3. Importance of Cover letters
• Lets employer know your intentions
• Demonstrates written communication
skills
– ZERO mistakes
• Elaborate on your stories
– Use your Skills Matrix
WHY YOU?
9. 2) Skill-Matching
Skills (from Skills Matrix)
+
Experience (2-3 examples)
+
Education (how you will leverage
BCom)
+
Matching Qualifications
(any other qualifications that set you
apart)
11. 3) Branding/Tailoring
• About leaving a good
impression
• Must be consistent
throughout your cover
letter
• Make sure it fits with both
the company’s values,
culture, and your
expectations
• Use industry jargon/
company-specific
language
12. 4) Closing
• Your chance for
final impression!
• Restate your skills,
but use different
wording
Summarize strengths
+ Show your passion
+ Thank them
+ Use a call to action
(follow up)
“Mr Smith, thank you for looking at my application. I
hope that I have shown you that my interpersonal
skills, my leadership skills, and my ability to perform
on a team make me a perfect fit for ABC position. Thank
you very much and hope to hear from you soon.”!
13. 5) Integration
• Visual matching: your cover
letter & resume must use same
formatting
• Do NOT send in generic cover
letter & generic resumes (big
part of your grade is matching!)
– There are 400 of you in COMM
202, and even more applying for
your dream job. Find a way to
stand out.
14. What Else?
• Cover letter allows you to address any
“elephant in the room” situations (e.g.
relocation, bad grades, etc.)
• Word choice – overly emotional words
(“deeply honoured”, “it would be a
blessing…”)
– Want to show that you are on an equal playing
field and are qualified for the role
• Grammar & spelling – 2+ mistakes = -40%!
16. 3 key takeaways from today?
1. Important to grab reader’s attention with a good hook
2. Resume is about YOU, cover letter is about THEM
(company)
3. Address elephants in the room as necessary (grades,
relocation)
17. Action Items
þ Cover Letter Assignment
Ø Write your cover letter draft
Ø Bring two printed cover letter drafts to next tutorial for
peer review
Ø Final Resume & Cover Letters due Mar 21st, 2PM
Ø Group Office Hours (next week)
Ø Sign up on COOL
Ø Bring your resumes & cover letters
Next week: TUTORIAL