Cover Letter Checklist 20 point assignment

_____ Cover letter needs to be sent via Digital Drop Box, but the body of your Word document should begin with an E-mail format (To:, From: Subject: with the resume attached) and in the correct business letter format (1 point) Heading should _____ Include the employer representatives name & title. If this is not available just include name of company and web address (1 point) _____ Begin with Dear Mr./Ms./Name & Title or Dear Human Resource Manager (if name is unknown) and use a colon (not a comma) (1 point) In the first paragraph, be sure to include _____ The specific position for which you are applying (1 point) _____ How you learned about the position (ex: Careerbuilder, Newspaper, or networking contact) (1 point) _____ Motivation/appeal for why you are targeting this company (ex: reputation, expanding, specialty, etc) (2 points) In the second and third paragraph, be sure to _____ State your degree/education (1 point) _____ Discuss/connect your related experiences to the qualifications requested by the employer using key words, terms phrases that are meaningful to the employer and demonstrate your knowledge of the industry (3 points) _____ Describe how your qualifications and/or experiences will benefit the company/industry in terms of transferable and/or soft skills, such as leadership and communication (3 points) In the third and fourth paragraph (closing), be sure to include the _____ Next step that you would like to occur (ex. Schedule an interview) (1 point) _____ Refer reader to your resume (1 point) _____State that you will follow up and encourage employer to contact you for more information (2 points) _____ Include a closing phrase such as Sincerely followed by a comma; include your name, email address, and phone number after the blank line (2 points) Overall _____ Contractions should not be used (minus 1 point each) _____ Sentences should not end with a preposition (minus1 point each) _____ Needs to be error free (no spelling errors or typos) (minus 1 point each) _____ Layout, Design, Structure (minus 3-5 points) _____ Content weak (minus 3-5 points) When submitting your assignments please consistently use the following format: (Your last name), (Your first name), Assignment (Number) PD 2 (Section).