COVER LETTER WRITING

Right Format
Full- block style
1 – 2 pages long
Leave wide margins (minimum 1 inch)
Use clean, simple font (Arial or Times
New Roman
Refer example on page 151
Opening paragraph
State the position you’re applying
for
State the source (name of
newspaper & date)
Body paragraphs
Education experience
Work experience
Relate to the qualifications stated in the
advertisement
Skills, talents, accomplishments and personality
traits.
Describe why you think you’d fit into the company
Closing paragraph
Mention the enclosed résumé, give them a reason to
read it in-depth
e.g. For my complete employment history and
applicable computer skills, please see the included
resume
Request an interview. Suggest a time and a way for you
to follow up
Language of Cover Letters
Simple, direct language
I saved the company a fortune when I instituted a new
system for scheduling. (less effective)

I saved the company more than one million dollars in

production when I instituted a new system for
production scheduling. (more effective)
Tenses in Cover Letters
As you can see from my resume, I
______________ (study) computer
programming in the Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia for three years.
After I ____________ (graduate) in
1997, I ____________ (work) for
STU in Kuala Lumpur for two years.
Tenses in Cover Letters
Working for STU _________ (give) me
considerable experience in automated
billing systems. My responsibilities
________________ (include) overall
product design. In addition, I
___________ (work) closely with the
customer service department.
Tenses in Cover Letters
I _______________ (participate) in
many extracurricular activities. These
experiences have _______________
(equip) me with excellent
communication skills, hard working,
responsible and _______________ (give)
me intuition on strong analytical and
strong leadership.
Reminders
Write individual letters
Proofread carefully
Appearance counts
Use clear, simple sentences
Keep copies of your resume and cover letter
Dear Sir/ Madam=Yours faithfully
Dear Mr. Adnan-Yours sincerely