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John Chambers College of
Business and Economics
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Cover Letters

Cover Letters: add detail to your Professional story.

Cover letters can be powerful tools. They allow you to provide context or clarification about information already in your resume. It’s best to match your cover letter to each employer and the specific position.

After you draft your cover letter using our content development resources, request to have it reviewed by our team via Handshake.

Format

Your Name [Center on the page]

Professional Email | Phone | Address | LinkedIn URL [Center on the page]


Dear Hiring Manager [user person's name if known], 

First Paragraph

  • Introduce yourself, state the position you are applying for, and where you saw the job posting.
  • Indicate if someone recommended you. *Hint: General referrals come from family or friends who know someone at the prospective employer’s company. You should always get approval from your referral to use their name.
  • Discuss your interest in the position and the company in particular.
    • Highlight companies products, mission statement, or values and why you fit in the organization.  

Second Paragraph

  • Read through the job description and write about experiences that you have that demonstrate the qualifications/skills the position is looking for.
    • These experiences can include work experience, club/organization involvement, volunteer work, and education.

Third Paragraph 

  • Speak to any additional experiences and involvement you may have and help the employer understand how these experiences result in skills applicable to this position.
  • If applicable, you can use this paragraph to speak to something on your resume you feel needs more explanation (example: low GPA – you worked while in school or gaps in employment).
  • Always make positive statements about your credentials.

Final Paragraph

  • Restate why you are interested in the position and why you are unequally qualified.
  • Thank the person for their time and consideration.
  • State that you looking forward to speaking with them via phone or email.