A cover letter is a document that accompanies your resume and introduces you and your qualifications to a potential employer. A good cover letter makes the hiring manager want to learn more about you, read your resume and possibly invite you for an interview.
The same steps apply for writing a good cover letter as they do for writing a resume. You should always tailor your cover letters for the specific position and company you are interested in.
There are a few different types of cover letters. Traditional cover letters follow a standard format with an opening, a summary of your qualifications and a closing. T-letters use a bullet format to match your qualifications to the needs of the role.
Every cover letter follows a general format that can be adapted to the specific need:
- Opening paragraph: State why you are writing; how you learned of the organization or position, and basic information about yourself.
- 2nd paragraph: Tell why you are interested in the employer or type of work the employer does.
- 3rd paragraph: Indicate that you would like the opportunity to interview for a position or to talk with the employer to learn more about their opportunities or hiring plans.
- Remember to always thank the employer for time and consideration.
When completing a T-Letter keep in mind that you are writing to set-up the perfect interview for you. Write it with the following in mind:
- Make it easy for the interviewer to believe that you have all the skills and attributes that the job specification lists
- Emphasize point for point your skills that match their requirements
- Give as much depth as you can as your first interview will probably be with the Company Human Resources representative who will want to get a better understanding of the depth of your skills from the T-Letter mapped to your resume
- Add enough technical detail required by the job specification to get you to the hiring manager
- Give examples as for very technical jobs the hiring manager will have you interview with his/her technical team to ensure your qualifications are on target with their needs
To write a T-format cover letter:
- Make two columns for the middle section of the cover letter: the left column is “Requirements” and the right column is “Qualifications”
- Go through the job description and pick out what you think are the must-haves for the job.
- A job description might have a long list of skills. Choose the top three to five requirements that match your experience.
- These requirements will become the mini sections under the “Requirements” column.
- For each of the requirements in the “Qualifications” column, reference examples of your work that demonstrate how you meet each of the hiring manager’s primary needs.
- Remember to always thank the employer for time and consideration.
Beware of potential table formatting issues: the table format might be disrupted with online submission. You could use bullet points and/or indentation:
- Requirement / You require: Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Writing, Journalism, English, Computer Science, or Business, or equivalent experience.
- Qualification / I have: Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Communications from Princeton University.
Click here to go Back to "Your Job Search Toolkit"