Crafting Persuasive Cover Letters for Job Applications

1. GEB 5214 Week 3 Cover Letters Lecture Outline

2. Why Cover Letters? • Name the first two reasons why you need to write a cover letter: • _______________________________________________________________. • _______________________________________________________________. • Communicate strong writing and persuasive skills. • Distinguish yourself from the rest of the candidates.

3. Cover Letters: Purpose • ______________________________ • ______________________________ • To demonstrate your knowledge of company and position • ______________________________ • To represent your ability to state things clearly and concisely.

4. Cover Letter - Don’ts • Don’t _____________________________. • Avoid _____________________________. • Cut ______________________________ ____________________________.

5. Cover Letter - Don’ts • Don’t try _____________________________ • Don’t _____________________________. • Don’t _____________________________.

6. I am writing in reference to the College of Warrington’s posted position for Assistant Director of Student Services for Executive and Professional Masters of Business Administration Programs. This position is of great interest to me due to the interactive nature of the position, which offers a coexistent involvement between the educational practicum and administrative practices within the field of higher institutional learning. As an individual who has recently and first handedly experienced and participated in post-graduate educational studies, having obtained both a Master of Arts from the University of Florida Graduate School and a Juris Doctorate from the Cooley College of Law, I am especially attuned to the needs and trends of this popularly growing, persistently demanding, and constantly ever-changing choice in continuing educational and career study. As such, this posted position with the nationally recognized and renowned University of Florida Masters of Business Administration Program holds the potential to provide an interactive parallel between successful development and progression in higher institutional education and learning, and goal orientation and achievement in administrative policy and practice. Combine this potential with my familiar and insightful recent experiences within the academic arena, coupled with my extensive analytical, interpersonal, professional, and communication experience, and the result proposes to afford both the College of Business and myself a great opportunity to meld my educational and employment concentrations into a succinct and gratifying employment experience. I would welcome the opportunity to become a part of this nationally ranked and recognized program and appreciate your consideration. If you have any questions, or require any additional documentation, please do not hesitate to contact me at my mailing addresses or telephone numbers. [despite saying this the candidate lists only one address in the letter, his home address, without no business or office contacts]

7. Approaches - Perfect Match • If you’re well qualified for the job, ______________________________.

8. I have long been familiar with Van Gogh Entertainment and its role as an industry leader in creating exciting, energetic, realistic 3D environments. As an experienced designer with both CG and CAD experience, I would find particularly gratifying the opportunity to work as a Cinematic Artist with Van Gogh’s caliber of clients and to also help Van Gogh satisfy the needs of clients like LucasFilms and AstraZeneca. Whether working on corporate projects—visualizing airport terminals of the future—or creating museum-quality streetscapes, I bring to each project a strong artistic vision. This vision is complemented by the technical knowledge, project-management skills, and work ethic necessary to deliver high-quality work on tight schedules. Your current need for a Cinematic Artist is an excellent match for my experience and abilities. My relevant details include • BFA in design, coupled with a year’s internship experience in 3D visualization, producing small- and large-scale media productions. • 1 year’s experience working with 3D StudioMax, turning clients’ architectural design ideas into digital reality. • Proven abilities in managing design projects from concept to completion and in working collaboratively with other members of the business team (as team member or team leader). • Artistic innovation and creativity enhanced by strong research abilities, attention to detail, and willingness to do whatever it takes to “get it right.” Once you have the opportunity to review my resume and demo CD, I am confident you will agree that my skills, experience, educational background, creativity, and ambition can be valuable to Van Gogh. As I frequently travel to the LA area on business, I am available for interviews with only a few days’ notice. I will call you in the next week to set up an interview appointment.

9. Approaches - Close Match If your general background fits, but the job description doesn’t really, _____________________________.

10. Please accept my enclosed resume as an application for Desktop Technology Consultant with the Central Intelligence Agency. My education, work experience, and leadership skills will make me an excellent employee who will communicate and collaborate with team members to provide customized consultation and services to desktop users. Recently, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a Specialization in Computer Information Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. My progression towards this degree included minors in Computer Information Science and Engineering as well as Economics. Currently I am a Decision Information Science graduate student at the University of Florida. As a Systems Administrator for the U.S. House of Representatives, I utilized these skills daily. Functioning independently as a consultant on a regular basis, I worked closely with various levels of personnel to identify and resolve problems, exchanged information and ideas resulting in specific courses of action, and used initiative, persuasion, and knowledge of products and services to gain support for my proposals. Additionally, I completed several in-house protocol classes for networking and security with U.S. House Information Resources. Presently I am serving a commission as Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. As an intelligence analyst, my position requires great focus, initiative, and responsibility. I provide knowledge to support commanders during Army missions and have led and acted as a team member on many IT project teams. Keeping abreast of changing technology is invaluable in my field. Currently, I actively participate in the Association of Information Technology Professionals and the Society of Women Engineers. For further details about my qualifications and work experience, I have attached a copy of my resume. I live in the DC metro area and am available at your convenience for this position. Please do not hesitate to contact me at at (352) 555-1212.. Thank you for taking the time to review my qualifications. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

11. Approaches - Big Stretch If you are making a transition from one industry or field to another, _____________________________. • What are two strategies you should also follow? 1. 2.

12. Cover Letter Strategies • Send to a ______________________________. • Avoid __________________.

13. First Paragraph • State the ______________________________ Demonstrate ______________________________ Mention ______________________________ • If you know anyone at the company, _____________________________.

14. First Paragraph • Hook your audience by tying _____________________________.

15. Ineffective Openings • Dear Mr. Bradford:My experience working as an attractions host at the Disney-MGM Studios will enable me to understand the philosophies and daily activities at the Walt Disney World resort. I was a part of the opening crew of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Sunset Boulevard. Because it was a new attraction, we had to make important decisions on our own as to how to best operate the attraction. I have demonstrated that I can work well with others by my experience in the Walt Disney College Program. • Dear Mr. Danson:I am writing in response to your ad in Sunday's Sentinel for a medical salesperson.

16. Ineffective Openings Dear Mrs. Cory:While I was visiting Oregon last year, the name of your station came up repeatedly in discussion as having a compelling newscast. Given my interest in broadcasting as a career, I have taken the liberty of enclosing my resume.

17. Effective Opening Please accept my enclosed resume as an application for the Financial Services position advertised by your firm in the October 30, 2004 edition of The Gainesville Sun. I am a recent graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s degree awarded summa cum laude in Business Administration, majoring in Finance. I have also held an internship with McDonald Smith Financial Group in Daytona Beach for two summers. I know that I have the education and experience to make a positive contribution to your company, and I am excited at the prospect of working for your award-winning financial services team.

18. Second Paragraph RESEARCH and MATCH: • Highlight ______________________________ • Sell ______________________________. • Personalize ______________________________ • Illustrate ______________________________

19. Second Paragraph • Provide ______________________________ • Tie ______________________________ • Cite ______________________________ • Phrase ______________________________, not your own objectives.

20. To Whom It May Concern: {the director’s name is clearly posted on the job description site} • My name is P.M., and I am interested in the position of Assistant Director of Student Services as posted in the Gainesville Sun. I have attached my resume with this letter. • I am by training and experience a teacher. During my tenure teaching in the public and private schools, as well as in a quasi-administrative position in a very large school district, I feel I have become a casualty of the public education system. I find myself burned out and seeking to locate a position in which I can use by extraordinary language, organizational, and creative talents in a different capacity. • My original degree is in Secondary Social Science Education. I wasted to be a history teacher I found the teaching market is overwhelmed with history teachers, and as I am not able to coach a sport, I settled for teaching other subjects such as writing, reading, and literature. These are natural functions for me, and I did not mind. I obtained a master’s degree in gifted education, being drawn to the creative and more intelligent students. I am a very good teacher. • However, being a part of a very difficulty system for nine years, I am ready for a career change. The what, I don’t yet know. But I am very professional and capable in any job. If I do not have inherent experience on my resume in the field for which I am interested, please know that I am very well-educated in many subjects, and I learn very quickly. I taught myself HTML and website design, as well as photography and painting, all of which I consider myself very successful in. • I appreciate your open-mindedness in considering me for the position in question. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or to set up an interview.

21. Last Paragraph Commit to ACTION: • Take the ______________________________ • State ______________________________. • Mention ______________________________.

22. Nine Deadly Sins • Name four of the nine deadly sins: • ________________________________________ • ________________________________________ • ________________________________________ • ________________________________________