1. By Brock Erdahl and Marina Karpova

2.  Application Letter  Used to apply for a specific job or internship opening  Meant to help obtain an interview  Letter of Inquiry  Used to search for potential job or internship openings in a specific company or organization  Meant to obtain information and possibly an interview  Networking Letter  Used to introduce yourself to a specific person who is currently working in the career field that you are interested in  Meant to help obtain information, not a job or internship

3.  Express your interest in a current job or internship opening  Show how your skills match with the needs of the employer  Demonstrate your experience and accomplishments with specific examples  Persuade the employer to grant you an interview

4.  Research the company or organization online by:  Reading articles about the company or organization  Reading the “About Us” section of their website  Finding their mission, goals, and values  Learning about their products and services  Learning about their industry as a whole  Create a qualifications chart by:  In one column, make a list of qualifications that the employer wants  In the other column, make a list of skills and experiences that you have that match the qualifications

6.  One page long, 8½“ x 11” document size  If printed for traditional mail, use white or off white stationery paper  Use a standard business letter layout  Your cover letter should be in the same font as your resume, ranging from 11 to 12 point in such type as Arial, Courier, Helvetica, or Times  Your contact information may be either aligned with the left of the page or centered  Align all paragraphs to the left of the page  Leave a space between each paragraph  Leave three spaces between your closing and typed name

7.  Your Contact Information  Date  Employer’s Contact Information  Salutation  Introductory Paragraph  Body Paragraph(s)  Concluding Paragraph  Closing and Signature

8. 1225 Hampton Boulevard Louisville, KY 40225 January 16, 2001 Ms. Dianne C. Strand Manager of Human Resources Kentucky Industries, Inc. 2900 Boulevard Louisville, KY 40207 Dear Ms. Strand: I am applying for the position of systems analyst which was advertised on December 18 with Career Center at Bellarmine University. The position appears to fit very well with my education, experience, and career interests. My background and career goals seem to match your job requirements well. I am confident that I can perform the job effectively. Furthermore, I am genuinely interested in the position and in working for Kentucky Industries. Your firm has an excellent reputation and comes highly recommended to me. With a major in management information systems, I have training on mainframes, minicomputers, and microcomputers as well as with a variety of software programs and applications. My practical experience in my university’s computer center as a programmer, and as a student consultant for system users, gave me valuable exposure to complex computer operations. Additionally, I worked as a cooperative education student in computing operations for a large bank where I gained knowledge of financial systems. My enclosed resume provides more details on my qualifications. I appreciate your consideration of my request for a personal interview to discuss my qualifications further, and to learn more about this opportunity. I can be reached at (502) 683-4388. Sincerely yours, Lisa Watson

9.  Use good action verbs  Use confident language  Remember to only include positive information in your cover letter, but never include negative information  Choose two to four skills and experiences from your resume and explain them on the cover letter, but never simply repeat your resume in complete sentence form  Write a cover letter that is both personalized and specific to the job opening you are applying for

10.  Your Contact Information  Name  Mailing address  Telephone number  Email address  Date the Letter Is Sent

11.  Employer’s Contact Information  Only include this information if you have it.  Parts:  Name and title  Mailing address  Organization name  Organization mailing address  Organization telephone number  Organization email address  Salutation  Address your letter to a specific person if possible  Use a position title instead if you cannot find a specific name

13.  A cover letter should include three types of paragraphs, i.e. an introductory paragraph, body paragraph(s), and concluding paragraph  Ideally, this section of your cover letter should be comprised of 3 to 5 paragraphs and be approximately 250 words long

14.  State the job opening you are applying to,  Identify the employer and/or department,  Describe how you learned about the job opening  Newspaper, online posting, referral, etc.  Provide a thesis  One or two sentences long  Presents the main reason that an employer should schedule an interview with you  Use the job positing to determine the two or three most important qualifications  Explain how your skills and experiences are a good match  Approximately three sentences long

16.  Expand upon your thesis by describing your strengths (two to four of them) in detail  Specific skills  Relevant educational, professional, and extracurricular experience  Personal qualities  Knowledge of the job, company or organization, and industry that you are applying for  Emphasize and explain some parts of your resume, DO NOT simply repeat it or make a list  One to three paragraphs long  Three to five sentences for each paragraph

17.  Skill-Based  Demonstrate that you meet the basic qualifications for a job or internship  Do NOT simply repeat the qualifications listed in a job ad  Examples: analyzed, built, created, designed, planned, programmed, quantified, taught, trained, and wrote  Results-Based  Indicate that you will help to make a company or organization more successful  These keywords are most effective when paired with numbers  Examples: generated, implemented, increased, initiated, produced, redesigned, reduced, reformulated, and upgraded  Recognition-Based  Prove that you are an outstanding student and worker  This is valuable since it shows that other people have recognized your contributions  Examples: awarded, chosen, credited, honored, promoted, and selected

19.  Restate your thesis using different words  Tell employers you have enclosed or attached your resume to the cover letter  Request an interview  Thank the employer for his or her time and consideration  Approximately three sentences long

21.  Use a standard closing, especially “Sincerely”  If you are mailing a hard copy, leave 3-4 lines for your signed name  If you are emailing the document, simply type your name on the line below your closing

23.  Do NOT start your cover letter with “To whom it may concern.”  Do NOT write the wrong company or organization anywhere in your cover letter.  Do NOT mention salary requirements unless they are specifically requested in a job ad.  Do NOT say how and when you will follow up on your application submission.

24.  Do NOT include any negative information in your cover letter.  Do NOT claim to be the ideal candidate for a job opening.  Do NOT simply talk about your skills and qualities instead of proving that you have them.  Do NOT write about personal experiences that are irrelevant to the position you are applying to  Do NOT use other people’s words or templates  Do NOT have any jokes in your cover letter

25.  Is it free of all typos and spelling errors?  Did you have someone else proofread for grammatical and punctuation errors?  Did you type it in the same font as your resume?  Is it organized and prioritized?  Does it use a lot of action verbs to describe your experience, skills, and knowledge?  Does it specifically address the person in charge of hiring for the job or internship opening?  If it is a written letter, was it personally signed by you in blue or black ink?  If it is a written letter, was it printed on the same color paper as your resume?

26.  Does it specifically state the job or internship title for which you are applying?  Does it specifically state how you found out about the job or internship posting?  Does it specifically address the qualifications listed in the job or internship posting?  Does it emphasize your skills and experiences?  Does it show that you are enthusiastic about the position for which you are applying?  Does it avoid statements using “I feel”, “I think”, and “I believe”?  Does it describe your personal attributes that relate to company culture and would help you to fit in the organization?  Does it include the names of the people who referred you?  Does it have the right number of paragraphs (3-5)?  Does it express your interest in scheduling an interview with a company representative?  Does it provide your contact information?  Does it thank the employer for his or her time and consideration?