BJC212 Advanced

Writing
COVER LETTTER
LECTURE 3
Writing an Application letter

To be considered for almost any position, you will need

to write a letter of application.
 Such a letter introduces you,
 Explains your purpose for writing,
 Highlights a few of your experiences or skills,
 Requests an opportunity to meet personally with the
potential employer.
What is a cover letter?

■ A letter sent with another document or a parcel of

goods explaining the contents.
■ A cover letter is your introduction to an employer
■ Because first impressions count, you should take great
care to write an impressive and effective cover letter.
■ A cover letter not only tells of your accomplishments
but also reveals how effectively you can communicate.
What is a cover letter …..
■ The appropriate content, format and tone for
cover letters vary according to the position and
the personality of the applicant and the one who
is writing it.
■ You will need to ask several people (if possible)
who have had experience in obtaining jobs or in
hiring in your field to critique a draft of your
cover letter and to offer suggestions for revision.
What to include in a cover letter?

■ Try to limit your letter to a single page. Be succinct

(briefly and clearly expressed).
■ Assess the employer's needs and your skills. Then
try to match them in the letter in a way that will
appeal to the employer's self-interest.
■ As much as possible, tailor your letter to each job
opportunity.
■ Demonstrate, if possible, some knowledge of the
organization to which you are applying.
What to include in a cover letter ….
■ Write in a style that is mature but clear; avoid long and intricate
sentences and paragraphs; avoid jargon.
■ Use action verbs and the active voice; convey confidence, optimism
and enthusiasm coupled with respect and professionalism.
■ Show some personality, but avoid hard-sell, gimmicky or
unorthodox letters. Start fast; attract interest immediately.
■ Arrange the points in a logical sequence; organize each paragraph
around a main point.
Gimmicky: something that is not  serious or of real value that is
used to attract people's attention or interest temporarily, especially to
make them buy something
 The basic elements of a cover letter

■ Greeting: Address the cover letter to the proper

person.
■ Opening: Write a personable, inviting opening
paragraph that highlights how the person’s skills
perfectly fit to the job.
■ Hook: Highlight past achievements as they relate to the
job being applied for.
■ Skills: Highlight additional relevant skills, such as
computer languages or certifications.
■ Close: Briefly recap strengths of a candidate, and
include contact information.
Cover letter
■ A lot of job seekers today wonder if a cover letter is still
appropriate to send with your resume — the answer is
yes!
■ Make a customized version of a cover letter that talks
about how your skills will benefit the particular company
that you want to work for
■ Demonstrate how you have done some research into what
the organization's pain points are.
■ Remember: You are selling yourself and the person you
are writing about in a cover letter, but the employer has to
want to buy.
 Cover letter sample
[Date]
Ms. Stephanie Namugambe
Human Resource Manager
PAX Insurance
P. O. Box 123
Kampala -Uganda
■ Re: Customer Service Representative Post
■ Dear Ms. Stephanie
■ I was excited to see your opening for a customer service
representative, and I hope to be invited for an interview.
■ My background includes serving as a customer service
associate within both call-center and retail environments.
Most recently, I worked on the customer service desk for
Discount-Mart, where my responsibilities included
handling customer merchandise returns, issuing
refunds/store credits, flagging damaged merchandise for
shipment back to vendors and providing back-up
cashiering during busy periods.
■ Previously, I worked within two high-volume customer-support
call centers for a major telecommunications carrier and a
satellite television services provider. In these positions, I
demonstrated the ability to resolve a variety of issues and
complaints (such as billing disputes, service interruptions or
cutoffs, repair technician delays/no-shows and equipment
malfunctions). I consistently met my call-volume goals,
handling an average of 56 to 60 calls per day.
■ In addition to this experience, I gained considerable customer
service skills during my part-time employment as a waitress
and restaurant host while in high school.
■ I also bring to the table strong computer proficiencies in MS
Word, MS Excel and CRM database applications. Please see the
accompanying resume for details of my experience and
education.
■ I am confident that I can offer you the customer service,
communication and problem-solving skills you are seeking. Feel
free to call me at 0753 555 555 (home) or 0785-885-550 (cell)
to arrange an interview. Thank you for your time.
■ I look forward to learning more about this opportunity!
■ Sincerely
■ Brian Ocitti
How to organize a cover letter

Below is one possible way to arrange the content of your

cover letter.
Opening Paragraph
■ State why you are writing.
■ Establish a point of contact (advertisement in a specific
place for a specific position; a particular person's
suggestion that you write): give some brief idea of who
you are (a Senior engineering student at UW; a recent
Ph.D. in History).
Paragraph(s) 2(-3)
■ Highlight a few of the most salient points from your enclosed
resume.
■ Arouse your reader's curiosity by mentioning points that are
likely to be important for the position you are seeking.
■ Show how your education and experience suit the requirements
of the position, and, by elaborating on a few points from your
resume, explain what you could contribute to the organization.
■ Your letter should complement, not restate, your resume.
Closing paragraph

■ Stress action. Politely request an interview at the

employer's convenience.
■ Indicate what supplementary material is being sent under
separate cover and offer to provide additional information
(a portfolio, a writing sample, a sample publication, a
dossier, an audition tape), and explain how it can be
obtained.
■ Thank the reader for his/her consideration and indicate
that you are looking forward to hearing from him/her .
 Questions to guide your writing

■ Who is my audience?
■ What is my objective?
■ What are the objectives and needs of my audience?
■ How can I best express my objective in relationship to my
audience's objectives and needs?
■ What specific benefits can I offer to my audience and how can I
best express them?
■ What opening sentence and paragraph will grab the attention of
my audience in a positive manner and invite them to read
further?
■ How can I maintain and heighten the interest and desire of the reader
throughout the letter?
■ What evidence can I present of my value to my audience?
■ If a resume is enclosed with the letter, how can I best make the letter
advertise the resume?
■ What closing sentence or paragraph will best assure the reader of my
capabilities and persuade him or her to contact me for further
information?
■ Is the letter my best professional effort?
■ Have I spent sufficient time drafting, revising, and proofreading the
letter?
*From Ronald L. Kraunich, William J. Bauis. High Impact Resumes & Letters. Virginia
Beach, VA: Impact Publications, 1982
 Things You Should Never Put in Your Cover Letter

1. Stating what you are lacking

■ Although I do not yet have…' If you do not have something, why are
you emphasizing it? Write about what you do have that will be of
interest to the potential employer.
■ If you are looking for a job, then you are in the sales business. What
you write in your cover letter should most effectively sell the skills,
experience and abilities that you do have, as opposed to emphasizing
those things that are lacking.
■ Emphasizing a weakness on your cover letter may be costing you the
job." – Lavie Margolin, consultant and career coach
 2. Writing the wrong company name
■ "Nothing will get your cover letter thrown in
the recycling bin faster than giving the wrong
company name.
■ Carefully check your cover letter to make sure all
the information is accurate, including the position
you are applying for and the correct spelling of the
hiring manager,
3. Lying about your experience
■ "The worst thing is to exaggerate or
provide false information.”
4. Not proofreading
■ "Typos are one of the top mistakes job seekers make when it
comes to cover letters.
■ Spell-check is your friend. Use it, but don't rely on it.
■ Print out your cover letter, read it from start to finish and make
sure there aren't any typos before sending it out.
■ Your cover letter is the first impression you make on a hiring
manager — make sure it's a good one."
5. Explaining why you quit your last
job
■ "The worst thing a potential employee can do is
to explain why they left their current or former
position.
■ It's like starting out a first date by talking about
your ex! I don't want to hear about your past; I
want to hear about your now and future, and how
you are going to become an asset to my company."
– Kim Kaupe, founder, ZinePak
6. Providing unsolicited salary information

■ "Salary information, unless they are specifically asked

to do so, particularly if there is a disparity between
what is advertised or indicated in the ad they are
responding to. No prospective employer wants to hire
someone who is only about the money!" – Lisa
Benson, staffing director, 
Mary Kraft Staffing & HR Solutions
7. Taking the wrong approach
■ "One of the most common mistakes that applicants make when
writing their letters is to include statements along the lines of 'I
believe I would be a good fit for this job…' Recruiters and hiring
managers don't really care what the candidates believe about their
qualifications; they will assess the qualifications themselves.
■ Instead, applicants should include something like, 'I offer the
following qualifications for your consideration.' Then, they should
list the qualifications relevant to the position for which they are
applying." – Caroline McClure, principal, ScoutRock
8. Focusing on yourself
■ "The worst thing a candidate can do in their
cover letter is make it all about themselves and
what they're looking for. The best thing to do is
focus on why they'll be a great fit, how they'll
make a contribution and what they've done, or
will do, to support this." – Ian Yates, co-founder
and managing director, Fitzii
 9. Bad-mouthing your old boss
■ "Saying anything negative in your cover letter will not
help your chances of landing a job. For example,
saying that you're looking for a new opportunity
because your previous employer was unfair or you had
an incompetent boss will only make you look bad.
Oftentimes, if this type of negative information is in
the cover letter, recruiters won't even look at the
résumé." – Tracey Russell, recruiter, Naviga
Recruiting & Executive Search
 10. Including a head shot
■ "The absolute worst thing candidates can put on their
cover letter is a head shot. I know this is going to
come as a shock to some of the more photogenic
people out there — especially people coming from
careers as Realtors or bankers, where it's normal to
include a studio-quality photo on the corner of all
written correspondence — but it's really tacky on
cover letters." – Tyson Spring, senior consultant,
business development, Elever Professional
11. Disclosing your objective
■ "The worst thing a candidate can include in their letter
is an objective. If the objective does not perfectly align
with the company's objective, they will immediately
stop reading and move on to the next person." – Nina
Parr, co-founder and CMO, The Love Your Job Project
12. Underselling yourself

■ "The very worst and mind-boggling mistake that

candidates make is to deliberately undersell
themselves. Candidates will write stuff like, 'I'm
probably not the best candidate...' or, 'You probably
have many more qualified candidates lined up…' and
other similar self-defeating phrases." – Mark Slack,
résumé consultant and career adviser, Resume Genius
 13. Using clichés
■ "Don't use buzzwords. Including descriptors such as
'detail-oriented,' 'hardworking,' 'team player' and
'proactive' don't tell HR managers anything about your
experience. Anyone can write those words for the sake
of including them." – Bob Kovalsky, senior vice
president, Adecco Staffing
14. Getting too personal
■ "I think the worst thing I have seen is when there is
excessive oversharing in a cover letter. This is usually
along the lines of, 'My spouse left me and I never
finished school, and I have to raise my two kids.' Other
turnoffs include age, religion and more. To most of us,
these topics are naturally off-limits, but every now and
then, one of these crosses my desk." – Lisa McAteer,
recruitment consultant, McNeill Nakamoto
Recruitment Group
15. Being arrogant

■ "The worst thing is a candidate overselling him

or herself, or being boastful about
accomplishments and strengths. It is a fine line
between confident and arrogant. Have someone
objective proofread your cover letter!" – Sue
Hardek, managing partner, Sue Hardek
& Associates
Be yourself do not act yourself
out because you will not be
able to maintain the acted
self!