Writing an Employment Cover Letter

Writing an Employment Cover Letter By: Tiffany Santos-Smith

Language Arts/Writing 10th Grade

Purpose: To understand the purpose of a cover letter and learn how to compose one of your own. Objectives: • Produce letters (e.g., business, letters to the editor, job applications) that follow the conventional style appropriate to the text and that include appropriate details and exclude extraneous details • Edit to improve sentence fluency, grammar and usage. • Use correct spelling conventions. • Use correct punctuation and capitalization.

What is a cover letter? A cover letter is a job application letter that you send along with your resume to your potential employer. * Other names for a cover letter are: • Covering letter • Motivation letter

What is the purpose of a cover letter? • expresses your interest in a job • introduces you and communicates the job qualifications you possess to your potential employer • expresses why you are a good candidate for the position you are applying for

What are the essential parts or “nuts & bolts” that compose a cover letter? • Header • Introduction • Body • Closing

Organizing the nuts and bolts of your cover letter. Header: this should include your personal contact information Name Address Phone Number E-mail Address

For Example… Ms. Taylor Swift 90210 Music Lane 679-487-9121 tswift@hotmail.com

Introduction: this portion of the letter includes your salutation, briefly state; • your interest in the specific position • your job qualifications • your values and work ethic in regards to the company

Body: use this portion of the letter to; • Express why your job qualifications make you a great candidate for the job • Explain how you can be an asset or benefit to the company • Highlight special skills and relevant experience

Closing: state how you would like to follow-up with the employer with; • Making a phone call • Inviting them to contact you at their convenience AND • Thank them for taking the time to consider you for the position

Resources • The Owl at Purdue. Retrieved June 24, 2009, from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/723/01/ • Wikipedia. Cover Letter. Retrieved June 24th, 2009, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_letter

Test it Out! Answer the following review questions. Question #1 Question #2 Question #3

Question #1 What is the purpose of a cover letter? • A job application letter that you send to cover up the fact that you are not qualified for the position. • A job application letter that you send along with your resume to a potential employer. • A job application letter that you send to an employer to accept employment.

Question #2 What are the 4 essential parts or “nut and bolts” of a cover letter? • header, introduction, body, and closing • greeting, introduction, body, and closing • header, salutation, body, and closing

Question #3 What are 2 things that you want to make sure to include in the body of your cover letter? • Your qualifications and age • Your skills and hobbies • Your qualifications and work ethic

Writing an Employment Cover Letter