resume, such as availability date, or reference to an attached writing sample. Below is an example of a complete and effective cover letter:
Cover letter templates are a great idea if you are sending out multiple resumes because templates enable you to easily modify your base cover letter to suit your needs for each employer. Take a look at these example cover letter templates to get an idea of how a template can work for you. You can download cover letter examples for free or you can purchase our complete package of resume and cover letter samples and templates for a convenience fee of $9.95.
Virginia Tech has a great little resource on quality cover letter writing.
Email us if you have articles that you would like to submit and we’ll link to your site! For now, good luck, happy job hunting, and we hope you find our site a valuable resource.
LTJ! Team
