Paragraph 1: Who you are, what the job is you are
applying for. Prefacing sentence about the skills/stories you will tell. Paragraph 2: Strong story about you doing something in the past that will serve the company. Paragraph 3: Another strong story about you doing something in the past that will serve the company. Paragraph 4: Thank you for your time, I’m available for contact at x, y, x. Paragraph 1
I am writing in response to the Mechanical Engineering
position available in Lima, OH listed on the company website. I am a junior mechanical engineering student minoring in electrical and computer engineering so I can offer a more diverse range of knowledge to the team. I am interested in working for General Dynamics because of your strong presence in the defense industry especially among the Navy. During my time in the Navy my ship visited the Nassco ship yard in San Diego several times where I worked side by side with Nassco employees. I have witnessed by General Dynamic’s ability to effectively and efficiently repair and build ships and believe I could be an asset to the team with my knowledge I gained during my time as a Hull Maintenance Technician. Cover Letter Tips
1. You Language: The main goal of the cover letter is to illustrate
how your prior work experiences will benefit the company. What you can do for them. ÷ Wrong: “I’ve wanted to work for your company since I was little—this would be my dream job, and it would mean so much to me if you would grant me an interview!” ÷ Right: “I was very excited to find this open position because I’ve been following your company since its startup phase. My thorough understanding of your company’s background and mission means that I can jump in and make contributions to your marketing team right away.” (this still needs more detail) 2. Interest: Show interest in what this company does compared to other companies. Why do you want to work for me instead of someone else? Search their company ethos. (do this in passing) 3. Addressee: Find the name of the person you’re actually writing to. 4. Storytelling: Focus on 2 or 3 quality stories of you doing something successfully (show that you not only did something but that you did it well) that will directly transfer to the company. In doing so quantify and use the keywords from your t-chart. 5. Formatting: Follow basic “block letter formatting.” Cover Letter Mistakes
1. Too much or too little: You want to build a picture of
yourself as a success, but do so scannably. You also don’t want just two sentence paragraphs. 2. Stating anything negative: There’s just no reason to list what you don’t have. Do not say: “Though I don’t have as many years of experience as you ask for, I do have these skills….” 3. Regurgitating your resume: There’s a reason why your cover letter and resume are separate documents. The cover letter should tell a story. 4. Not customizing your letter to the company and job ad. Show Don’t Tell: Cover Letter Tips During my undergraduate years, I P.E.A.: Build an image of have acquired considerable you doing something in managerial and supervisory experience. While an administrative each of your 2 body intern at a nursing home, I made significant contributions to the paragraphs. efficiency of the organization by analyzing the functions of seven ¡ Point: I have developed departments and developing this skill you want. administrative systems to coordinate the efforts of 48 staff members. As ¡ Evidence: Here’s an program assistant in a Cornell residence hall, I supervise six resident example of me doing this advisors who, in turn, are responsible for 200 students. In my role as skill. volunteer coordinator for the Catholic ¡ Analysis: Here’s how my Church, I created and continue to oversee a corps of 50 adult and experience with this skill adolescent parishioners who plan social and educational activities for a directly translates to your parish of 1,000 members. specific company. What’s good and bad about this? Point-Evidence-Analysis
As a Hull Maintenance Technician one of my duties was
plumbing. The ship I was on was built in the early 80’s and I was onboard during the early 2000’s. There were always piping issues that needed to be troubleshot and fixed. Sometimes the issue was quickly found and fixed, sometimes the issue wasn’t easily found and other times the fix required some extra effort. For instance I once had to work with people from the main propulsion division to tag a gas turbine engine out of service so that I could braze a pin hole leak on a y-valve for the cooling water recirculation line. Experiences like that will help me to have a keen eye and be an effective team member while troubleshooting and analyzing mechanical systems for General Dynamics.