Microsoft Word - Cover Letter and References.doc.docx

CRAFTINGAPROFESSIONALRESUME

COVERLETTERSANDREFERENCES

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Pre

aredb

:De

artmentofEconomics&EconomicsLeadershi

Council

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COVERLETTERS

Thepurposeofacoverletteristoencourageanemployertointerviewyou.Aswithall writtenmaterialthatyousend to an

employer,acoverlettershouldbepersuasiveandpresentyouin a positive light. A cover letter also functions as a writing

sample,soitisimportantthatitisengaging,convincing,professionalinappearance,grammaticallycorrect,andfreeoftypos.

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Narrowlytailoryourcoverlettertoeachjobforwhichyouapply.Massmailingsusinggenericlanguageareineffective.Tailoring

eachcoverletterwillrequireresearchingboththejobandtheemployer.Yourcoverlettercanillustratethatyouunderstand

theposition’srequiredqualifications,dutiesandresponsibilities.Onceyouhaveaclearunderstandingoftheposition,useyour

coverlettertoexplainhowyourexperienceandeducationwillbenefittheemployer.

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Yourcoverlettershouldhighlightthestrengthsandabilitieslistedonyourresume.Mostemployerswhoarereadingresumes

havetheirregularjobstoperform.Yourcoverlettershouldhighlight the one or two items you hope they will see on your

resumeintheshorttimetheyhavetoglanceatit.Ifyourresumeisparticularlythin,youmayuseaspecificexampletoillustrate

askill,butalwaysbeselectiveandconcise.Anythingmentionedshouldrelatetothedesiredposition.

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Alwaysincludeacoverletterwhenyousendaresumetoanemployeraboutapostedposition.Belowareguidelinestoassist

youindraftingatargeted,convincingcoverletter.Usethemailunlessemailisrequested.Avoidcommunicatingviatexting.

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BASICCOVERLETTERREQUIREMENTS

Acoverlettershouldfollowtraditional,conservativeformattingforbusinesscorrespondence:selectthesameresume‐quality,

white,off‐white,orbeigepaperforallsubmissions,includingyourresumeandenvelopes.Beespeciallycarefulifyouusealocal

andpermanentaddressonyourletterheadorresumeforsomeapplicationsandnotothers.Hardcopiesofyourresumeand

coverlettershouldbeprintedusingalaserprinter.

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Mailyourletterwithanyrequestedenclosuresinastandard,4”X10”businessenvelopewiththemailingandreturnaddresses

laser‐printed directly on the envelope. If your mailing is too thickforastandardenvelope,usea9”x12”envelopewiththe

mailing and return addresses laser printed on labels. Check that there are no typographical, punctuation, capitalization, or

grammaticalerrors.Ensureyouhaveindicatedanenclosureorenclosuresafteryoursignature.Handedityourcoverletterto

ensurethatitisabsolutelyaccurateandhonest.Ifsubmittingmaterialelectronically,converteachdocumentintoaPDFfile.

Thefilenameshouldincludeyournameandthecontentsofthefileonly(“JohnDoe–Coverletter”or“JohnDoe–Resume”).

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COVERLETTERCONTENT

A cover letter should be concise. A one‐page,single‐sidedletterconsisting of threeshort paragraphsisideal.YOURCOVER

LETTERSHOULDBEASSHORTASPOSSIBLEBUTASLONGASNECESSARYTOCOVERTHESETHREEPOINTS:(1)WHOIAM,

(WHYISTANDOUT),(2)HOWICANADDVALUE,(3)HOWYOUCANREACHME.Bebrief.Potentialemployerswillspend

secondsonyourresumeandevenlesstimeonyourcoverletter.Alengthyletterincreasesthelikelihoodthepotentialemployer

willnotreadtheletteratall.Donotwastetheirtimewithalengthycoverletter.

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Youropeningparagraphintroducesyoutotheemployer,including who you are (e.g., a senior at UC San Diego, a recent

graduate,highrankinclassesorschool,highGPA)andtheposition you seek. If someone has referred you to the employer,

mentionhisorhername.Alsobesuretousethecorrecttermforthetargetemployer(ifyouareapplyingtoafirm,usetheterm

“firm,”andifyouareapplyingtoacompany,usetheterm“company,”etc.).Thisshouldincludedetailedreferencetothe

position,includingthecorrectjobtitleandcompanyname.

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Inyoursecondparagraph,relateyourexperiencetothepositionforwhichyouseekaninterview.Showhowyoucanaddvalue

fortheemployerinyourdesiredposition, drawing connections betweenyourexperience,skills,interests,andthejob

requirements.Givetheemployerstrongreasonstowanttointerviewyou,whilenotoverwhelmingthemwithinformationso

theydonotfeelthereisanythinglefttolearnaboutyou.Ifyouareapplyingforyourfirstjob,orforanareainwhichyouhave

noexperience,demonstratethroughexamplesthatyouareamotivated self‐starter.  Volunteer experience is still experience.

Youcanincludespecificfactsaboutyourselfandyourcourseworktoillustratetheseattributes.Ratherthanstating:“Ihavea

strong work ethic,” you can discuss a situation that provides a concrete example of that attribute: “While working at X, My

supervisoroftencomplimentedmeonmytimeliness,qualityworkproduct,andpositiveattitude.”Dothisconcisely.

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Inyourfinalparagraph,requestaninterview,stateifandhow you will follow up, and thank the employer for his or her

consideration.

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CRAFTINGAPROFESSIONALRESUME

COVERLETTERSANDREFERENCES

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Pre

aredb

:De

artmentofEconomics&EconomicsLeadershi

Council

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WHENTOSENDAFORMALCOVERLETTERVS.ANINTRODUCTORYEMAIL

Youshouldsubmitaformalcoverletterwhenapplyingforapositionthathasbeenadvertised.Followtheinstructionslistedin

thejob postingor on theemployer’s website regardingthe preferredmethodofsubmittingyourapplicationmaterials.Ifthe

instructionsrequestapplicationssentviaemail,attachyourcoverletter,resume,andanyotherrequestedapplicationmaterials

toabriefemailinwhichyouintroduceyourself,expressyourinterestintheposition,andquicklyhighlightyourmostrelevant

skillsandexperiences.Whencraftingtheemail,usethesamecareandcandorputforthinyourformaldocuments.Attachthe

documentstotheemailfirst;youdonotwanttoriskhavingtosendasecondemailbecauseyoufailedtoattachtheappropriate

documentation(orworseyet,neverrealizeyoufailedtoincludetheattachmentsandforgothejobopportunity).Drafttheemail

inWordandcheckitcarefullyforspellingandgrammaticalerrors.Theemailshouldconsistofnomorethan2‐3sentences.If

anemployeeatthefirmreferredyoutotheposition,statethatintheemail.

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Ifyouarefollowingupwithanetworkingleadregardingaprospectiveopening,youshouldsendabriefemailintroducing

yourself,explainingyourrelationshiptoamutualcontact(whenever applicable), expressing your interest in learning more

abouttheemployer’sbusiness,andsuggestingabriefmeeting(i.e.,informationalinterview).Youshouldnotincludeacopyof

yourcoverletterinthisinstance.Instead,attachaPDFcopyofyourresumefortheindividuals“reference.”Ensurethetoneof

youremailisnotrudeorpresumptive.

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THANKYOUNOTES

Always send a prompt, sincere thank you note to someone who takes the time to interview you, including at an on‐campus

interview,informationalinterview,ormockinterview.Sendathankyouletterwheneversomeoneextendsyouthecourtesyof

reviewingyourresume.Ifyoumetwithseveralpeopleatacompany,composeauniquethankyouforeachperson.Becareful

tospell theindividual’snamecorrectly,anddonotforgetanyoftheinterviewers.Athankyounoteshowsappreciationand

considerationfortheotherindividual’stimeaffordedtoyou.Youneverknowwhomightlaterpassyournamealongtoa

prospectiveemployer.Ifpossible,sendthethankyounoteviaregularmail,notemail.Undernocircumstancesshouldyoutext

athankyounote.

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Athankyouletterhasthemostimpactifitissentwithintwenty‐fourhoursofyourmeeting.Doyourbesttosendthethankyou

letterassoonaspossible,butrememberthatalatethankyouisbetterthannothankyouatall.Inadditiontoacknowledgingthe

timeandconsiderationofthepersonwithwhomyoumet,athankyouletterremindstherecipientthatyouareacandidateand

confirmsyourinterestintheposition.Usetheopportunitytorecalladiscussionyouhad,aqualificationyoupossess,orprovide

additionalinformationthatyoudidnotraiseinthemeeting.However,beconcise,donottrytocontinuetheintervieworqualify

anyofyouranswers.Thecontentsofthenoteshouldonlyservetoreiterateyourinterestintheposition.

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WRITINGAFTERAREJECTIONLETTER

Receivingnewsthatyouarenotbeingofferedapositionorinterviewthatyouwereinterestedinisdisappointing.Takeheart,

“no”isonly“no”atonepoint.Considersendingafollowupletterafterreceivingnoticethatyouhavenotbeenselectedfora

positionorinterview.Theselectedcandidatemightdecline,withdrawacceptance,orleaveshortlyafterstartingtheposition.

Otherpositionscouldopen.Bycorrespondingwithanemployerthathaspassedonyourcandidacy,youareabletostateyour

continuedinterestinfutureopportunities.However,donotaskdetailsaboutwhyyouwerenotselected.Thefollow‐upshould

onlyexpressgratitudeforconsiderationandinterestinalternativepositions.Keepthenoteshort,open‐ended,andpositive.

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REFERENCES

Onlyprovidereferencesaftertheprospectiveemployerrequeststhem.Donotincludethephrase“Referencesavailableupon

request”in your coverletter,resume, oremail.  Providingreferencesis anopportunity toinforma potentialemployerabout

youraccomplishmentsandattributes.

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Unlessotherwiserequested,selectthreeorfourreferenceswhowillspeakglowinglyofyourprofessionaloracademicqualities.

Ifyou havemultiplereferencestochoosefrom,chooseindividualswiththemostseniortitlesorindividualswhoworkinthe

sameindustryastheindustryofthejobyouaretargeting.Listthemostseniorindividualfirst.Generally,personalreferences

arenothelpfultoemployers.Itisbesttoapproachformersupervisors or individuals who instructed or mentored you in a

formal capacity. You should also include a phrase or two explaining your relationship on a line directly below their contact

information.Onesentenceissufficient.Referenceslistsshouldbeprintedonpaperandusingthesameformattingasyour

coverletter.Mostoften,yousendreferenceslaterintheprocess.Youshoulddothiswithabrief,appreciativecoverletter.

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Alwayscontactyourpotentialreferencesandaskwhethertheyarewillingtospeakpositivelyandenthusiasticallyon

your

behalf.Take the opportunity to update them on your education, accomplishments,andgoalsandtoaskthemabout

themselves.Askthemfortheirpermissiontobecontactedinthenearfuturebyyourpotentialemployers.Donotassumeeach

personwillbewillingtoserveasareference.Notallemployers are authorized or comfortable providing feedback on

employees.Watchforsocialcues:ifthepersonseemshesitanttospeakonyourbehalf,donotlistthemasareference.Waitfor

confirmationfromtheindividualbeforegivingouttheircontactinformation.