COVER LETTER WHAT DOES A COVER LETTER DO? It explains why you are contacting the recipient states what position you are applying for, introduces you highlights your qualifications skills. The objective is to get the reader excited about you as a cidate, be offered an interview. WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD I INCLUDE? Use your cover letter as an opportunity to feature detail specific skills, projects /or educational background as they relate to the position. It should communicate that you are the strongest most qualified cidate for the job. Do not simply copy/paste your résumé into sentence form! Be sure to address the job responsibilities qualifications. By exping on your experiences, you also provide the employer with more information about your professional goals, personality, point of view, it s a chance to showcase your written communication skills. Your letter should be written clearly, making connections between current /or prior experiences that have prepared you for the position you are applying for. More importantly, it clearly states how you can contribute to the organization. WHERE DO I START? Researching the employer understing the organization, its mission, the job you are applying for is key to writing a good cover letter. Familiarize yourself with the organization, as though you are already an employee. Pay attention to the job descriptions requirements of the job the keywords they used about specific skills or experience required. What qualities would make you a strong match for this position the company or organization? Review the job posting thoroughly, take notes that clearly identify the job responsibilities expectations. SAVING YOUR COVER LETTER If you are sending your files digitally to an employer, make sure to include your name the words cover letter in the file name, it will make it easy for employers to locate your file. i.e. Susie Smith_Cover Letter *Always save send the file as a PDF. WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT S THE FORMAT? In most cases, the letter should be no longer than three-quarters of a page. The briefer the letter, the greater the likelihood your prospective employer will read it. Spell words correctly. Avoid contractions. Make sure your contact information is professional. Do not use strange email addresses, instead use yourname@host.com. Consider setting up an email account specifically for your job search. If you can, it is important to direct your cover letter to a specific person. This increases the likelihood of getting your materials reviewed routed to the right person. Do research on the employer website or directories like LinkedIn to find a name if it isn t listed with the job description. Unless no phone calls is stated in the job post, call the organization ask for the name of the person to whom you should direct your cover letter résumé. If you ve already created a format for your résumé, use the same layout for your cover letter. Fonts, colors, point sizes should match, so your materials are cohesive bred. 2 Career + CO-OP Center
FORMAT AND CONTENTS HEADING Date Name (of person to whom you are addressing the letter) Title, Company Address Dear Mr. or Ms. (use Miss or Mrs. only if you know that is their preferred title), FIRST PARAGRAPH Explain who you are why you are contacting them. If you are a student, state the department, year in school make sure you spell out The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. If your letter is for a job posting, mention it where you found it. If you received a referral, don t forget to mention that person. SECOND PARAGRAPH Consider these questions when writing the body of your letter. What does this employer do? Let them know that you are familiar with them have done research about their company. What contributions would you offer to this position? Address the job responsibilities directly. If your work experience is in a different field, how does your experience transfer into this position? What examples of previous experience or projects connect to the job you re applying for? In what way? What makes you an ideal match for this organization? What are your strengths unique qualities? THIRD PARAGRAPH + CLOSE Thank the employer for their time reiterate your interest in the company more specifically, the position. If you indicate that you will follow-up about an interview, you should follow-up, otherwise, employers will likely not take the next step to contact you. FOLLOW UP Once you ve sent your professional materials to an employer, it is essential to follow up. You should do so within seven days. Employers are constantly receiving communications from clients prospective applicants. By following up, you are not only showing initiative, but also demonstrating your genuine interest in working for the company or organization. If you ve sent your materials via email, follow up with an email. It s a good idea to include the original date which you sent your materials. You should simply include a reminder of who you are let them know that you sent your résumé, etc. If you re applying for a Co-op internship, it s recommended to include in the subject field your name that you are a student at SAIC are following up. Don t forget to include contact information in the follow-up as well, you should make it easy for the employer to reach you. 3
#1 Cover Letter Sample E-MAIL COVER LETTER To From Introduction e-mail with Cover Letter Attached Dear Mrs. Hireme, I am writing to apply for the Arts Administration Assistant Internship position at Hireme Gallery. I received a lead for this position To from the Career + Co-op Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where I am a senior in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. I feel that I would be a great fit for this position given my knowledge of contemporary art, fine Fromart skills, experience in graphic design for print the web. I have attached my resume cover letter for your review. You can also view my online portfolio at behance.net/lydiaboyle. Thank School you of the for Art your Institute time of Chicago consideration, student seeking I hope internship to meet with you at your convenience for an interview. Dear Mrs. Hireme, Lydia I am writing Boyle to apply for the Arts Administration Assistant Internship position at Hireme Gallery. I received a lead for this position from the Career + Co-op Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where I am a senior in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. I feel that I would be a great fit for this position given my knowledge of contemporary art, fine art skills, experience in graphic design for print the web. I have attached my resume cover letter for your review. You can also view my online portfolio at behance.net/lydiaboyle. Thank you for your time consideration, I hope to meet with you at your convenience for an interview. Lydia Boyle Lydia_Boyle_resume.pdf (117k) Lydia_Boyle_coverletter.pdf (97k) Send A To Lydia_Boyle_resume.pdf (117k) Introduction From e-mail with NO Cover Letter Attached because employer did not request one To Lydia_Boyle_coverletter.pdf (97k) From Send A School Dear Mrs. of the Hireme, Art Institute of Chicago student seeking internship I am writing to apply for the Arts Administration Assistant Internship position at Hireme Gallery. I received a lead for this Dear position Mrs. from Hireme, the Career + Co-op Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where I am a senior in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. I feel that I would be a great fit for this position given my knowledge of contemporary art, I School fine am writing art skills, of the to apply Art Institute experience for the Arts of Chicago in Administration graphic student design Assistant seeking for print Internship internship the position web. at Hireme Gallery. I received a lead for this position from the Career + Co-op Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where I am a senior in the Bachelor Dear I have Mrs. attached of Hireme, Fine Arts my resume program. I feel cover that letter I would for be your a great review. fit for You this can position also view given my my online knowledge portfolio of contemporary at behance.net/lydiaboyle. art, fine Thank art skills, you for your experience time in consideration, graphic design for I print hope to the meet web. with you at your convenience for an interview. I am writing to apply for the Arts Administration Assistant position at Hireme Gallery. I received a lead for this position from the I Career have attached + Co-op my Center resume at the cover School letter of the for your Art Institute review. You of Chicago can also (SAIC), view my where online I portfolio am a senior at behance.net/lydiaboyle. in the Bachelor of Fine Arts Thank program. you I for feel your that time I would consideration, be a great fit for this I hope position to meet given with my you knowledge at your convenience of contemporary for an interview. art, my fine art skills my experience in graphic design. Lydia Boyle Hireme Gallery has long been an established exciting contemporary art gallery, representing a wide range of conceptuallyminded visually innovative artists. As an epicenter Chicago s contemporary art scene, I value the discourse critical Lydia perspective Boyle Hireme Gallery brings to the public. My work style can be described as creative, collaborative, flexible detail-oriented. I am well versed in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign am comfortable on both MAC PC operating systems. I know I would be an asset to the Hireme team look forward to further discussing my qualifications. I have attached my resume for your review I hope to meet with you at your convenience for an interview. Thank you for your time. Lydia Boyle Lydia_Boyle_resume.pdf (117k) Lydia_Boyle_resume.pdf Lydia_Boyle_coverletter.pdf (117k) (97k) Lydia_Boyle_coverletter.pdf (97k) Send A Send A 4 Career + CO-OP Center
Cover Letter Sample #2 INTERNSHIP APPLICATION Jennifer Stately 5022 N. Hathaway St. Chicago, IL 60602 312-555-5555 jstately@saic.edu March 18, 2014 Lille Atelier Los Angeles, CA Dear Hiring Manager: I would like to express my interest in working for the Lille Atelier as a pattern-making intern this summer. As a fashion design student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), I have conceptualized designed collections, experimented extensively with fabric manipulations, constructed my own garments based off self-generated patterns. Under the guidance of Yanni Friedenhof, a patternmaker who worked for Jill Ser, I am currently constructing a garment inspired by the geography biology of the Arctic. It will be displayed at The Walk, the annual SAIC Fashion Show. I take great pleasure in utilizing my technical skills in garment construction while executing a vision. I have found that persistence, patience, a profound interest in logic-based reasoning have served me well in the reality of my design process. As a fashion design student with a strong work ethic, I believe that I will be an asset to Lille Atelier. Given this opportunity, I would excel as an assistant to the patternmaker flourish in an immersive environment that would not only put my skills to the test, but also push them further. Thank you for your time. Jennifer Stately 5
Cover Letter Sample #3 INTERNSHIP APPLICATION Grace Fond 9124 S. Washington Ave. Chicago, IL. 60601 (312) 555-5555 gracefond@art.net Design & Co. c/o Terry Smith April 28, 2014 6446 N. Lake st. Chicago, IL. 60604 Dear Terry Smith: I am writing to express my interest in the Design Production Internship with Design & Co. for this summer. Currently, I am in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) with an emphasis in Film/Video Visual Communications Design. My interdisciplinary education at SAIC added to my approach to solving design problems would make me an excellent intern for Design & Co.. Design & Co. values total collaboration, drawing upon the diverse skill sets styles of its team members. This approach to creative design production is exactly the type of work environment that I am drawn to. My experience working in a team-based environment on bring strategy design, seeing those projects through to completion demonstrates my organizational professional design skills. Most recently, I have been working on ways to create narratives that extend throughout a company s bring strategy. Examples of these projects include: a redesign of Greenpeace s marketing materials that allows members to view content of projects easily track progress, a design campaign for an education start-up that focuses heavily on user-friendly, adaptive educational games programs. I am excited about the possibility of joining the Design & Co. team, if hired as Design Production Intern, I would bring my unbeatable work ethic creativity to assist the team with design ideas production. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to an opportunity to speak with you in further detail about the position. Grace Fond 6 Career + CO-OP Center
#4 Cover Letter Sample JOB APPLICATION Jeffrey House 4400 N. Central Ave. Chicago, IL. 60660 jhouse@gmail.com Mrs. Green, Director Arts House Chicago 5400 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL, 60630 May 5, 2014 Dear Mrs. Green: I m writing to express my interest in the position of Program Coordinator at Arts House Chicago. With a Master of Arts in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) three years classroom experience, I am a strong cidate for this position. Since 2011, when I began teaching sculpture at After School Matters, I have been dedicated to sharing my passion for education the arts, imparting to my students the confidence skills needed to pursue their goals, whether artistic or academic. The mission of Arts House Chicago is to cultivate independent thinkers socially-active artists, my approach to arts education programming is very much aligned with Arts House Chicago s. Having worked with a variety of ages learning styles, I have become highly adaptive to the needs of my students. For example, in my role at After School Matters, I noticed students becoming interested in crowd-funded art projects, so I designed a workshop on Kickstarter invited a representative to attend share best practices with the students. This workshop was well attended, one student even ran her own campaign raising $2,000 for a sculpture project. My work style can be described as creative, collaborative, flexible, organized detail-oriented. These traits are reflected in my ability to adapt to various teaching environments, to propose implement solutions to problems. If hired as Program Coordinator, I would apply my experience in arts education to organize workshops conduct community outreach, while also educating students based on my own experience at SAIC as a practicing artist. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to discussing this position with you in further detail. Jeffrey House 7