Writing the Cover Letter

EL4092 Etika Rekayasa & Kapita Selekta

By
Ir. Emir Mauludi Husni, M.Sc., Ph.D.
School of Electrical Engineering & Informatics,
Institut Teknologi Bandung

What is a cover letter?

A cover letter presents your resume to a prospective
employer and is personalized to suit the organization. It
is a professional statement that reflects your unique
style.
Employers see a lot of cover letters. Therefore avoid the
generic formats and write your own; However do not
hesitate to refer to other examples

INTRODUCTION- The first

INTRODUCTIONparagraph
The first paragraph should answer the following questions:

Who are you?

From where and when are you graduating?
Where did you find out about this position?
What is your field or what are your career goals?

Example:
While searching through job postings on the WWW at
the Online Career Center, I came across the posting from
xyz Consulting Services, looking for individuals with skills
in Visual Basic and Microsoft Access. I will be graduating
from The Ohio State University with a major in Computer
and Information Science in June of 2000 and am currently
exploring employment opportunities in my area of
interest.

COMPANY INTEREST - The second

paragraph
A great cover letter always demonstrates that you as the
writer are well informed about the company.
Questions that are important are:
What do I value most about this company or position?
Why do I wish to work for this company as opposed to
others?
Do you have any personal anecdotes and reasons why you
would wish to work for this company?

To prepare for this part of the writing,

get on the company's WEB site and read about them

read company literature and mark why you enjoy this
organization
talk to a friend who works for this company or a
recruiter to get an insider's perspective on the
company.

Example:
Looking at your WEB site I learned that you are looking
for creative, responsible individuals who are eager to
learn. I was also impressed by the customer focus of
the organization and the results driven values that
seemed to motivate the future of the company.

PERSONAL MATCH - The third

paragraph
This part of the cover letter is about highlighting your
particular skills and experiences that make you a match
for the company.You can also state things about why
you like the company and follow it up immediately by
how you can uniquely match that culture.
Write about your skills and experiences, referring
the employer to your resume.
Write this right after the paragraph about the
company or blend it in with the same paragraph.
Dont repeat your resume, just highlight pertinent
information about yourself.

To prepare for this section,

read over your resume
read over the job description and company
literature
decide what aspects you want to highlight
specifically

Example:
Two attributes of the available position appealed to me. The
first was your company's need for Visual Basic and access
developers. I already have experience with Visual Basic 3.0
Standard and I hope to further my experience with the recent
acquisition of the Visual Basic 4.0 professional edition. In
addition, I have also worked extensively with Mac access
versions 1.1 and 2.0 for nearly two years and expect to be
working with them until my graduation in March.

Example: (contd.)
The second point of interest was that you are based in
Columbus and serve the central and southern parts of
Ohio. Growing up in the central Ohio area, I am
interested in staying close to home and being part of
one of the fastest growing cities in the Midwest. This
community has given me a great deal of support and I
hope to begin returning the favor

CONCLUSION--The fourth paragraph

CONCLUSION

When writing the conclusion, refer the reader to your

resume.
Let them know when you will call and check on the
status of your resume.
Request your desire for a meeting to discuss future
possibilities/ interview.
Give them your contact information.

Example:
Enclosed you will find a copy of my resume for review. I will call
in a week to ten days to confirm that you have received this
and answer any questions you have regarding my qualifications.
At that time, I would also like to make an appointment to speak
with one of your representatives to discuss opportunities at
XYZ company for someone with my experience and training. If
you would like to speak with me sooner, please feel free to call
me at 614-xxx-xxxx or send email to hjk.**@osu.edu. I look
forward to speaking with you soon.
Sincerely,
Adam Kraznick

Dos and Donts when writing a cover

letter
Dos...

Use a standard business format

Send your letter and resume to a person, not a title or
an office
Let your tone be warm, personal and professional
Print your cover letter on the same paper as your
resume to make it seem like an organized package
Keep the font of the resume and the cover letter
consistent
Spell Check! Typos make you look disinterested and
sloppy

Donts..

Send the same letter to different companies

Forget to include a return address and phone number/email address
Write a cover letter over a page
Include a photograph
Tell your life story in the letter