Guide to Cover Letters & Thank You Letters

Transcription

1 Guide to Cover Letters & Tank You Letters 206 Strebel Student Center (315) Fax (315)

2 TIPS FOR WRITING A PERFECT COVER LETTER Te resume never travels alone. Eac time you submit your resume to an employer, you sould enclose a cover letter, wic explains wy you are submitting te resume. It is te key to creating interest in your candidacy. Te cover letter is your sales pitc. It gives you te opportunity to draw an employer s attention to te skills and experiences outlined on your resume. You can expand on certain courses or job responsibilities, wic particularly matc te position for wic you wis to be considered. Te cover letter also gives you a cance to igligt special acievements, wic migt oterwise go overlooked. In summarizing your qualifications, igligt your most appropriate skills or background in relation to a particular position witout simply reiterating te information on your resume. Refer te reader to your enclosed resume for furter elaboration on your past accomplisments. Be direct and brief. Always send a cover letter on matcing paper wit specific reference to te company s needs and your qualifications for te job. A personal letter is always best, so make an effort to get te name and title of te individual making te decision. Structure your cover/application letter wit tree or four paragraps. Tis letter is written wen you know of a specific opening and want to apply for te position. Te purpose of tis letter is to get your enclosed resume read and generate an interview. Clearly state wy you are writing te letter and te name of te position or field. State ow you eard about te opening (college career office, newspaper ad, etc.) and wy you are interested in tis particular company, location, or type of work. Outline your strongest qualifications tat matc te position requirements. Provide evidence of your related experience and accomplisments. Make reference or refer to your enclosed resume. Convince te employer tat you ave te personal qualities and motivation to perform well. Sell yourself. Close te letter by making a specific request for an interview and indicate tat you will call during a specified time period to discuss interview possibilities. Sow appreciation to te reader for is or er time and consideration. A letter of inquiry is written wen you are asking an employer for information about possible job openings. Structure tis similarly to te cover/application letter, but instead of using position information, focus on broader occupational and/or organizational dimensions to sow tat your qualifications matc te work environment. 2

3 COVER LETTER OUTLINE Address City, State, Zip Pone Date Name of Addressee Title of Addressee Name of Organization Street Address or Box # City, State, Zip Dear Addressee: Your opening paragrap sould state te reason for te letter, te specific position or type of work for wic you are applying and ow you learned of te job opportunity. You may want to state briefly wy you are interested in te position. Your middle paragrap sould explain ow your academic and/or experiential background qualifies you for te position. Point out specific acievements or unique qualifications. Include any special skills you ave tat may be useful in te position. Don t repeat information in your resume, single out a few especially salient factors: expand an item or two of special relevance. Be concise and to te point. In your closing paragrap refer to your enclosed resume and focus on te action to follow. Indicate your desire for a personal interview. You may want to indicate your flexibility or state a time wen you will be available. Repeat your pone number. You may want to say tat you will call your addressee in a few days to see about arranging a mutually convenient time wen you could visit. State tat your personal references can be sent at teir request. A specific and positive statement about wat you will be doing next or wat you wis for tem to do is more effective tan a vague ope, but don t be pusy. Format Type your letter neatly on 8 and ½ by 11 inc bond paper. Keep it clean and free from errors. Type all letters individually, never reproduce tem. Always address your letter to a specific person by name and title, rater tan by title or department alone. Let te letter reflect your individuality. You are writing to a stranger about a subject tat is of critical importance to bot of you. Do not forget tat we can critique resumes and cover letters ere at Career Services! Sincerely, *****Tree Spaces***** Typed Full Name Enc. 3

4 Ricard Pratt Blue Cross Blue Sield of Utica-Watertown, Inc. Human Resources Department 12 Rodes Drive Utica, New York Dear Mr. Pratt: Street Address City, State, Zip Date It as been brougt to my attention troug your ad in te Observer Dispatc Sirley Delon Human Resources Director IRTS Foundation 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1714 New York, New York Street Address City, State, Zip Pone Date tat you are seeking a Sales Representative. As you can see by my enclosed resume, I will be graduating from Utica College in May wit a degree in Management. It is my educational background and experience tat I feel qualifies me for tis position. I am an ideal candidate for your company because I am eager to learn, ave excellent communication skills and enjoy working wit people. My past employment as provided me wit experience in a supervisory position were my co-workers relied on my ability to lead and influence tem in a positive way. I look forward to te opportunity to meet wit you personally. You can reac me daily at (315) - or in te evenings at -. If I don t ear from you by, I will call you to answer any questions you may ave regarding my qualifications and candidacy. Tank you for any consideration you can give me. Sincerely, NAME Enclosure Dear Ms. Delon: I am a junior at Utica College studying Public Relations/Journalism. My interest is in a summer internsip wit your organization. I will be an ideal asset to any news/informational organization. I am eager to learn, friendly and outgoing. My strengt is in areas of newspaper publising, from paper layouts to computer aided design. Te classes I ave taken trained me to write columns, cover news stories, features, and sports. I am knowledgeable wit many different computer programs suc as Aldus PageMaker, Microsoft Works, and Word Perfect on bot IBM and Macintos. My forte lies in investigative reporting. I love researcing materials, fact finding, and conducting interviews. You may reac me until December 22 at (315) After tat date, I can be reaced at my permanent residence (702) until I return to classes on January 16. I tank you for your time and look forward to speaking wit you in te future. Sincerely, Name Enc. 4

5 6 TIPS FOR WRITING A PERFECT THANK YOU LETTER A typed letter is preferred, but a neatly andwritten letter is acceptable. Use te rigt words and prases in your letter. Express entusiasm, confidence, interest and appreciation. Wenever possible and appropriate, mention te names of te people you met at te interview. Address te tank you letter to te main interviewer. Keep it sort, less tan one page. Mail te letter witin twenty-four ours of te interview. 5

6 921 West Fift Street Denver, CO (555) April 11, 2005 James R. Quinn Human Resource Department Davis Enterprises 241 Skyline Road Denver, CO Dear Mr. Quinn: Tank you for te opportunity yesterday to interview for te Sales Trainee position you now ave available. I enjoyed meeting you and learning more about Davis Enterprises. Your fine staff and approac to marketing impressed me immensely. Your organization appears to be growing in a direction wic parallels my interests and career goals. Te interview wit you, Ms. Jenkins, and Mr. Tomas confirmed my initial positive impressions of Davis Enterprises, and I want to reiterate my strong interest in working for you. My prior experience in operating office equipment plus my training in communications would enable me to progress steadily troug your training program and become a productive member of your sales team. Again, tank you for your consideration. If you need any additional information from me, please feel free to call. Yours Truly, Tomas Stellar 6

7 18 Central Park Street Anytown, NY (555) Marc 13, 2005 Pillip Kingsly Executive Vice President ABC Corporation 1 Industry Plaza Anytown, NY Dear Mr. Kingsly: I would like to take tis opportunity to tank you for te interview, Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m., and to confirm my strong interest in an entry-level position wit your company. As we discussed, I feel tat my education and background ave provided me wit an excellent understanding of business operations, wic will prove to be an asset to your company. Additionally, I ave always been considered a ard worker and a dependable, loyal employee. I am confident tat I can make a valuable contribution to your Group Pension Fund area. I look forward to meeting you again in te near future to furter discuss your needs. Tank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Melissa Newouse 7

8 July 11, 2005 Marta Bossert, Manager Product Development Dept. Widget Corporation 1520 Compton Drive Riverside, NY 1003 Dear Ms. Bossert: I enjoyed te opportunity to meet wit you and ave a brief tour of Widget Corporation. Te ig level of creative energy among your staff, as well as teir personal pride in te company s products, was obvious and very gratifying to see. In addition to te information I sared wit you in our meeting, I tougt of anoter project I worked on tat reflects te kind of contribution I could make as a member of Widget s product development team. Te details of tat project (te proposal and te final report, bot of wic I autored) are enclosed for your review. As soon as you ave completed your interviewing process, I would appreciate earing from you to discuss my qualifications. I can be reaced at ome in te evening, as well as at my office during te day. Tank you for your time. Sincerely yours, Geraldine JobHunter Office: (555) Home: (555) Enclosure 8