EMILY TAYLOR ‘08Founder, NextStep Careers
COVER LETTERS
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AGENDA
• Customizable cover letter • Length
• Structure
• Example Cover Letters
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Common Mistakes
• Next Steps
•Walk Me Through Overview
nextstepcareer
nextstepcareers
linkedin.com/in/emilymalleytaylor
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If I had had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.
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STRUCTURE
1 Header
2 Opening
3 Body
4 Closing
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Opening
Header
Body
Closing
NAME
name
addressphone
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Opening
Header
Body
Closing
NAME
name
emailphone
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GET THEIR ATTENTION
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UNIQUE FIRST SENTENCE VS. GENERIC
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NO NEED TO STATE YOUR NAME
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NAME DROP
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NAME DROP
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BE SPECIFIC
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CORPORATE STRATEGY
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COMPANY STRATEGY
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START WITH THE COMPANY WEBSITE
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ROLE
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CORPORATE CULTURE
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CORPORATE CULTURE
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MA
KE
IT P
ERSO
NA
L
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CONNECTION WITH THE PRODUCT
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MAKE IT PERSONAL
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MAKE IT PERSONAL
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PASSION FOR INDUSTRY & COMPANY
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Hit on the company
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2. HIGHLIGHT RELEVANT SKILLS
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PARAGRAPH vs. BULLETSDear Mr. Last Name:
I am pursuing the Associate Marketing Manager Intern position with Company XYZ. More than any other company, I have interacted with, Company XYZ has demonstrated its strong commitment to excellence in every arena from marketplace performance to outstanding employee training and development. After speaking with you, Lucy A, Tina S, and Min N throughout several on-campus events and informational meetings, I am confident that I am an ideal fit for the Company XYZ culture.
• Creative Leadership: While at Company A, I created and led training sessions ranging from sales to budget management; resulted in increasing team motivation as members successfully established goals and tracked achievements.
• Problem Solver: At Company B, I turned around declining sales and market initiatives by creating and leading cross-functional teams of scientists and FDA regulatory experts to target and implement marketing campaigns; resulted in $3.2mm in sales to new clients
• Results Driven: I have consistently leveraged leadership and communication abilities to achieve results across various industries and functions, which I hope to apply to brand management at XYZ
• Strong Volunteer Ethic: With over 10 years of working with children and teens I hope to add to Company XYZ’s impressive 82% volunteer rate!
Thank you for the efforts you have made to reach out to the Anderson community this school year. I look forward to the opportunity to interview.
Dear Mr. Last Name:
I am pursuing the Associate Marketing Manager Intern position at Company XYZ. More than any other company, I have interacted with, Company XYZ has demonstrated a strong commitment to excellence in every arena from marketplace performance to outstanding employee training and development. After speaking with you, Lucy A, Tina S, and Min N throughout several on-campus events and informational meetings, I am confident that I am an ideal fit for the Company XYZ culture.
My past experience developing and leading teams will allow me to make a positive contribution to the exceptional marketing team at Company XYZ. As a District Manager with Company A, I trained college students in new skills ranging from sales to budget management and motivated my team to excel by setting goals and tracking achievements. I learned to think like a business owner and carried this perspective to my role at Company B where I turned around declining sales through new marketing initiatives. I led a diverse team of scientists and FDA regulatory experts to implement targeted consumer-focused marketing campaigns, which collectively resulted in $3.2 million in sales to new clients.
I am thrilled to have found a company whose strong values reflect my own. I admire the sincere and impactful actions that Company XYZ has taken to improve schools and communities, and I plan to add to the impressive 82% volunteer rate at Company XYZ by continuing my service work with children and teens. Finally, if selected, I look forward to moving to City ABC both this summer and after graduation.
Thank you for the efforts you have made to reach out to the Anderson community this year. I look forward to the opportunity to interview.
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SKILLS INTRO
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3. CLOSING
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CLOSING
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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TO WHOM SHOULD I ADDRESS IT TO?
• To Whom It May Concern
• Dear Hiring Manager
• Dear Recruiter/Human Resource Manager
MR. WHITE
MRS. ROBINSON
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DOUBLE CHECK WHETHER A MS. OR MR.
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CAN MY COVER LETTER BE MORE THAN 1 PAGE?
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WILL A RECRUITER EVEN READ MY LETTER?
MAYBE
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DO I HAVE TO WRITE A COVER LETTER?
DEPENDS
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HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE ME TO WRITE?
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE ME TO WRITE?
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MOST COMMON COVER LETTER MISTAKES
• Generic letter that does not fit the position
• Wrong facts about the company
•Odd formatting• Typoes
• Wrong Company name
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CO
MM
ON
IS
SU
ES
COMMON ISSUES
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Companies can instantly tell if you are using a cookie cutter cover letter. I set my cover letters apart—including for Fox—by matching my skill sets to the job description. This awareness also helped me prep for interviews.
Alessandra Donadelli ‘14 Director of Partnerships,
Disney Streaming Services
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Cover Letter Review
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Networking Tip
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TAKEAWAYS• Customize the first paragraph
• Consider an attention grabbing 1st sentence, such as personal connection to product or organization
• Name drop
• Mention something about company strategy
• Body• Match bold terms in the body to skills in the job description
• Pick the greatest hits.
• Make examples more story like
• Peer Review and/or office hours review
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NEXT STEPS
1. Make revisions to cover letter 2. Prep Walk Me Through Your Resume 3. Optional: Sign-Up for 1-on-1 Cover Letter
Review
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EMILY TAYLOR
Career Coaching & MBA Admissions
310.701.8747 [email protected]
Linkedin.com/in/emilymalleytaylornextstepcareer
QUESTIONS?