Cover Letter

Apr 21, 2017 | Piece of Flair | mkoehler |
10 A cover letter showcases your ability to communicate skill sets and experiences you have that qualify you for a certain job. It is an in-depth introduction to your resumé and is organized around the specific requirements listed in a job description. Whether you are looking at a certain job or would just like to have a sample cover letter ready to be tweaked when another opportunity comes around, writing a cover letter is a good exercise that will allow you to apply for a job you have in mind or reflect what jobs you might like to have in the future.

Requirements

Please don’t choose this Piece of Flair just because you feel like it’s easier than something else! If you aren’t actively considering changing jobs, this Piece of Flair just isn’t worth your time.

If you are looking at applying for a certain job, that’s great! You can use the requirements within that job description to develop your cover letter. If you don’t have a particular job in mind, though, consider finding a job posting for a position similar to what you would be interested in. We recommend that you keep that job description on hand so that you can share parts of it in your video reflection on Flipgrid.

Look at some resources online. There is a wealth of information and advice about how to compose the right cover letter for the job you are looking for.

  • Keep your letter to one page, single spaced.
  • Directly link your experiences with at least two of the job requirements.
  • Tell a story: this is not your resumé in more detail. It is meant to support—not repeat—the information found in your resumé.
  • Personalize your letter for the job: Go beyond the listed requirements and consider the organization or school more broadly. Why would you want to work there?

Relationship to Other Pieces of Flair

Consider how your cover letter could be supported by your “LinkedIn” profile or how you could make it easier for someone to get to know all of your strengths through your “Gallery of Student Work” or “About Me” page.

If this doesn’t sound like a good fit for your portfolio, please see other Pieces of Flair for ideas that might work better for you.