CoverLetterWriting

Thecoverletteryousendwithyourresumeisanopportunitytosummariseyoursuitabilityfortheroleyouare applyingfor.Toenableyoutowriteaneffectiveandcompetitivecoverletteryouareencouragedtocallthe contactpersontoclarifyexactlywhattheemployerrequiresinyourapplication,includingyourcoverletter.

Itismorethanjustabriefcovernoteinwhichyoumerelyintroduceyourself,asktheemployertoacceptyour application,andrefertoyourattacheddocuments.Togetherwithyourresumeitprovidesyouwithan opportunitytosellyourselfasahighlysuitablecandidateforthejob.Thereareusuallytwotypesofletters oneisinresponsetoanadvertisedpositionortoapersonalcontacttheotherisseekingtobeconsideredfor possiblevacanciesandisoftencalledaspeculativeorcoldcanvasletter. CareersandEmploymentrunsworkshopsofferingassistancewithwritingyourcoverletterhavea lookattheworkshopscheduleonCareerHubintheResourcesboxunderevents.

NotesonCoverLetterWriting

Theletterisalinkbetweenyourresumeandthejobororganisation. Itisusedto emphasise,tohighlightortoaddtotheinformationin yourresume, andtoconvincetheorganisationyouhavetheskills andexperience necessarytobethebestapplicantfortheposition. Yourcoverlettershouldbespecificallytailoredtoeachroleyou applyfor.

Youshouldcontactthecompanyandfindoutadditionalinformation suchasthenameofthepersontowhomyouneedtoaddressthe letterandwhethertheycanprovideyouwithanyadditional informationaboutthecompanye.g.brochuresandannualreports.

UsetheInternettoresearchadditionalinformationaboutthe companysothatyoucantailoryourletterspecificallytothe company.

Astheemployermighthavemanyapplicationstoread,yourletter needstobeconciseandtothepoint.Acoverletterisnomorethan onepagelong.Fourorfiveparagraphswillbeneededhowever,to conveyyouressentialmessages(asuggestedformatisoverthe page). Ifthejobadvertisementlistsasetofselectioncriteria,preparea specificresponsetoeachoftheseonseparatepagesfromyour letter,toincludeinyourapplicationwithyourresumeandletter.For helpwithpreparingyourresponseshavealookatourinformation sheetonSelectionCriteria.

Yourcoverletterismuchmorethanacovernotewhenitisprepared wellit: Introducesyoutotheemployer Highlightsoraddstokeyinformationinyourresume Tellstheemployerwhytheyshouldconsideremployingyou,based onyourskillsandexperience Showstheemployerthatyouknowabouttheirorganisationand howyoumatchtheirrequirements Invitestheemployertoreadfurthertofindoutmore,and Convincestheemployerthatyoureworthinterviewing

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CoverLetterOutline

YournameandaddressIncludeSUBURBSinCAPITALletters Theirnameandaddress(alwaysaddressyourlettertoaspecificpersonifpossible) ThedateUselongdate,e.g.,30January2012 DearMrsFlemington (Ifname&titleareunknowncallthemtofindout,butifforsomereasonyoucantfindout,addressitto: HumanResourcesManager,orTheManagingDirector) PARAGRAPH Outlinewhatyouareapplyingfor. ONE: e.g.,Pleasefindattachedmyapplicationfor e.g.,AspartofmyBachelorofBusinessstudiesIamlookingtogainwork experience/workplacement/WILat(namethecompany). PARAGRAPH Outlinewhatyouaredoingnow,howitrelatestotheposition,andmakealink TWO: betweenthisandthechosencompany.Incorporatekeythemesfromyourresume.Include yourlatestqualificationorthedetailsofthedegreeyouarecurrentlycompleting.Mentionthe Universityandanymajorsstudiedandaprojectorinterestareaifrelevant e.g.,CurrentlyIamathirdyearsciencestudentat.. e.g.,Iaminterestedinapositionwithyourcompanybecause. PARAGRAPH Makelinksbetweenyourskillsandtheskillsthattheemployerisrequesting,andbenefitsyou THREE: bringtotheorganisation.Includereasonsforwantingthisparticularjob,andwhyyouwantto workforthem. e.g.,Iamabletoassistyourcompanybecause PARAGRAPH Makeanyotherlinkstotheposition/organisationfromyourlifeexperience. FOUR: e.g.,RecentlyIwaschosentobewhichallowedmeto e.g.,Iaminvolvedwithwhichhasdevelopedmyskills PARAGRAPH Concludebystatingwhichdocumentsyouhaveenclosed,e.g.resume,responsetoselection FIVE: criteria,statementofclaimetc.andsuggestthatyouwouldliketodiscussyourapplication furtherandcanbecontactedon e.g.,Iwouldvaluetheopportunitytodiscussthiswithyouand Yourssincerely, (Signyournamehere) MaryJones

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CoverLetterWritingTips
TIP1 Makesureyouobservebusinessletterwriting conventionslefthandjustified,openpunctuation, clear,concise,readableandofcourse,NOspelling orgrammarerrors!Thisisaformalletter,whether youknowthepersonyouarewritingtoornot,so makesureitreflectspositivelyonyouasa professional. TIP4 Makesureyoutailoreachcoverlettertothespecific organisation.Thismakesyoustandoutfromother applicationsasitindicatesthatyourjobsearchisa targetedapproach,ratherthanitseemingthatyou aresendingthesamegenericletterto50employers.

TIP2 Personaliseyourletterasmuchaspossible.Findout thenameandpositionofthepersontosenditto, andresearchtheorganisationsoyoucantellthem whyyouwanttoworkforthem.Thisisgreat preparationforwhenyou(hopefully!)getinvitedto aninterview.

TIP5 Keepyourcoverlettertoonepagemaximum.Aim forfourtofiveparagraphsofconcise,easytoread text. TIP6 Makesureyouaddressanykeyrequirementsifyou arerespondingtoanadvertisement.Selection criteriarequireaseparateresponseinadditionto yourletter.

TIP3 Getfeedbackfromanindependentperson.Fresh eyeswillfindmistakesyouoverlookedbecauseof yourfamiliaritywiththecontentofyourletter. Rememberyoucanemailyourdraftapplicationsto CareersandEmploymentforfeedback.

TIP7 Applyinwritingdoesntusuallymeana handwrittenletter.Employersgenerallyrequire typedhardcopyorelectronic(emailoronline) applications.Beguidedbywhattheemployeris askingfor,andmakesureyourespondtoselection criteriaifrequested.Ifitsnotclearwhatisrequired, contactthepersonmentionedintheadvertisement toclarify.

Thereslotsofinformationavailabletoassistyoutowriteacoverletter:
CheckouttheCareersandEmploymentwebsite www.careers.qut.edu.auforinformationonletters,resumesandother applicationpaperworkaswellaspersonaltransferableskills.

HavealookatAustraliansitessuchaswww.careerone.com.auand www.seek.com.auforresourcesonletterwriting.

Forinteractivehelpwithyourresume,letterandselectioncriteria, checkouttheonlineCareerModulesontheCareersandEmployment websiteunderStudents/GraduatesCareerDevelopmentPrograms.

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CareersandEmploymentcanprovidefeedbackonyourdraftcoverletters,resume andresponsestoselectioncriteria.EmailyourdraftasaWordattachmentto careers@qut.edu.au.Pleaseallow5workingdaysforfeedback.

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SpeculativeCoverLetters

Thisletterissenttoanemployeroremploymentagency,seekingconsiderationforpossibleemployment opportunities,i.e.positionswhicharenotcurrentlyadvertisedorwhichdonotcurrentlyexist.

Itisvitaltoincorporatethespeculativeapproachinyourjobsearchforthe followingreasons: Ahighpercentageofjobsarefilledintheunadvertisedjobmarket Manyemployersrelyonkeenstudentswhowritetothem,oftheirown initiative,tofillvacancies Anemployermaybeimpressedwithyourinitiative,experience,and excellentpresentationandmakeeffortstocreateapositionto accommodateyourrequest Anunexpectedjobvacancymayariseandyourapplicationisalreadyin theemployershands

ApproachestoAdopt

Whereyouknowtheemployerhiresgraduates: Iftheemployeryouaretargetinghiresgraduatesregularly,youshouldindicatethatyouareseeking employmentwiththem.

Whereyouareunsureiftheemployerhiresgraduates: IfyouareUNSUREhowoftentheemployerhiresgraduates,donotindicateyouareseekingemployment. Thissingularapproachmayclosethedoor.

Instead,indicatethatyou: o are(morebroadly)seekingadviceaboutgraduateopportunitiesand/or o areseekinginformationabouttheindustry,careerpathsforemployees,training opportunities,newdevelopments,orareasofspecialinteresttoyou.

Thiswill: o benefityourcareerplanning,giveyouvaluablecontactsandprovideanopportunityto networkandtoobtainotheremployerreferrals. o allowyoutoimpresstheemployerwithyourinitiative,knowledgeandprofessionalismso thattheemployerwillthinkofyouwhenafuturejobvacancyoccurs.

Youcouldalsoindicatethatyouare: willingtoundertakevoluntarywork,casualworkorcontractwork. seekingvacationemployment. undertakingauniversityprojectandinterestedinitsapplicationtoaparticularorganisationor industryarea.

Personaliseyourletter: Ineveryinstancefindoutwhoyoushouldsendtheletterto.Thisensuresyouhaveafollowupcontact.

Includeanactionplanattheclosureofyourletter: Donotexpectanemployertocontactyou.Inyourletterstatethatyouwillmakeafollowuptelephonecall. Giveatimeframeforundertakingthis.IfyousuggestthisMAKESUREYOUDOIT!

Forexample: Iwilltelephoneyouwithinthenexttendaystodiscussmyrequestwithyouoranothersuitable person.Thankyouforgivingmyletteryourtimeandconsideration.

Includestudy,work,personalqualitiesandtransferableskillsinformation: Ifyoucannotaccessinformationonwhatqualities,skills,andexperienceacompanyseeksingraduates, refertoyouruniversitystudiesandworkexperience.Focusonthepersonalqualitiesandskillswhich researchshowsemployersseekingraduatesseeourinformationsheetonPersonalTransferableSkillsfor moretips.

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