Writing Cover Letters for University Applications [2023 Guide]
Applying to university can be a daunting experience, especially when it comes to crafting the perfect cover letter for your application. A well-written cover letter can be the deciding factor between getting accepted into your dream program or receiving a rejection letter. In this guide, we will explore the importance of a strong cover letter, its purpose, format, content, and provide tips and examples to help you craft a compelling cover letter for your university application.
A cover letter for a university application is an essential document that can make or break your chances of getting admitted to your dream program. The importance of a strong cover letter in the application process cannot be understated, as it serves to introduce you, showcase your achievements, and demonstrate your passion for the chosen program or course.
In this article, we will cover:
- The purpose of a cover letter for university applications
- The format and structure of a cover letter
- The content and elements of an effective cover letter
- Tips for writing a compelling cover letter
- Common cover letter mistakes to avoid
- Sample cover letters for university applications
By following the advice and guidance provided in this article, you will be well-equipped to create a cover letter that stands out from the competition and increases your chances of admission. So, let's dive in and learn how to craft the perfect cover letter for your university application!
Purpose of a Cover Letter for University Applications
The primary purpose of a cover letter is to introduce the applicant, showcase their achievements, and demonstrate their passion for the chosen program or course. A cover letter complements other application materials, such as your resume and transcripts, by highlighting your unique qualities and strengths that may not be evident in those documents.
An effective cover letter can also demonstrate your motivation and commitment to the program, which can influence the admissions committee's decision. For example, MIT's Career Advising & Professional Development office explains that a well-crafted cover letter can help set you apart from other applicants by providing context and a personal touch to your application.
Format and Structure of a Cover Letter
A proper format and structure are crucial for creating a professional and effective cover letter for a university application. A standard cover letter typically includes:
- Header (with your contact information and the date)
- Salutation (addressing the recipient)
- Introduction (capturing the reader's attention)
- Body (highlighting your qualifications, achievements, and passion)
- Conclusion (leaving a lasting impression)
- Complimentary close (e.g., "Sincerely," followed by your name)
Proper formatting, such as using an appropriate font, font size, and margin settings, is essential for creating a polished and professional appearance. Keep your language clear and concise, and make sure to proofread and edit your letter to ensure it is error-free.
Content and Elements of a Cover Letter
A successful cover letter for a university application should contain specific elements that demonstrate the applicant's qualifications, achievements, and passion for the program. These elements include:
- Addressing the letter to the appropriate recipient
- Crafting an engaging introduction that captures the reader's attention
- Including essential elements in the body of the letter, such as academic interests, extracurricular activities, and relevant experiences
- Writing a compelling conclusion that leaves a lasting impression
Tailoring the content to the specific university or program is crucial, as demonstrated by Seattle Pacific University's Career Services . They advise that telling stories about your skills and experiences that are relevant to the specific program can help make your cover letter more effective.
Tips for Writing an Effective Cover Letter
Following certain tips and best practices can significantly improve the quality and impact of a cover letter for a university application:
- Research the university and program before writing the letter to better understand their values and expectations.
- Showcase your unique qualities and strengths by providing specific examples and details.
- Use strong action verbs and avoid clichés or overused phrases, as suggested by Freesumes .
- Seek feedback from teachers, counselors, or peers to ensure your cover letter is polished and compelling.
- Revise and refine your letter until it accurately represents your passion and qualifications for the program.
Common Cover Letter Mistakes to Avoid
Avoiding common cover letter mistakes is essential for creating a strong and effective university application:
- Address the letter to the correct recipient to show your attention to detail and professionalism.
- Avoid using generic or overly broad language, which can make your letter less impactful.
- Submit a well-formatted and professional-looking letter to convey your seriousness and commitment.
- Refrain from including irrelevant or excessive information that distracts from your main strengths.
- Proofread and edit your letter to eliminate typos, grammatical errors, and other mistakes that can undermine its impact.
Sample Cover Letters for University Applications
Examining sample cover letters can provide valuable insights and inspiration for crafting a successful university application. We recommend:
- Analyzing high-quality sample cover letters for various university programs or courses
- Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each sample
- Adapting the samples to your specific situation and application
- Using the samples as a starting point for creating your unique cover letter
- Remembering to tailor your letter to the specific university or program
With proper research, planning, and execution, a well-crafted cover letter can significantly enhance a university application and increase the chances of admission. By applying the tips and guidance provided in this article, you will be well-prepared to create a compelling cover letter that showcases your passion, achievements, and qualifications for your dream program.
As a final piece of advice, remember that persistence and dedication are key to success in the university application process. Keep refining your cover letter and learning from feedback until you have a polished and impactful document that truly represents you. Good luck on your university application journey!
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University Student Cover Letter Samples & Examples That Worked in 2024
Embarking on the career path, the first step to success is creating a compelling university student cover letter . This powerful tool can unlock doors to internships, jobs, and exciting opportunities within your field of study.
And so, in this guide, we'll equip you with useful tips, real-life examples, and compelling templates, that'll help you get closer to your dream job. Read on and learn about:
- Creating a visually appealing header for your university cover letter
- Researching employers to craft a personalized cover letter
- Writing a compelling introduction as a university student
- Showcasing your best skills and accomplishments as a university student
- Completing your university student cover letter with a strong conclusion
- Finding the best job search resources for university students
1. How to create a visually appealing header for your university cover letter
To begin writing your university student cover letter, your first key step is to create a header.
A cover letter header serves two main purposes: to introduce you to the employer and to give your cover letter an appealing visual structure .
Within your header, you should include:
- Your name and professional title (if you do not have a professional title yet, you can use the title of the job you are applying for and add âStudentâ at the end)
- Your professional contact information
- The name of the company or organization you are applying to
Here is an example of a well-formatted university student cover letter header
Mason Wilds , Hospitality Management Student (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | linkedin.com/in/mason-wilds
To: Hilton Head Hotels 1234 Street Address New York, NY
2. How to personalize your university student cover letter
One crucial step to take before beginning to write the body text of your cover letter is to research the employer beforehand. This gives you the opportunity to learn more about them and uncover key details about the company that you can reference throughout your cover letter .
Important information to look for during your research includes:
- Major projects, partnerships, or programs the company is involved in
- The companyâs goals, values, and requirements for staff
- The person at the company responsible for hiring and reviewing applications
Using the third piece of information, you can create a personalized greeting that addresses this specific person by name. This lets them know immediately the effort you have put into researching and tailoring your cover letter for them specifically.
Here are 3 examples of personalized cover letter greetings
- Dear Mr. John Applewood,
Dear Hiring Manager John Applewood,
- Dear Mr. John Applewood & the Hiring Department,
3. How to write a compelling introduction as a university student
Next up, you need to begin the body text of your cover letter with a compelling introduction .
To write a strong introduction as a university student, make sure to include:
- A brief overview of your academic experience (most students will have minimal professional experience, making academic experience highly important to describe in a cover letter)
- Your specialized area of expertise (such as the degree you are working toward)
- A concise statement on why you are a great fit for the position
Here is an example of a great introduction from a university studentâs cover letter
I am a junior at the University of South Carolina, with two semesters left to complete my degree in Business and Hospitality Management. As I approach my final year of school, I am seeking an internship opportunity with a major hotel chain to hone my hospitality skills and build industry connections. Having earned a spot on my universityâs Deanâs List for three consecutive years, I will bring an exceptional work ethic and commitment to excellent service to this position.
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4. How to showcase your best skills and accomplishments as a university student
Once your introduction is written and you are satisfied with it, you can move on to writing the remaining body paragraphs of your university student cover letter.
In these body paragraphs, your main goal is to showcase your top skills or accomplishments that are relevant to the job you are applying for. As well as describing these qualifications , you can also use the research you did earlier to reference specific needs of the company and how your skills meet those needs.
Here are 6 examples of skills to describe in a university student cover letter
- Communication (always describe your style of communication)
- Collaboration and teamwork
- Critical thinking
- Time management
- Responsibility
Here is an example of how to describe an accomplishment in a cover letter
As a student at the University of South Carolina, I have served as an Orientation Leader for two years, helping to bring new undergraduate students into the fold and get comfortable in their new surroundings. I recently earned the position of Head Orientation Leader thanks to my overwhelming positive reviews from new students I have mentored. Of the 300+ students I have worked with, 95% gave me a five out of five-star rating at the end of their Orientations.
5. How to complete your university student cover letter with a strong conclusion
The last step to writing your university student cover letter is to craft a strong conclusion . In this conclusion, you should include:
- The best times and days of the week to contact you
- When you are anticipating a response from the employer
- When you plan to follow up with the employer
- A formal sign-off
Here is an example of a strong conclusion from a university student's cover letter
I am honored to be considered for this position and hope to hear from you within the next week regarding this opportunity. You may best reach me at (123) 456-7890 on Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. As I am excited to learn more about this opportunity, I do plan to follow up next Monday morning if I have not heard back about this position.
Many Thanks,
[Applicant Name]
6. Useful resources for job-seeking university students
As a university student standing at the threshold of a professional career, having the right set of resources can truly empower your job hunt. Let's explore the must-haves in your arsenal:
- University career services: Your own university is a potent resource. Career Services offices often provide resume and cover letter reviews, interview preparation, and job placement assistance. Don't overlook these gems.
- Job search platforms: From LinkedIn to Indeed , these platforms teem with job opportunities perfect for recent graduates. They also offer search filters to streamline the hunt and make it less daunting.
- Field-specific job boards: Niche job boards like Idealist (for non-profits) or Dice (for tech) cater to specific fields, making your job search more focused and productive.
- Online portfolios: Platforms like Behance or GitHub , depending on your field of study, allow you to create an online portfolio showcasing your work. This can be a powerful supplement to your university student cover letter and resume.
- Networking events: Attend career fairs, industry conferences, or university alumni events to build your professional network. You never know which connection might lead to a promising opportunity.
- Internship websites: Websites like Chegg Internships or WayUp specifically cater to students seeking internships, often the stepping stone to a full-time job.Â
Armed with these resources, you're ready to embark on the exciting and rewarding journey of your job search. Happy hunting!
University Student Cover Letter FAQ
Draw attention to your academic achievements, any relevant coursework, and transferrable skills youâve developed throughout your academic career. If you have undertaken internships or projects, summarize what youâve learned from these experiences and how they can bring value to the prospective role.
Aim to keep it concise and engaging. Typically, a cover letter should not exceed one page. Remember, it's about the quality of your words, not the quantity.
While it's fine to have a standard outline, your cover letter should always be tailored to each job application. Personalizing your cover letter for each role can show the hiring manager your genuine interest in their specific opportunity.
It's generally a good idea to include a cover letter when applying for a job. It gives you another platform to sell your skills and show your enthusiasm for the role and company.
Yes, definitely. Extracurricular activities can highlight your team skills, leadership qualities, and dedication. Remember to connect them back to the skills or qualities the job posting is seeking.
Julia Gergelova
Julia is a professional writer, translator and graphic designer. She holds degrees in translation and interpretation, and has international work experience from a number of different countries in Europe as well as China and Panama. Julia formerly taught academic writing and as a graphic designer contributed to outlets such as The Business of Business . She has a passion for lifelong learning and good coffee.
All student cover letter examples
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- High School Student
- Humanities Student
- Student Internship
- Natural Sciences Student
- Professions And Applied Sciences Student
- Social Sciences Student
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Guide On How To Write A Cover Letter For A University
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Cover It Up
It's the time of year again; you have made a list of your selected colleges and will apply to them. You are about to apply, but one hurdle remains in your path; the dreaded cover letter. Many students still are unsure of how to write a good cover letter for a university. In this blog, we will tell you how to write a great cover letter for a university. We will discuss the basic template, tips, and things to remember while writing a university application letter. So let us not waste any time and dive straight into it.
What is a cover letter for a university, and why is it important?
Many of us thought of this question when we first encountered the need for a cover letter when applying for universities. A cover letter for a university is basically a one-page application that you submit alongside your CV or resume when applying to a university or college. Many universities ask for a cover letter nowadays since it provides the admissions officer with further detail on how your skill set aligns with the university, what you can bring to the institution and why you want a seat. It also shows the admissions officer your passion and suitability for the course. In addition, a university application letter is more personal than a resume and builds a relationship with the officer.
How to write a cover letter for a university?
Since we have discussed why a university application letter is important, let us now see how to write one. The structure and text volume of a cover letter for a university is determined by its five major features. In most circumstances, a university application letter should be no more than one page long and no more than 300 words long. However, those words must be carefully picked and stick to a well-defined structure. The five major features of a cover letter for a university are:
The officer will see the header first, which is precisely where you can wow them. The header is the only place of a university application letter where you can have some design choices instead of the entire letter being in black text boxes. It will help your letter look as good as it reads. The header usually includes your name , occupation , address , phone number and email .Â
2. Greeting
The greeting line of a university application letter, also known as a salutation, is where you say your greetings. In a university application letter, don't go too inventive. A simple "Hey" is obviously ineffective. Try to learn the name of the individual to whom you should address your university application letter. People enjoy reading their names , demonstrating your attention to detail and interest in this officer, showing that you've gone out of your way to determine who is processing applications!
3. Introduction
The first paragraph of your cover letter for a university introduction should include your prestigious alma mater ( the school or college you have attended ). Another possibility is that you have experience in your field. Lead with your abilities, and aim to produce a paragraph that makes the admissions officer want to keep reading.
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The heart of your pitch should be in the body of your cover letter for a university. Given the one-page limit, you have a lot of work to perform in a limited time. In this section, you must mention your top qualifications for the course you wish to apply for. Also, attempt to include the name of the university you're applying to and explain why you want to study there. Remind the admissions officer that you aren't merely sending out study applications to random colleges but want to study at this one.
5. Conclusion
A call to action (CTA) should be included at the end of your cover letter for a university, in which you urge that the admissions officers take some action as a result of your letter. You can state you're looking forward to hearing back, that you'd be happy to follow up with a phone call, or that you'd be honoured to be invited to an interview, either in person or remotely. Your desire to receive a response should indicate to the officer that you are serious about attending this university. You don't want to come across as desperate or overconfident, but you want to express your genuine desire.
If you need more in-depth understanding on how to write your cover letter, our ultimate guide to writing a cover letter will surely help you out!
Documents you will need while submitting your university application letter?
You will need to submit a few documents while submitting your cover letter for a university! The documents include the following:
- A CV/Resume
- Previous academic transcripts
- Portfolio (if required)
- A personal statement
You need to submit these basic documents, but it would be best if you verified the required documents on the university site! As you know, you have to submit your CV or resume alongside your cover letter. Many students still face problems while creating a good resume, don't worry; we will show you how to create your first resume !
Tips on writing your cover letter for a university
There are a few tips that can help you make a great cover letter for a university that can wow the admissions officer:
- Â Try to sound more human in your letter.
- Beware of the cliches almost everyone uses, so you need to think "outside the box" for this one.
- Keep an eye on your tone and ensure it's friendly , professional , and confident , but never arrogant or condescending.
- Keep your cover letter brief ; keep it point to point so the reader doesn't get bored reading it.
- Â It's a good idea to divide your introduction into the past, present, and future portions to stay organised while talking about yourself.
- Prove everything you say in your cover letter for a university by keeping the tone friendly and not arrogant!Â
- Don't just list everything you have achieved since it is already in your CV! Try to mention what new things you would achieve!
University application letter format
Your university application letter must say the appropriate things and look the right way. Choose the appropriate layout and design for your cover letter, and don't waste your golden prose on a poorly designed letter that sounds wonderful but looks horrible. You must use a legible font â nothing grand or unusual. You should use a font size of 10 to 12 points, which is large enough to read but not so large that it looks like you're creating a kid's story. Use 1-inch margins on your letter's top, bottom, right, and left sides. You must include a space between paragraphs that are not indented and keep all paragraphs to a decent length.Â
Things to keep in mind when writing a cover letter for a university
There are a few things to keep when writing your cover letter; these include the likes of spelling mistakes, grammar, poorly designed cover letters and much more. Here are a few things to remember:
-  Words are wasted. Irrelevant information, clichés, and fluff will clutter your page with unnecessary language. Use the limited space you have to write in your own words what makes you a good candidate.
- Â One of the most typical mistakes students make is wasting their cover letter by transforming their resume into paragraph form . This repetition does not help the admissions officer assess your qualifications or persuade them that you are enthusiastic about the chance.
- Â A solid cover letter might be improved by including facts about the university that you've learnt about. Learn about the university's culture and goals , and tailor your cover letter to reflect how you would be a good fit.
- Â A cover letter is not the place to give bad information about your qualifications. An interview allows the admissions officer to learn about your weaknesses. Concentrate on your strengths !
These were the ways to create a good cover letter for a university. It will take you a bit of time and practice to perfect your cover letter. Once you submit your application, you might get called upon for a university interview. If the interview is going to scare you, then don't worry our blog about university interview questions will help you run that scare away. If you are going to apply to universities in the Uk, we can help you do exactly that. Our blog on applying to universities in the UK will do that.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a university application letter be, how do you end a cover letter for university, does a cover letter for a university improve your chances, can you be too confident in a university application letter, does a university application letter have to be perfect.
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Academic Cover Letters
What is this handout about.
The long list of application materials required for many academic teaching jobs can be daunting. This handout will help you tackle one of the most important components: the cover letter or letter of interest. Here you will learn about writing and revising cover letters for academic teaching jobs in the United States of America.
What is an academic cover letter?
An academic cover letter describes your experiences and interest as a candidate for a specific position. It introduces you to the hiring committee and demonstrates how your academic background fits with the description of the position.
What do cover letters for academic teaching jobs typically contain?
At their most basic level, academic cover letters accomplish three things: one, they express your interest in the job; two, they provide a brief synopsis of your research and teaching; and three, they summarize your past experiences and achievements to illustrate your competence for the job. For early-career scholars, cover letters are typically no more than two pages (up to four pages for senior scholars). Occasionally, a third page may make sense for an early-career scholar if the application does not require a separate teaching statement and/or research statement. Digital versions of cover letters often contain hyperlinks to your CV or portfolio page. For some fields, cover letters may also include examples of your work, including music, popular articles, and other multimedia related to your research, service, or teaching available online. Typically, letters appear on departmental or university letterhead and include your signature. Above all, a strong cover letter presents your accomplishments and your familiarity with the institution and with the position.
How should I prepare to write my academic cover letter?
Like all writing, composing a cover letter is a process. The process may be as short as a few hours or as long as several weeks, but at the end the letter should present you as a strong candidate for the job. The following section has tips and questions for thinking through each stage of this writing process. You donât need to answer all of these questions to write the letter; they are meant to help you brainstorm ideas.
Before you begin writing your cover letter, consider researching the institution, the department, and the student population. Incorporating all three aspects in your letter will help convey your interest in the position.
Get to know the institution. When crafting your cover letter, be aware of the type of institution to which you are applying. Knowing how the institution presents itself can help you tailor your letter and make it more specific.
- Where is the institution located?
- Is it on a quarter-system or semester-system?
- What type of institution is it? Is it an R1? Is it an R2? Is it a liberal arts college? Is it an HBCU? Is it a community college? A private high school?
- What is the institutionâs culture? Is it teaching-focused or research-focused? Does it privilege experiential learning? Does it value faculty involvement outside the classroom? Is it affiliated with a specific religious tradition?
- Does it have any specific institutional commitments?
- How does the institution advocate for involvement in its local community?
- What are the professional development opportunities for new and junior faculty?
Learn about the department. Knowing the specific culture and needs of the department can help you reach your audience: the department members who will be reading your documents and vetting you as a candidate.
- Who is on the search committee? Who is the search committee chair?
- What is the official name of the department?
- Which different subfields make up the department?
- Is it a dual appointment or a position in a dual department?
- How does the department participate in specific types of student outreach?
- Does the department have graduate students? Does it offer a terminal Masterâs degree, Ph.D., or both? How large are the cohorts? How are they funded?
- Does the department encourage or engage in interdisciplinary work?
- Does the majority of the department favor certain theoretical or methodological approaches?
- Does the department have partnerships with local institutions? If so, which ones?
- Is the department attempting to fill a specific vacancy, or is it an entirely new position?
- What are the typical course offerings in the department? Which courses might you be expected to teach? What courses might you be able to provide that are not currently available?
Consider the students. The search committee will often consider how you approach instructing and mentoring the student body. Sometimes committees will even reserve a position for a student or solicit student feedback on a candidate:
- What populations constitute the majority of the undergraduate population?
- Have there been any shifts in the student population recently?
- Do students largely come from in-state or out-of-state?
- Is there an international student population? If so, from which countries?
- Is the university recruiting students from traditionally underrepresented populations?
- Are students particularly active on campus? If so, how?
Many answers to these questions can be found both in the job description and on the institutionâs website. If possible, consider contacting someone you know at the institution to ask about the culture directly. You can also use the institutionâs course catalog, recruitment materials, alumni magazine, and other materials to get answers to these questions. The key is to understand the sort of institution to which you are applying, its immediate needs, and its future trajectory.
Remember, there is a resource that can help you with all three aspectsâpeople. Reach out to your advisor, committee members, faculty mentors, and other contacts for insight into the prospective departmentâs culture and faculty. They might even help you revise your letter based on their expertise. Think of your job search as an opportunity to cultivate these relationships.
After you have done some initial research, think about how your experiences have prepared you for the job and identify the ones that seem the most relevant. Consider your previous research, internships, graduate teaching, and summer experiences. Here are some topics and questions to get you started thinking about what you might include.
Research Experiences. Consider how your research has prepared you for an academic career. Since the letter is a relatively short document, select examples of your research that really highlight who you are as a scholar, the direction you see your work going, and how your scholarship will contribute to the institutionâs research community.
- What are your current research interests?
- What topics would you like to examine in the future?
- How have you pursued those research interests?
- Have you traveled for your research?
- Have you published any of your research? Have you presented it at a conference, symposium, or elsewhere?
- Have you worked or collaborated with scholars at different institutions on projects? If so, what did these collaborations produce?
- Have you made your research accessible to your local community?
- Have you received funding or merit-based fellowships for your research?
- What other research contributions have you made? This may include opinion articles, book chapters, or participating as a journal reviewer.
- How do your research interests relate to those of other faculty in the department or fill a gap?
Teaching Experience. Think about any teaching experience you may have. Perhaps you led recitations as a teaching assistant, taught your own course, or guest lectured. Pick a few experiences to discuss in your letter that demonstrate something about your teaching style or your interest in teaching.
- What courses are you interested in teaching for the department? What courses have you taught that discussed similar topics or themes?
- What new courses can you imagine offering the department that align with their aim and mission?
- Have you used specific strategies that were helpful in your instruction?
- What sort of resources do you typically use in the classroom?
- Do you have anecdotes that demonstrate your teaching style?
- What is your teaching philosophy?
- When have you successfully navigated a difficult concept or topic in the classroom, and what did you learn?
- What other opportunities could you provide to students?
Internships/Summer/Other Experiences. Brainstorm a list of any conferences, colloquiums, and workshops you have attended, as well as any ways you have served your department, university, or local community. This section will highlight how you participate in your university and scholarly community. Here are some examples of things you might discuss:
- Professional development opportunities you may have pursued over the summer or during your studies
- International travel for research or presentations
- Any research youâve done in a non-academic setting
- Presentations at conferences
- Participation in symposia, reading groups, working groups, etc.
- Internships in which you may have implemented your research or practical skills related to your discipline
- Participation in community engagement projects
- Participation in or leadership of any scholarly and/or university organizations
In answering these questions, create a list of the experiences that you think best reflect you as a scholar and teacher. In choosing which experiences to highlight, consider your audience and what they would find valuable or relevant. Taking the time to really think about your reader will help you present yourself as an applicant well-qualified for the position.
Writing a draft
Remember that the job letter is an opportunity to introduce yourself and your accomplishments and to communicate why you would be a good fit for the position. Typically, search committees will want to know whether you are a capable job candidate, familiar with the institution, and a great future addition to the departmentâs faculty. As such, be aware of how the letterâs structure and content reflect your preparedness for the position.
The structure of your cover letter should reflect the typical standards for letter writing in the country in which the position is located (the list below reflects the standards for US letter writing). This usually includes a salutation, body, and closing, as well as proper contact information. If you are affiliated with a department, institution, or organization, the letter should be on letterhead.
- Use a simple, readable font in a standard size, such as 10-12pt. Some examples of fonts that may be conventional in your field include Arial, Garamond, Times New Roman, and Verdana, among other similar fonts.
- Do not indent paragraphs.
- Separate all paragraphs by a line and justify them to the left.
- Make sure that any included hyperlinks work.
- Include your signature in the closing.
Before you send in your letter, make sure you proofread and look for formatting mistakes. Youâll read more about proofreading and revising later in this handout!
The second most important aspect of your letter is its content. Since the letter is the first chance to provide an in-depth introduction, it should expand on who you are as a scholar and possible faculty member. Below are some elements to consider including when composing your letter.
Identify the position you are applying to and introduce yourself. Traditionally, the first sentence of a job letter includes the full name of the position and where you discovered the job posting. This is also the place to introduce yourself and describe why you are applying for this position. Since the goal of a job letter is to persuade the search committee to include you on the list of candidates for further review, you may want to include an initial claim as to why you are a strong candidate for the position. Some questions you might consider:
- What is your current status (ABD, assistant professor, post-doc, etc.)?
- If you are ABD, have you defended your dissertation? If not, when will you defend?
- Why are you interested in this position?
- Why are you a strong candidate for this position?
Describe your research experience and interests. For research-centered positions, such as positions at R1 or other types of research-centered universities, include information about your research experience and current work early in the letter. For many applicants, current work will be the dissertation project. If this is the case, some suggest calling your âdissertation researchâ your âcurrent projectâ or âwork,â as this may help you present yourself as an emerging scholar rather than a graduate student. Some questions about your research that you might consider:
- What research experiences have you had?
- What does your current project investigate?
- What are some of the important methods you applied?
- Have you collaborated with others in your research?
- Have you acquired specific skills that will be useful for the future?
- Have you received special funding? If so, what kind?
- Has your research received any accolades or rewards?
- What does your current project contribute to the field?
- Where have you presented your research?
- Have you published your research? If so, where? Or are you working on publishing your work?
- How does your current project fit the job description?
Present your plans for future research. This section presents your research agenda and usually includes a description of your plans for future projects and research publications. Detailing your future research demonstrates to the search committee that youâve thought about a research trajectory and can work independently. If you are applying to a teaching-intensive position, you may want to minimize this section and/or consider including a sentence or two on how this research connects to undergraduate and/or graduate research opportunities. Some questions to get you started:
- What is your next research project/s?
- How does this connect to your current and past work?
- What major theories/methods will you use?
- How will this project contribute to the field?
- Where do you see your specialty area or subfield going in the next ten years and how does your research contribute to or reflect this?
- Will you be collaborating with anyone? If so, with whom?
- How will this future project encourage academic discourse?
- Do you already have funding? If so, from whom? If not, what plans do you have for obtaining funding?
- How does your future research expand upon the departmentâs strengths while simultaneously diversifying the universityâs research portfolio? (For example, does your future research involve emerging research fields, state-of-the-art technologies, or novel applications?)
Describe your teaching experience and highlight teaching strategies. This section allows you to describe your teaching philosophy and how you apply this philosophy in your classroom. Start by briefly addressing your teaching goals and values. Here, you can provide specific examples of your teaching methods by describing activities and projects you assign students. Try to link your teaching and research together. For example, if you research the rise of feminism in the 19th century, consider how you bring either the methodology or the content of your research into the classroom. For a teaching-centered institution, such as a small liberal arts college or community college, you may want to emphasize your teaching more than your research. If you do not have any teaching experience, you could describe a training, mentoring, or coaching situation that was similar to teaching and how you would apply what you learned in a classroom.
- What is your teaching philosophy? How is your philosophy a good fit for the department in which you are applying to work?
- What sort of teaching strategies do you use in the classroom?
- What is your teaching style? Do you lecture? Do you emphasize discussion? Do you use specific forms of interactive learning?
- What courses have you taught?
- What departmental courses are you prepared to teach?
- Will you be able to fill in any gaps in the departmental course offerings?
- What important teaching and/or mentoring experiences have you had?
- How would you describe yourself in the classroom?
- What type of feedback have you gotten from students?
- Have you received any awards or recognition for your teaching?
Talk about your service work. Service is often an important component of an academic job description. This can include things like serving on committees or funding panels, providing reviews, and doing community outreach. The cover letter gives you an opportunity to explain how you have involved yourself in university life outside the classroom. For instance, you could include descriptions of volunteer work, participation in initiatives, or your role in professional organizations. This section should demonstrate ways in which you have served your department, university, and/or scholarly community. Here are some additional examples you could discuss:
- Participating in graduate student or junior faculty governance
- Sitting on committees, departmental or university-wide
- Partnerships with other university offices or departments
- Participating in community-partnerships
- Participating in public scholarship initiatives
- Founding or participating in any university initiatives or programs
- Creating extra-curricular resources or presentations
Present yourself as a future faculty member. This section demonstrates who you will be as a colleague. It gives you the opportunity to explain how you will collaborate with faculty members with similar interests; take part in departmental and/or institution wide initiatives or centers; and participate in departmental service. This shows your familiarity with the role of faculty outside the classroom and your ability to add to the departmental and/or institutional strengths or fill in any gaps.
- What excites you about this job?
- What faculty would you like to collaborate with and why? (This answer may be slightly tricky. See the section on name dropping below.)
- Are there any partnerships in the university or outside of it that you wish to participate in?
- Are there any centers associated with the university or in the community that you want to be involved in?
- Are there faculty initiatives that you are passionate about?
- Do you have experience collaborating across various departments or within your own department?
- In what areas will you be able to contribute?
- Why would you make an excellent addition to the faculty at this institution?
Compose a strong closing. This short section should acknowledge that you have sent in all other application documents and include a brief thank you for the readerâs time and/or consideration. It should also state your willingness to forward additional materials and indicate what you would like to see as next steps (e.g., a statement that you look forward to speaking with the search committee). End with a professional closing such as âSincerelyâ or âKind Regardsâ followed by your full name.
If you are finding it difficult to write the different sections of your cover letter, consider composing the other academic job application documents (the research statement, teaching philosophy, and diversity statement) first and then summarizing them in your job letter.
Different kinds of letters may be required for different types of jobs. For example, some jobs may focus on research. In this case, emphasize your research experiences and current project/s. Other jobs may be more focused on teaching. In this case, highlight your teaching background and skills. Below are two models for how you could change your letterâs organization based on the job description and the institution. The models offer a guide for you to consider how changing the order of information and the amount of space dedicated to a particular topic changes the emphasis of the letter.
Research-Based Position Job Letter Example:
Teaching-based position job letter example:.
Remember your first draft does not have to be your last. Try to get feedback from different readers, especially if it is one of your first applications. It is not uncommon to go through several stages of revisions. Check out the Writing Centerâs handout on editing and proofreading and video on proofreading to help with this last stage of writing.
Potential pitfalls
Using the word dissertation. Some search committee members may see the word âdissertationâ as a red flag that an applicant is too focused on their role as a graduate student rather than as a prospective faculty member. It may be advantageous, then, to describe your dissertation as current research, a current research project, current work, or some other phrase that demonstrates you are aware that your dissertation is the beginning of a larger scholarly career.
Too much jargon. While you may be writing to a specific department, people on the search committee might be unfamiliar with the details of your subfield. In fact, many committees have at least one member from outside their department. Use terminology that can easily be understood by non-experts. If you want to use a specific term that is crucial to your research, then you should define it. Aim for clarity for your reader, which may mean simplification in lieu of complete precision.
Overselling yourself. While your job letter should sell you as a great candidate, saying so (e.g., “Iâm the ideal candidate”) in your letter may come off to some search committee members as presumptuous. Remember that although you have an idea about the type of colleague a department is searching for, ultimately you do not know exactly what they want. Try to avoid phrases or sentences where you state you are the ideal or the only candidate right for the position.
Paying too much attention to the job description. Job descriptions are the result of a lot of debate and compromise. If you have skills or research interests outside the job description, consider including them in your letter. It may be that your extra research interests; your outside skills; and/or your extracurricular involvements make you an attractive candidate. For example, if you are a Latin Americanist who also happens to be well-versed in the Spanish Revolution, it could be worth mentioning the expanse of your research interests because a department might find you could fill in other gaps in the curriculum or add an additional or complementary perspective to the department.
Improper sendoff. The closing of your letter is just as important as the beginning. The end of the letter should reflect the professionalism of the document. There should be a thank-you and the word sincerely or a formal equivalent. Remember, it is the very last place in your letter where you present yourself as a capable future colleague.
Small oversights. Make sure to proofread your letter not just for grammar but also for content. For example, if you use material from another letter, make sure you do not include the names of another school, department, or unassociated faculty! Or, if the school is in Chicago, make sure you do not accidentally reference it as located in the Twin Cities.
Name dropping. You rarely know the internal politics of the department or institution to which you are applying. So be cautious about the names you insert in your cover letters. You do not want to unintentionally insert yourself into a departmental squabble or add fire to an interdepartmental conflict. Instead, focus on the actions you will undertake and the initiatives you are passionate about.
Works consulted
We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handoutâs topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.
Ball, Cheryl E. 2013. âUnderstanding Cover Letters.â Inside Higher Ed , November 3, 2013. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/11/04/essay-cover-letter-academic-jobs .
Borchardt, John. 2014. âWriting a Winning Cover Letter.â Science Magazine , August 6, 2014. https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2014/08/writing-winning-cover-letter# .
Helmreich, William. 2013. âYour First Academic Job.â Inside Higher Ed , June 17, 2013. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/06/17/essay-how-land-first-academic-job .
Kelsky, Karen. 2013. âHow To Write a Journal Article Submission Cover Letter.â The Professor Is In (blog), April 26, 2013. https://theprofessorisin.com/2013/04/26/how-to-write-a-journal-article-submission-cover-letter/ .
Tomaska, Lubomir, and Josef Nosek. 2008. âTen Simple Rules for Writing a Cover Letter to Accompany a Job Application for an Academic Position.â PLoS Computational Biology 14(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006132 .
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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College Application Letters: Cover Letters & Letters of Continued Interest
College Application Letters
College application cover letters support your college applications, college resume, and college application essay prompts. In combination with the other elements of your college applications, particularly your college entrance essay, college application letters help establish your âwhy.â In short, a college application letter is a cover letter for your college applications that describes your background, skills, and interest in the school. When looking at college application cover letter examples, pay attention to the values that they express. College application letters and college entrance essays are similar in that they are exercises in personal branding. When reading college application cover letter examples, pay attention to the messages they convey.
If youâre wondering how to write a college application letter, CollegeAdvisor.com has advisors who can walk you through every part of the process. If your goal is to get into top colleges, CollegeAdvisor.com can help. Weâll analyze examples of college application letters and discuss the letter of continued interest to help you craft successful applications.
In this guide, weâll break down the different kinds of college application letters you may encounter when completing your college applications. Weâll discuss the college application letter and the letter of continued interest, as well as teacher recommendation letters.
If you want to read college application cover letter samples, youâve come to the right place!
What is a college application letter?
To learn how to write a college application letter, you must first understand its purpose. Do this by checking out college application cover letter examples. College application letters and college resumes serve as introductions for your college applications. Unlike college application essay prompts, there are no specific questions to answer in your cover letter. Instead, include the essential elements of university application letters: your background, what makes you unique, and your reasons for wanting to attend that particular college. In short, what makes you, you .
As youâll see when reading example college application letters, college application cover letters are not all that different from what you would write in a cover letter when applying for a job or graduate school. The purpose of college application cover letters, college entrance essays, and college resumes is to persuade colleges that you are the strongest candidate for admissions.
College application cover letters are not the time to be shy, but theyâre not the time to be pretentious either. When reading college application cover letter examples, youâll see that thereâs a fine line. Your tone matters. In your university application letters, show your experiences and accomplishments while portraying character traits that colleges value. To get into top colleges, find a balance between being proud of your accomplishments and being humble.
College application letters â Who requires them?
Unlike college entrance essays, college application letters are required by very few colleges. However, the skills youâll develop by writing university application letters will serve you well as you approach your college application essay prompts. When researching college application examples, youâll notice that there are optional materials to submit. If youâre serious about your college applications, submit university application letters to show your interest.
College application cover letters are particularly effective if the college does not have college application essay prompts that ask you to explain why you want to attend the school and/or why you want to study your major. They are even more strongly recommended when applying to colleges that donât have any supplemental essays. Youâll see many college application cover letter examples that focus primarily on academics, but you can include so much more.
Though university application letters are rarely required, they provide an ideal way to introduce yourself. After all, youâll notice when reading college application cover letter samples that the goal is to help the admissions committee get to know you as a person. You are more than just your grades and scores.
If you want to get into top colleges that donât allow you to submit a college resume or donât provide interviews, you need to take extra steps to earn acceptance. Often, you can repurpose content from college application essay prompts that ask why you want to study your major! The college application essay format differs from that of a college application letter, but they serve a very similar purpose.
What is a letter of continued interest?
A letter of continued interest (LOCI) is a letter you send to a college when you are deferred or placed on the waitlist. So, not everyone will need to write a college application letter of continued interest.
Your letter of continued interest has three primary goals:
- Reaffirm your interest in the school.
- Provide additional context for your application.
- Discuss accomplishments on your college resume that have occurred since you submitted your application.
In this guide on how to write a college application letter, we discuss all forms of college application letters in detail. Weâll expand on the above goals to explain the strategies for writing effective letters.
Explaining teacher recommendation letters
In addition to submitting a college application cover letter and, potentially, a letter of continued interest, your application will also include recommendation letters . These letters enhance your college application entrance essay and build on answers to supplemental college application essay prompts.
Due to the shift away from standardized testing, other parts of your college applications are inevitably getting more attention in the evaluation process. When assessing your college applications, admissions committees will often rely on letters from your teachers and counselor in place of interviews.
When reading sample college application letters of recommendation, youâll observe that some are better than others. But, it can be a bit harder to find example teacher recommendations than it is to find college application cover letter examples. To ensure high-quality letters, create a plan well in advance of your senior year. Youâll want to ask teachers to write your recommendations who know you best beyond your grades. The strongest sample college application letters of recommendation speak to both your personal and academic strengths.
College application sample recommendation letters with the biggest impact typically come from teachers from your core junior year courses â math, science, English, and social studies. If thereâs a teacher from your junior year who taught you during your sophomore or senior year too, even better! Teachers who know you through multiple environments â clubs, classes, sports, or other areas â can often do the best job speaking to your growth and achievement over time.
Choose teachers who know you best
Ultimately, the most effective sample college application letters of recommendation are written by the teachers who know you best. Pay attention to the college application requirements for each school on your list. Note when reading example college application letters of recommendation who the intended audience is. Some schools require math or science teachers for STEM and business majors , while others require English or social studies teachers for humanities majors .
For example, when looking at college application sample requirements, MIT writes âOne recommendation should be from a math or science teacher, and one should be from a humanities, social science, or language teacher.â Caltech also requires one math or science teacher evaluation and one humanities or social sciences teacher evaluation.
Some applicants are tempted to send more letters than the college applications require. However, aim for quality over quantity. If you want to ask another teacher to write a recommendation letter for you, ask yourself what perspective they will bring to your college applications that isnât already covered in your college entrance essay or other recommendation letters.
Donât hesitate to provide materials to help your teachers and guidance counselor write their letters of recommendation for you. In fact, you should! When reading college application sample letters of recommendation, youâll note that they are specific and provide examples where possible. Some teachers will even have you fill out a standard form to gather information from you. So, by having additional information already prepared, you are helping them tremendously.
Here are some materials you can provide to help your recommendations augment your college applications:
- College entrance essay
- College resume or a list of your extracurricular activities and awards
- Responses to college application essay prompts.
- A sample college application letter that youâre sending to one of your colleges.
- A few paragraphs about why you want to study your major or pursue your intended career.
- Key elements of the course you took with them, such as a favorite project or unit.
When preparing materials to give to teachers, read the instructions given to recommenders by MIT. Even if you arenât applying to MIT, the information can still be helpful to know. By understanding the process of writing recommendation letters on the teacher’s side, you can see what information will help them write a strong letter for you.
Donât wait until youâre submitting your college applications to ask your teachers for recommendations. Some teachers limit the number that they will write, and you want them to have plenty of time to write a quality recommendation. To make sure you have the best recommendations , ask teachers late in your junior year or early in your senior year.
The College Application Letter
As we’ve mentioned, a college application letter is a cover letter for your college applications. It describes your background, skills, and interest in the school. Itâs different from both the college application essay format and the letter of continued interest. When reviewing college application samples, youâll see that your cover letter works together with your college resume and college entrance essay to help admissions officers get to know you.
Below, weâll discuss how to write a college application letter and walk through a sample college application letter. But remember, you want your letter to be original! Donât feel limited by whatâs in any examples of college application letters.
Do all schools require a college application letter?
No â few schools actually require college application letters. However, learning to write a strong college application letter can help you in other aspects of the college admissions process. Reading college application cover letter examples can also help you learn how to write for the admissions committee audience.
One of the ways to learn how to write a college application letter is to read sample college application letters. For instance, the same skills that help you write a strong and concise college application letter will help you in the college essay format, too.
The college application letter â What should I include?
So, you know the purpose of college application letters, but what should you include in them? Reading college application cover letter samples can help you determine this. While the college application essay format lends itself to focusing on one topic or story, college application cover letter examples highlight the importance of covering several different topics.
College application letters should contain the following elements:
1. school name and address.
You college application letter should follow formal letter formatting guidelines, which include writing the full name of the college or university you are applying to in the upper left hand corner of the letter. Try to be as specific as possible with the address you choose to use.
2. Salutation
A standard salutation is suitable for your college application letter. However, it is a great idea to do your research and use the full name of the admissions officer assigned to your region.
3. Introduction
The best examples of college application letters open strong. Thank the admissions committee for reviewing your application, and introduce yourself. Do you have a unique connection to the school? Can you hook the reader in some way to make them want to keep reading?
4. Explanation of academic interests
Your primary purpose in college is to earn a degree, so notice that in example college application letters most of the space is often devoted to discussing academic plans. Include your intended major and career path, as well as interdisciplinary interests.
5. Discussion of extracurricular interests
The college application essay format may be a place for you to discuss extracurricular involvement, so use this space to elaborate or discuss additional interests. These could be connected to your academic plans, but they donât have to be.
6. Conclusion
Express your interest in the school! Impactful example college application letters have a clear and brief conclusion that reaffirms your desire to attend and enthusiasm for the opportunity to join the next class of undergraduates. Point to specific classes, professors, programs, organizations, and aspects of the college that pique your interest. No one is going to hold you to your plan, but colleges want to see that you have one.
8. Complimentary Close
Lastly, every good college application letter should include an expression of gratitude alongside your close and your signature.
In the example of a college application letter above, there are a few key details to highlight. The letter is essentially a five-paragraph essay, with one paragraph for each of the five elements. This differs significantly from the college application essay format. In this college application example, the college application letter has clear and distinct sections, and this is very common in college application cover letter samples.
Depending on your interests and plans, you could take a more integrated approach. Youâll read some examples of college application letters that center around a theme or broad plan rather than separated into individual paragraphs.
This sample college application letter is a narrative. The applicantâs goal is to tell her story to the admissions committee. The best sample college application letters paint a picture for the reader and draw the reader into the storyline. Though it can feel like being vivid and descriptive is a waste of your space, âshowing instead of telling makes for stronger college applications.
How to format your college application letter?
When reading sample college application letters, youâll observe that they are formatted very similarly to professional cover letters. Your university application letters should be one page single-spaced. The heading should also be consistent across college application letters.
- Your full address
- The date you will send the letter
- The admission officerâs name
- The college name
- The college address
Then, open your letter with a salutation. Many examples of college application letters open with âDearâ and are addressed to the admission officer. If you cannot find your regional admissions officer, it is fine to address the letter to the admissions office as was done in the sample college application letter above. Once you write the body of your letter, donât forget your closing salutation â âSincerely,â and then your name.
Once you read several sample college application letters, youâll understand the best practices. After writing a university application letter for one school, you donât need to start from scratch for additional schools. Adapt what you have to fit the next collegeâs context and your specific interests on their campus.
Being concise is key. Your university application letter should not be redundant. If it exceeds one page, see where information you mention is repeated elsewhere in your application. In your cover letter, focus on the content that makes you as original and unique as possible. Most importantly, donât forget to proofread your university application letters!
Can a college application letter help me with other parts of my application?
Think of the college application cover letter as the glue that holds your college applications together. When writing it, think about it as your opportunity to show your best self. After brainstorming the content, youâll be better equipped to craft your candidate profile into a cohesive narrative and articulate why you want to attend the college.
Though many parts of your college applications will be out of your control by the time you reach your senior fall, the college application cover letter is one that you can control. Use it to elevate your college applications, show interest in your top schools , and make yourself stand out among other applicants!
The Letter of Continued Interest
Another form of college application letter is a letter of continued interest . In sample college application letters of continued interest, youâll see that the primary purpose is to reaffirm your candidacy for a spot in the next incoming class of undergraduates.
Though it can feel like a waiting game, the waitlist should not be passive. As soon as you are waitlisted or deferred, begin crafting a letter of continued interest. The best college application sample LOCIs are submitted promptly. Put in the effort to show youâre serious about attending.
College application example LOCIs should focus on recent updates. Likely, a lot has happened since you submitted your application, particularly if you applied by the early deadlines. Strong college application sample LOCIs convey accomplishments and experiences that either add to previously mentioned ones or provide another dimension to your application.
Letter of continued interest â When and where to submit?
Learn as much as you can by reading college application example LOCIs, but know that each schoolâs process for when and how to submit them is different. Additionally, the process may vary based on whether you were deferred to the regular decision round of admissions or waitlisted after the regular decision round. Itâs important to follow each universityâs directions.
Many schools will request that you upload your letter of continued interest to a portal. Some will request that you email it to an address â typically the admissions office. Others wonât allow you to submit any additional materials. If youâre in doubt, call or email the admissions office and ask.
What to include in your letter of continued interest?
Youâll notice common trends when reading college application sample LOCIs. Effective college application example LOCIs convey a tone of sincerity, gratitude, and enthusiasm for an opportunity to attend. A strong sample college application letter of continued interest includes four elements.
First, reaffirm your interest in attending the school if offered the chance to matriculate. Then, discuss relevant developments to your application, such as additional extracurricular accolades and continued academic successes. Sometimes, youâll see a sample college application letter of continued interest that mentions how a student improved a lower mid-year grade or discusses a new leadership role.
When reading a sample college application letter of continued interest, remember that colleges are looking for reasons to admit you, so donât be shy! Offer to answer any questions they have and provide additional info in the conclusion of your letter.
Itâs important to back up your claims with supporting evidence. Strong college application sample LOCIs provide examples and specific details, just as you would in a cover letter or essay. Be vivid and descriptive as you share your story!
However, college application example LOCIs that include overly emotional appeals or merely complement the university are unlikely to be effective. Your letter of continued interest should be all about you. Though it can be difficult to realize this when reading college application example LOCIs, recognize that the content of your letter should fit within the context of the rest of your application.
The many types of college application letters â Final Thoughts
In this guide, we covered several types of letters associated with your college process â college application cover letters, teacher recommendation letters, and letters of continued interest. Reading sample college application letters, whether they are college application cover letter samples or LOCIs, can help you do your best work. But, remember that every applicantâs college application process is unique.
Our final tips for writing college application letters:
- Proofread. College application letters with typos or grammatical errors reflect poorly on your effort and candidacy. Use a polished and professional tone in everything you write for your college applications.
- Be yourself. Though this goal can get lost in the requirements, scores, and grades, you should focus on helping the colleges on your list get to know who you are .
- Follow the requirements. Each college has their own requirements for how they want you to submit materials. Pay close attention to the details for each college as you go through the admissions process.
CollegeAdvisor.com can help guide you through every step of the college application process. Check out our blog , webinars , or register with CollegeAdvisor.com today. Good luck!
This guide to college application letters and letters of continued interest was written by Caroline Marapese, Notre Dame â22. At CollegeAdvisor, we have built our reputation by providing comprehensive information that offers real assistance to students. If you want to get help with your college applications from CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions Experts , click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. Weâll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.
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How to Write an Academic Cover Letter With Examples
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Requred Job Application Materials
Submitting your application.
When you are applying for a faculty position at a college or university, your cover letter will differ significantly from the standard business cover letter.
Your cover letter may be reviewed by Human Resources department staff to determine if you meet the basic qualifications for the job. If it does, it will be forwarded to a search committee comprised mostly of faculty members and academic deans.Â
These individuals will be accustomed to reading more lengthy academic cover letters and resumes or curriculum vitae (CV) than would be customary in the business world. They will also often be more interested in the philosophical foundations for your work than the typical business recruiter.
Kelly Miller / The Balance
Tips for Writing an Academic Cover Letter
Your initial challenge will be to pass through the Human Resources screening. Review each of the required qualifications included in the job announcement and compose statements containing evidence that you possess as many of the skills, credentials, knowledge, and experiences listed as possible.Â
Address as many of the preferred qualifications as possible.Â
Give concrete examples to support your assertions about your strengths.Â
Your faculty reviewers will typically have an interest in your philosophy and approach to teaching and research within your discipline. They will also be evaluating how your background fits with the type of institution where they work.
Research the faculty in your target department to assess their orientation and expertise. Emphasize points of intersection between your philosophy and the prevalent departmental philosophy.
If you possess traditionally valued areas of expertise that are not already represented by the current faculty, make sure to point those strengths out in your cover letter. It's important to tailor your letter to the orientation of the college and adjust the mix of emphasis on teaching and research based on the expectations in that setting.Â
Colleges will typically want to hire new faculty who are passionate about their current research and not resting on past research credits.
Describe a current project with some detail and express enthusiasm for continuing such work.Â
Try to do the same with any evolving teaching interests.Â
Highlight any grants and funding you have received to undertake your research activities. Incorporate any awards or recognition which you have received for your teaching or research activities. Some text should also be devoted to other contributions to the college communities where you worked, such as committee work, advising, and collaborations with other departments.
Your cover letter should be written in the same basic format as a business cover letter. An academic cover letter is typically two pages compared to a single page for non-academic letters.
Hereâs an example of the appropriate format for a cover letter and guidelines for formatting your letters.
Academic Cover Letter Example
You can use this sample as a model to write an academic cover letter. Download the template (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online), or read the text version below.
Academic Cover Letter Example #1 (Text Version)
Robin Applicant 123 Main Street, Anytown, CA 12345 555-555.5555 robin.applicant@email.com
April 5, 2021
Dr. Sylvia Lee Chair, English Department Search Committee Acme College 123 Business Rd. Charlotte, NC 28213
Dear Dr. Sylvia Lee,
I am writing to apply for the position of assistant professor of English with an emphasis in nineteenth-century American literature that you advertised in the MLA Job Information List. I am a Deanâs Fellow and Ph.D. candidate at XYZ University, currently revising the final chapter of my dissertation, and expecting to graduate in May I am confident that my teaching experience and my research interests make me an ideal candidate for your open position.
Over the past five years, I have taught a variety of English courses. I have taught a number of American literature survey courses, as well as writing courses, including technical writing and first-year writing. I have extensive experience working with ESL students, as well as students with a variety of learning disabilities, including dyslexia and dysgraphia, and disabilities like ADD and ADHD. I pride myself on creating a classroom environment that accommodates the needs of my students while still promoting a high level of critical thought and writing skills. Some of my most satisfying experiences as a teacher have come from helping struggling students to grasp difficult concepts, through a combination of individual conferences, class activities, and group discussion. I know I would thrive as a teacher in your college, due to your belief in small classroom size and individualized support for students.
Not only does my teaching experience suit the needs of your school and department, but my research interests also fit perfectly with your description of the ideal candidate. My dissertation project, âFerns and Leaves: Nineteenth-Century Female Authorial Space,â examines the rise and development of American female authors in the 1840s and 1850s, with a particular focus on patterns of magazine publication. I argue that, rather than being submissive to the requirements of the editor or publisher, female authors, in fact, developed a more transparently reciprocal relationship between themselves and their readers than previously has been assumed. I apply recent print-culture and book-history theory to my readings of novels, magazine articles, letters, and diary entries by various female authors, with a particular focus on Sara Willis (known by her pseudonym Fanny Fern). I plan to develop my dissertation into a book manuscript and continue to research the role of female writers in antebellum magazine culture, with a particular focus on the rise and influence of female magazine editors on literary culture.
My research interests have both shaped and been shaped by my recent teaching experiences. Last spring, I developed and taught a course on the history of print culture in America. I combined readings on theory and literature that addressed issues of print with visits to local historical museums and archives. My students conducted in-depth studies on particular texts (magazines, newspapers, novels) for their final papers. I believe my interdisciplinary teaching style, particularly my emphasis on material culture, would fit in well with the interdisciplinary nature of your English department.
I am therefore confident that my teaching experience, my skill in working with ESL and LD students, and my research interests all make me an excellent candidate for the assistant professor of English position at ABC College. I have attached my curriculum vitae and the two requested sample publications. I would be happy to send you any additional materials such as letters of reference, teaching evaluations, and past and proposed course syllabi. I will be available to meet with you at either the MLA or C19 conference, or anywhere else at your convenience. Thank you so much for your consideration; I look forward to hearing from you.
Robin Applicant (hard copy letter)
Robin Applicant
Academic Cover Letter Example #2 (Text Version)
Betty Applicant 567 North Street, Boston, MA 02108 555-555.555 betty.applicant@email.com
Dr. Robert Smith Chair, Department of Biology Acme University 123 Business Rd. Business City, NY 54321
Dear Dr. Smith,
I am writing to apply for the position of Assistant Professor of Biology with a focus on molecular biology at XYZ University, as advertised in the March issue of Science. I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of XYZ in the Department of Molecular Biology, working under the advisement of Professor Linda Smith. I am confident that my research interests and teaching experience make me an ideal candidate for your open position.
My current research project, which is an expansion on my dissertation, â[insert title here],â involves [insert research project here]. I have published my dissertation findings in Science Journal and am in the processing of doing the same with my findings from my current research. The laboratory resources at XYZ University would enable me to expand my research to include [insert further research plans here] and seek further publication.
Beyond my successes as a researcher (including five published papers and my current paper in process), I have had extensive experience teaching a variety of biology courses. As a graduate student at Science University, I served as a teaching assistant and guest lecturer for both biology and chemistry introductory courses and won the university award for outstanding teacherâs assistant. As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of ABC, I have had the opportunity to teach Introduction to Biology as well as a graduate-level course, Historicizing Molecular Biology. In every class, I strive to include a blend of readings, media, lab work, and discussion to actively engage students with the material. I would love the opportunity to bring my award-winning lesson planning and teaching skills to your biology department.
I am confident that my research interests and experience combined with my teaching skills make me an excellent candidate for the Assistant Professor of Biology position at XYZ University. I have attached my curriculum vitae, three recommendations, and the two requested sample publications. I would be happy to send you any additional materials such as teaching evaluations or past and proposed course syllabi. I will be available to meet with you at the ASBMB conference or anywhere else at your convenience. Thank you so much for your consideration; I look forward to hearing from you.
Betty Applicant (hard copy letter)
Betty Applicant
Itâs important to submit all your application materials in the format requested by the college or university. You may be asked to email, mail, or apply online via the institutionâs applicant tracking system.
You may be required to provide references with your application, so be prepared to submit a list of references. The institution may also request transcripts, teaching evaluations, and writing samples.
Send only what is requested. There's no need to include information that the institution hasn't ask for.
However, you can offer to provide additional materials like writing samples, syllabi, and letters of recommendation in the last paragraph of your letter.
Follow the instructions in the job posting for submitting your application. It should specify what format the college wants to receive.
Here are some examples of what you may be asked to include with your cover letter and resume or CV:
- A cover letter, CV/resume, and contact information for three references.
- A cover letter (PDF format) of interest indicating your qualifications and reason for application, Curriculum Vitae (PDF format), and a minimum of three professional references, including phone and email contact information.
- A letter of interest, a Curriculum Vitae, a teaching vision statement, a research vision statement that specifically indicates how you would interact with or collaborate with other department faculty, and three references.
- A cover letter, CV/resume, and contact information for three references. Please upload these as ONE document in RTF, DOC or PDF format.
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Writing Cover Letters
What is a cover letter? What to include in a cover letter How to organize a cover letter Questions to guide your writing How to format a cover letter Sample cover letters
What is a cover letter?
To be considered for almost any position, you will need to write a letter of application. Such a letter introduces you, explains your purpose for writing, highlights a few of your experiences or skills, and requests an opportunity to meet personally with the potential employer.
Precisely because this letter is your introduction to an employer and because first impressions count, you should take great care to write an impressive and effective letter. Remember that the letter not only tells of your accomplishments but also reveals how effectively you can communicate.
The appropriate content, format, and tone for application letters vary according to the position and the personality of the applicant. Thus, you will want to ask several people (if possible) who have had experience in obtaining jobs or in hiring in your field to critique a draft of your letter and to offer suggestions for revision.
Despite the differences in what constitutes a good application letter, the suggestions on these pages apply generally.
What to include in a cover letter
- Try to limit your letter to a single page. Be succinct.
- Assess the employer’s needs and your skills. Then try to match them in the letter in a way that will appeal to the employer’s self-interest.
- As much as possible, tailor your letter to each job opportunity. Demonstrate, if possible, some knowledge of the organization to which you are applying.
- Write in a style that is mature but clear; avoid long and intricate sentences and paragraphs; avoid jargon. Use action verbs and the active voice; convey confidence, optimism, and enthusiasm coupled with respect and professionalism.
- Show some personality, but avoid hard-sell, gimmicky, or unorthodox letters. Start fast; attract interest immediately. For more information see Business Letter Format .
- Arrange the points in a logical sequence; organize each paragraph around a main point.
How to organize a cover letter
Below is one possible way to arrange the content of your cover letter.
Opening Paragraph
State why you are writing.
Establish a point of contact (advertisement in a specific place for a specific position; a particular person’s suggestion that you write): give some brief idea of who you are (a Senior engineering student at UW; a recent Ph.D. in History).
Paragraph(s) 2(-3)
Highlight a few of the most salient points from your enclosed resume.
Arouse your reader’s curiosity by mentioning points that are likely to be important for the position you are seeking.
Show how your education and experience suit the requirements of the position, and, by elaborating on a few points from your resume, explain what you could contribute to the organization.
(Your letter should complement, not restate, your resume.)
Closing paragraph
Stress action. Politely request an interview at the employer’s convenience.
Indicate what supplementary material is being sent under separate cover and offer to provide additional information (a portfolio, a writing sample, a sample publication, a dossier, an audition tape), and explain how it can be obtained.
Thank the reader for his/her consideration and indicate that you are looking forward to hearing from him/her.
Questions to guide your writing
- Who is my audience?
- What is my objective?
- What are the objectives and needs of my audience?
- How can I best express my objective in relationship to my audience’s objectives and needs?
- What specific benefits can I offer to my audience and how can I best express them?
- What opening sentence and paragraph will grab the attention of my audience in a positive manner and invite them to read further?
- How can I maintain and heighten the interest and desire of the reader throughout the letter?
- What evidence can I present of my value to my audience?
- If a resume is enclosed with the letter, how can I best make the letter advertise the resume?
- What closing sentence or paragraph will best assure the reader of my capabilities and persuade him or her to contact me for further information?
- Is the letter my best professional effort?
*From Ronald L. Kraunich, William J. Bauis. High Impact Resumes & Letters. Virginia Beach, VA: Impact Publications, 1982.
How to format a cover letter
- Type each letter individually, or use a word processor.
- Use good quality bond paper.
- Whenever possible, address each employer by name and title.
- Each letter should be grammatically correct, properly punctuated, and perfectly spelled. It also should be immaculately clean and free of errors. Proofread carefully!
- Use conventional business correspondence form. If you are not certain of how to do this, ask for help at the Writing Center.
Sample cover letters
Looking at examples of strong cover letters is a great way to understand how this advice can become implemented. Weâve compiled and annotated a range of different kinds of cover letters from different kinds of student applicants. We encourage you to look through these letters and see some of what weâve highlighted as working particularly well in these real world examples.
- Cover Letter Example 1. Undergraduate student applying for a restaurant hosting position.
- Cover Letter Example 2. Undergraduate sophomore applying for an internship with a non-profit, political organization.
- Cover Letter Example 3. Graduate student applying for a Project Assistant position at UW-Madison. The original job posting for this position can be found here .
- Cover Letter Example 4. A graduated student with an English literature and Spanish language double major applying to work as a law firm legal assistant.
In addition to these sample cover letters, you can find a range of other, often discipline-specific cover letter examples through these UW-Madison resources:
- SuccessWorks has developed a useful resource that features an overview of cover letters. It provides a breakdown of this genreâs main parts as well as an example cover letter and resume, all in response to an included job posting for a position with Americas Society Council of the Americas. All of this is located here .
- UW-Madisonâs Law School has several wonderful examples of cover letters for law-related jobs here . These are organized according how far the applicants were into their law school careers (i.e., L1, L2, and L3).
- The Career Center for the School of Education has information about cover letters as well as sample cover letter for someone applying to be an elementary school teacher here .
Academic and Professional Writing
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How and Why to Write a Great Cover Letter
A cover letter is a one-page business letter that you submit when applying to a job, along with your resume. As a piece of persuasive writing, your cover letter will aim to convey to the employer why you’re a great candidate for the role.
What is the purpose of a cover letter?
Your cover letter complements your resume by making it easy for the employer to see how your experience and interest connect to the position. Your goal is to convince the employer to interview you.
With your cover letter, you’ll aim to:
- Highlight your qualifications:  You’ll show how your skills and experience relate to the employerâs needs for a specific position.
- Showcase your motivation: You’ll demonstrate your enthusiasm for the specific position and the organization.
- Reflect your voice and written communication skills: You’ll give the employer a sense of your personality and writing style.
When should I write a cover letter?
Not all jobs require cover letters. So, how do you decide whether to submit one?
Submit a Cover Letter whenâŠ
- The posting explicitly requests that you do so
- Youâre applying to an opportunity at a mission-driven organization
- You think that doing so could provide important information to the employer that they wouldnât get from your resume
Consider Submitting a Cover Letter whenâŠ
- Itâs marked âoptionalâ in an application, and you have the bandwidth to do so
- You have content that you can easily recycle or repurpose into a tailored cover letter
No Need to Submit a Cover Letter whenâŠ
- A posting specifically tells you not to submit one
- Thereâs no way to submit one in an application portal, and doing so would require a serious workaround
If youâre applying to several similar opportunities, creating a draft cover letter in advance, geared toward that type of opportunity, can be a helpful way to save time in your actual application process.
How do I write a cover letter?
Your cover letter should articulate your qualifications and motivation for the position. Read the job description closely and research the organization. As you craft your cover letter, use examples that demonstrate your relevant skills, knowledge, and interests. The cover letter should be concise, clear, and well-organized.
Before Writing
Research the employer.
Learn enough about the organization to articulate why you are a strong fit for that firm.Â
- Review the firm’s website and LinkedIn page.
- Speak with current or previous employees.
- Read articles and social media for current news.
Analyze the job description
Look for skills, duties, and qualifications of the job so you can design your letter to match these as much as possible.
Reflect on your experience and motivation
Identify skills and personal qualities you have developed which will be useful in this role. Ask yourself:
- What attracts you about this role/company/industry?
- What have you have done in your work experiences, classes, internships, activities, projects, volunteer work, travel, etc., that is similar to the duties required of the job?Â
Cover Letter Structure
As a business letter, the cover letter should include:
- Heading: Include your name and contact information in the same format as your resume
- Salutation: Address your letter to the specific individual who can hire you, if this is known. If the name is not included in the job description, address the letter to the Hiring Manager or title mentioned in the job description.
- Body Paragraphs: Â Discuss your experiences, interests, and skills to show the employer how you can add value to their team. See the section below for more guidance.
- Signature Line: Include a closing and your name.
The cover letter should be one page, about three or four paragraphs, and single spaced. Use 10-12 point font and one inch margins.Â
When applying online, upload your cover letter as a PDF file, unless another format is specified. When sending your resume and cover letter by email, you may write a short note or paste your cover letter in the body of your email (without the address header) and also attach the PDF file.
Cover Letter Content
Your cover letter should answer who, what, when, where and why you are applying for the opportunity.Â
Introduction
State the position for which you are applying. If you have a referral or spoke with someone from the company, you can mention it in the introduction. Provide some basic information about yourself; this can include your class year and what you’re studying at Columbia. Briefly outline why you’re interested in the organization and what you bring in terms of relevant experience and skills.Â
Body Paragraphs
These paragraphs will highlight your qualifications and strengths that are most relevant to the organization and position. Use the job posting and your research as clues to determine what the employer is seeking in a candidate. Have your resume beside you and reflect on what you want the employer to know about you. Are there experiences you want to expand upon that demonstrate your understanding of the role and ability to do the job requirements?
Structure the paragraphs based on relevance, not chronology. Lead with your most relevant skill or strongest experience.
Start each body paragraph with a clear topic sentence. This can highlight a key skill set, a transferable experience, or a core area of knowledge youâve built through your studies. Walk the reader through a project or experience, integrating the relevant skills you used and qualities you demonstrated. Provide details about your accomplishments and impact. Connect how these experiences have prepared you for this role and why you are motivated to do this job. There is no need to apologize if you feel you lack experience; focus on the accomplishments that you have.
Recap what you would bring to the organization and your interest in the position. Thank the employer for their consideration. Keep your tone positive and enthusiastic.Â
Check out our example of how to structure your cover letter content .Â
Editing Tips
Use our Cover Letter Checklist to make sure your format and content is in line with best practices.Â
- Ensure that the content reflects the requirements in the job description
- Keep the cover letter concise, at one page or less
- Correct any errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling
- Use the active voice
- Avoid beginning too many sentences with âIâ
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The purpose of a cover letter, when required by an employer, is to introduce yourself and compel an employer to learn more about you through your resume. Capture an employer's attention by following the actions below.
Personalize
The statement "To Whom it May Concern" is concerning! Always try to address your letter to a specific person. If you do not know who should receive your letter, research the organization's website or call the main number and ask for the appropriate person's name and title.
In addition to determining the recipient's name and title, research the organization so that you can convey an appreciation for its mission and an understanding of the duties and qualifications of the position for which you are applying.
Articulate how your skills and experiences uniquely qualify you for the position and demonstrate why you are a good fit for the organization. Be clear and concise and limit your cover letter to one page. Additionally, maintain a confident, professional tone while providing insight into your personality so that your letter leaves an employer with a sense of wanting to learn more about you.
A poorly written or error-laden letter is a surefire way to end your candidacy. If you want an employer to spend additional time reviewing your resume, you must make time to proofread your letter and ensure that your grammar and spelling are perfect.
Cover Letter Format
Your street address City, state, zip code
Date Recipient's first and last name Title Organization name Street address City, state, zip code
Dear first and last name (address to someone specific or Dear Hiring Manager):
Paragraph 1: State what you are applying for and why you are applying to XYZ organization or position. Introduce yourself by saying something about yourself (i.e., I am a senior studying communications at American University). Note how/where you learned about the position. If you are writing at the suggestion of someone who knows the recipient, say so. Introduce 3-5 skills or strengths that you offer to the position/organization that you will give an example of in the following paragraphs.
Paragraph 2: Share your first story to demonstrate your skill or skills. Have a succinct beginning, middle, and end to the story. Follow the CAR method -- Context, Action, Result to tell a full story.
Paragraph 3: Share your second story following the CAR method.
Paragraph 4: Summarize what you bring to the organization and include any logistical information (when you are available, how they can contact you). Thank them for their consideration.
Sincerely, Your name
How To Write a Cover Letter With Examples
Cover letters can help differentiate you from other job applicants and be the determining factor of landing your dream job. By taking the time to craft a custom cover letter, a single sheet of paper can help communicate all the human elements that a resume may fall short of capturing about yourself.
But what do employers and recruiters have to say about how to write a cover letter? What are the best tips they have to offer for graduate students who are writing a cover letter?
We asked 11 employers for their best cover letter tips. Here is what they had to share.
Let it Set the Stage
In many ways, cover letters should provide background information and context to your resume, while simultaneously addressing how that resume addresses the specific requirements of the job opportunity. The cover letter is your opportunity to "set the stage" and to convince the hiring manager why your specific set of skills, experiences and interests will provide value to their team and its objectives.
Andrew Horrigan '11 BSBA (Management Information Systems), Product Manager at Cisco
Research the Hiring Manager
If possible, find out who the hiring manager is and look them up on LinkedIn. Do your research on the company you're applying for. What's their mission statement and how do they portray their company culture? Hopefully what you're looking for in a job is reflected by those things. Make sure the hiring manager knows that and understands who you are and what drives you. A resume is often about as robotic as things can be. Make sure your cover letter is the oppositeâpersonalize it and let yourself shine through.
Joshua Schlag â05 BS (Computer Science) â11 MBA, Digital Marketing Manager at Pyramid Analytics
Utilize Career Development Resources
The University of Arizona and Eller College of Management go to great lengths to make sure students are prepared for their impending career journey. Because cover letters are so important to getting your foot in the door, there are several career development resources online and on campus to take advantage of. The universityâs cover letter builder serves as a nice template to get started. And of course, it never hurts to make an appointment with an Eller Career Coach through eSMS to have a professional review your letter before submission.
Brett Farmiloe, â06 BSBA (Accounting), Founder, Featured
Discover Past Samples of the Position
Do your research on the company and personalize your cover letter to the role for which you are applying. Don't be afraid to Google, "How to write a good cover letter for X position." Seriously, it helps! There is so much information out there from various perspectivesâapplicants, hiring managers, etc. Most importantly be yourself and let your personality come through. And don't forget to spell check!
Mariam Nikola '17 MS MIS, Consultant at Point B
Highlight Your Soft Skills
When writing a professional cover letter, there are a couple things you can do to set yourself apart from the pack. First, make sure you tailor your letter to the specific position you are applying for. This should not be a general, "one size fits all" letterâbe sure to discuss specific details surrounding the role or the company itself. Secondly, this is an opportunity for you to show a little bit of your personality. Obviously, you want to remain professional, but this is a great time to highlight some of your soft skills that might not be fully conveyed through your resume.
Brian Ellis â17 BSBA (Management), Staffing Manager at Randstad Office and Administrative Professionals
Fill in the âWhyâ Gaps
As a talent advisor, I review a lot of applicants and agree that a cover letter can be a great way to stand apart, if it is done correctly. A great cover letter for me covers the âwhyâ that I cannot understand from just a resume alone. It should clearly state why you are interested in the role, what your goals are for utilizing your graduate degree (if recently graduated) and explain any career pivots reflected on your resume. If you answer those questions in a direct, concise manner it will add value to your application.
Monica Larson , â11 BSBA (Marketing) â20 MBA, Talent Advisor
Tell Your Story
A cover letter is your opportunity to tell your storyâtying your experience and personal interests into why you want a position and why you are the best candidate for it. Paint the picture of your journey and what about the position excites you personally and professionally. Similar to your resume, keep it short and sweet. No need to repeat whatâs already on your resume. Recruiters and hiring managers donât have time to comb through a novel, so you need to engage them with as few words as possible while also grabbing their attention.
Kelly Castoro, â06 BA (Spanish, Portuguese), Project Manager at Squarespace
Tailor Each Cover Letter to the Position You Are Applying
Be sure to research the role and customize your cover letter for each position, relating your experience to the particular role you are applying for. Personalization is keyâresearch who you are sending the cover letter to and address the letter to them directly. End your letter with a call to action, stating you will follow up by phone or email if you havenât heard from anyone. Follow ups are very important!
Jessica Rosenzweig, â15 BSBA (Business Management), Account Manager at PeopleWare Staffing
Communicate Bankability and Personality
Your cover letter answers two crucial questions; are you bankable and are you someone the company will enjoy working with? Communicate bankability with your knowledge of the company, industry and why your skills, capabilities and interests are a great fit. Share your passion for their mission, culture, brandâwhatever excites you about becoming a member of their team.
When conveyed through a concise, well-formulated, well-worded cover letter, you demonstrate the ability to write an effective business caseâcommunicating that you are a ready professional and worthy teammate who will hit the ground running.
Theresa L Garcia, â83 BSBA (Human Resources), Senior Change Management and Organization Capability Consultant at Boeing
Keep it Concise but Compelling
A cover letter is your chance to speak directly to the hiring team and tell them why you are not only the best match for the position for which you are applying but also give them additional insight into yourself as an individual that is less visible from your experience.
A great cover letter should be attention grabbing and touch upon the qualities that make you stand out from others in the applicant pool, highlight both your recent and most distinguished accomplishments and drive home why you are the right person for the job. Professionalism is always important, but donât be hesitant to put your voice into the letter to let your personality shine through. Research the company, understand where they currently are, where they are going and show why you are the right person to get them from point A to point B. Recruiters spend a lot of time reviewing applicants and making yourself stand apart from the crowd is key. Keep it concise but compelling!
Matt Reineberg, â14 BSBA (Marketing), Senior Talent Acquisition Sourcer at Cox Enterprises
Highlight the âWhyâ
Why are you applying to this company? Why do you want this position? Your cover letter should aim to answer the why behind applying for the job. Conveying an interest and excitement for working specifically for this job at this company, rather than a desire to get any job anywhere that will give you money, can go a long way. Show the company that they should hire you and your passion over someone that might have the skills needed for the job, but doesnât care about the work as much as you do.
Ryan Nouis, Trupath
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Media File: Academic Cover Letters
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When you're applying for a faculty position with a college or university, the cover letter is your first chance to make a strong impression as a promising researcher and teacher. Below you'll find some strategies for presenting your qualifications effectively in an academic context.
Distinctions between Academic and Business Cover Letters
A cover letter for an academic job has a function similar to one for a business job, but the content differs significantly in quantity and kind. While the general advice for business cover letters—such as tailoring your letter for the specific job and selling your strengths—still applies, a cover letter for an academic position should be long enough to highlight in some detail your accomplishments during your graduate education in research, teaching, departmental service, and so on. The typical letter is thus usually one and a half to two pages long, but not more than two—roughly five to eight paragraphs.
The First Paragraph
In the opening of your letter you need to convey some basic information, such as what specific position you are applying for (using the title given in the job notice) and where you learned of the opening. Since a cover letter is a kind of persuasive writing (persuading a hiring committee to include you on a list of candidates for further review), the first paragraph of your letter should also make the initial claim as to why you are a strong candidate for the position.
Tailoring for Your Audience
In an academic context knowing your audience means reading the job notice carefully and knowing the type of institution to which you are applying. Most graduate students have studied a broad range of material within their discipline before specializing in a narrow field for the dissertation project. Since it is rare to find a job notice specifying your exact qualifications, you need to emphasize those aspects of your graduate training that seem particularly relevant to the position advertised.
- Job notice: If you've written a political science dissertation on populism in early twentieth-century US national politics, you probably won't respond to a notice seeking a specialist in international politics during the Cold War. But you may wish to apply for a position teaching twentieth-century US political parties and movements. In this case you would want to stress the relevance of your dissertation to the broad context of twentieth-century US politics, even though the study focuses narrowly on the pre-World War I period. You might also highlight courses taken, presentations given, or other evidence of your expertise that corresponds to the job notice.
- Type of institution: Often the job notice will provide a brief description of the college or university, indicating such factors as size, ownership (public, private), affiliation (religious, nonsectarian), geography (urban, suburban, rural), and so on. These factors will influence the kind of information emphasized in your letter. For example, for a job at a small liberal arts college that focuses on undergraduate teaching, you would emphasize your teaching experience and pedagogical philosophy early in the letter before mentioning your dissertation. On the other hand, for a job at a large research university you would provide at least one detailed paragraph describing your dissertation early in the letter, even indicating your plans for future research, before mentioning your teaching and other experience.
Other Advice
If you're still working on your dissertation, you should mention somewhere in the letter when you expect to be awarded the Ph.D., even being as specific as to mention how many chapters have been completed and accepted, how many are in draft version, and what your schedule for completion is. Last-paragraph tips include the following:
- Mention your contact information, including a phone number where you can be reached if you will be away during a holiday break.
- If you will be attending an upcoming major professional conference in your field, such as the MLA convention for language and literature professionals, indicate that you will be available for an interview there. Be sure to mention that you are available for telephone or campus-visit interviews as well.
- If you have some special connection to the school, type of institution, or region, such as having attended the school as an undergraduate or having grown up in the area, you may wish to mention that information briefly at some point.
- Mention your willingness to forward upon request additional materials such as writing samples, teaching evaluations, and letters of recommendation.
Job seekers at Purdue University may find value in the Purdue Career Wiki.
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Career pathways â, professional development advice â, jobs and internships â, pre-health at illinois â, resources for international students â, how to write a cover letter, purpose of your cover letter.
Your cover letter is an important component of the application process. It serves as a way for you to summarize your qualifications, state your interest in a position, and stand out from other applicants.
Cover letters typically accompany each resume you submit, unless otherwise specified. It is customized to each opportunity you are pursuing.
Tips for Writing Your Cover Letter
How to ensure your content is concise, relevant, and appealing to potential employers.
- While every cover letter is different, effective cover letters demonstrate you are a good fit for the position.
- Convey your enthusiasm for the position and knowledge of the company.
- Provide support and examples that showcase the skills and competencies that are being sought.
- Focus on your accomplishments and measurable results.
- Address your cover letter to a specific person whenever possible. It may take some resourcefulness on your part to identify the appropriate person, but the letter will be better received. Â
- Write clearly and concisely.
- Use proper grammar and check for misspelled words.
- Limit your letter to one page.
- Be sure to include the date, an appropriate salutation, and close with your signature.
- Mass produced cover letters are a common mistake, and easy to detect. Be sure to relate your specific skills and experiences to each individual position.  Â
- Incorporate information that reflects your knowledge of the company, the industry, or the position.Â
- Consider that employers are seeking to fill specific roles and are looking for applicants that have the skills and qualities to succeed in that role.Â
Structuring Your Cover Letter
Paragraph 1: capture attention .
- In your first paragraph, capture the reader's attention.
- Indicate the position you are applying for and how you learned of the vacancy, i.e. Did someone tell you about it? Did you see an ad or website?Â
- Outline the specific reasons why you are ideal for the position. Â
- Sell yourself in paragraph 1. Do not wait until the second paragraph to articulate why you are well qualified for the position.
Paragraph 2 & 3:Â Create DesireÂ
- Describe yourself as a serious candidate and one worth inviting for an interview. State the hard details including your specific skills, history of responsibility, success, etc.Â
- Think about ways to reinforce an image of yourself that includes as many of the desired qualities as possible.Â
- Show, donât tell. Remember, your goal is to set yourself apart from other applicants. Do not just tell the employer you have a skill, provide evidence. For example, do not just state you are âdetail orientedâ. Give the reader an example of something in your work history that proves that you are detail oriented.Â
- Refer to your resume, but do not simply list the contents of it.Â
- Emphasize how your variety of experiences are connected to the position and will benefit the company.Â
Paragraph 4:Â Call for ActionÂ
- Use a few lines to express your strong interest in the position and your desire to discuss your application further in an interview.Â
- Give a brief summary of the key points in the letter, but avoid repetition.
Title Related Resources
- Resume/Cover Letter/LinkedIn Review Services
- Sample Cover Letter (pdf)
How to Write a Cover Letter in 2024 + Examples
After weeks of heavy job search, youâre almost there!
Youâve perfected your resume.Â
Youâve short-listed the coolest jobs you want to apply for.
Youâve even had a friend train you for every single interview question out there.
But then, before you can send your application and call it a day, you remember that the job ad requires a cover letter.
Now youâre stuck wondering how to write a cover letter ...
Donât panic! Weâve got you covered. Writing a cover letter is a lot simpler than you might think.Â
In this guide, weâre going to teach you how to write a cover letter that gets you the job you deserve.
- Whatâs a cover letter & why itâs important for your job search
- How to write a convincing cover letter that gets you the job (step-by-step!)
- How to perfect your cover letter with the Novoresume free checklist
- What excellent cover letter examples look like
New to cover letter writing? Give our resumes 101 video a watch before diving into the article!
So, letâs get started with the basics!
What is a Cover Letter? (and Why Itâs Important)
A cover letter is a one-page document that you submit as part of your job application (alongside your CV or Resume).Â
Its purpose is to introduce you and briefly summarize your professional background. On average, your cover letter should be from 250 to 400 words long .
A good cover letter can spark the HR managerâs interest and get them to read your resume.Â
A bad cover letter, on the other hand, might mean that your application is going directly to the paper shredder. So, to make sure this doesnât happen, itâs essential to know how to write a convincing cover letter.
How does a good cover letter look, you might ask. Well, hereâs an example:
Keep in mind, though, that a cover letter is a supplement to your resume, not a replacement. Meaning, you donât just repeat whatever is mentioned in your resume.
If youâre writing a cover letter for the first time, writing all this might seem pretty tough. After all, youâre probably not a professional writer.
The thing is, though, you donât need to be creative, or even any good at writing. All you have to do is follow a tried-and-tested format:
- Header - Input contact information
- Greeting the hiring manager
- Opening paragraph - Grab the readerâs attention with 2-3 of your top achievements
- Second paragraph - Explain why youâre the perfect candidate for the job
- Third paragraph - Explain why youâre a good match for the company
- Formal closing
Or, hereâs what this looks like in practice:
How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter (And Get Hired!)
Now that weâve got the basics out of the way, weâre going to guide you through the process of writing a cover letter step by step.Â
Step #1 - Pick the Right Cover Letter Template
A good cover letter is all about leaving the right first impression.
So, whatâs a better way to leave a good impression than a well-formatted, visual template?
You can simply pick one of our hand-picked cover letter templates , and youâll be all set in a jiffy!
As a bonus, our AI will even give you suggestions on how to improve your cover letter on the go.
Step #2 - Start the Cover Letter with a Header
As with a resume, itâs important to start your cover letter with a Contact Information section:
Here, you want to include all essential information, including:
- Phone Number
- Name of the hiring manager / their professional title
- Name of the company youâre applying to
In certain cases, you might also consider adding:
- Social Media Profiles - Any type of profile thatâs relevant to your field. Social Profiles on websites like LinkedIn, GitHub (for developers), Medium (for writers), etc.
- Personal Website - If you have a personal website that somehow adds value to your application, you can mention it. Letâs say youâre a professional writer. In that case, youâd want to link to your blog.
And hereâs what you shouldnât mention in your header:
- Your Full AddressÂ
- Unprofessional Email - Make sure your email is presentable. Itâs pretty hard for a hiring manager to take you seriously if your email address is â[email protected].â Whenever applying for jobs, stick to the â[first name] + [last name] @ email provider.comâ format.
Step #3 - Greet the Hiring Manager
Once youâve properly listed your contact information, you need to start writing the cover letter contents.
The first thing to do here is to address the cover letter to the hiring manager .
Thatâs right, the hiring manager! Not the overly popular âDear Sir or Madam.â You want to show your future boss that you did your research and are really passionate about working with their team.
No one wants to hire a job seeker who just spams 20+ companies and hopes to get hired in any of them.
So, how do you find out whoâs the hiring manager? There are several ways to do this.Â
The simplest option is to look up the head of the relevant department on LinkedIn. Letâs say youâre applying for the position of a Communication Specialist at Novoresume. The hiring manager is probably Head of Communications or Chief Communications Office.
So, you do a quick lookup on LinkedIn:
And voila! You have your hiring manager.
Or letâs say youâre applying for the position of a server. In that case, youâd be looking for the ârestaurant manager.â
If this doesnât work, you can also check out the âTeamâ page on the company website; thereâs a good chance youâll at least find the right person there.
Here are several other greetings you could use:
- Dear [Department] Hiring Manager
- Dear Hiring Manager
- To whom it may concern
- Dear [Department] Team
Step #4 - Write an Attention-Grabbing Introduction
First impressions matter, especially when it comes to your job search.
Recruiters get hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of applications. Chances are, theyâre not going to be reading every single cover letter end-to-end.
So, itâs essential to catch their attention from the very first paragraph .
The #1 problem we see with most cover letter opening paragraphs is that theyâre usually extremely generic. Most of them look something like this..
- Hey, my name is Jonathan and Iâd like to work as a Sales Manager at XYZ Inc. Iâve worked as a sales manager at MadeUpCompany Inc. for 5+ years, so I believe that Iâd be a good fit for the position.
See the issue here? This opening paragraph doesnât say pretty much anything except the fact that youâve worked the job before.
Do you know who else has similar work experience? All the other applicants youâre competing with.
Instead, you want to start off with 2-3 of your top achievements to really grab the readerâs attention. Preferably, the achievements should be as relevant as possible to the position.
So now, letâs make our previous example shine:
My nameâs Michael and Iâd like to help XYZ Inc. hit and exceed their sales goals as a Sales Manager. Iâve worked with Company X, a fin-tech company, for 3+ years. As a Sales Representative, I generated an average of $30,000+ in sales per month (beating the KPIs by around 40%). I believe that my previous industry experience, as well as excellence in sales, makes me the right candidate for the job.
See the difference between the two examples? If you were the hiring manager, which sales manager would you hire, Jonathan or Michael?
Now that weâve covered the introduction, letâs talk about the body of your cover letter. This part is split into two paragraphs: the first is for explaining why youâre the perfect person for the job, and the latter is for proving that youâre a good fit for the company.
So, letâs get started...
Step #5 - Explain why youâre the perfect person for the job
This is where you show off your professional skills and convince the HR manager that youâre a better fit for the job than all the other applicants.
But first things first - before you even write anything, you need to learn what the most important requirements for the role are. So, open up the job ad and identify which of the responsibilities are the most critical.
For the sake of the example, letâs say youâre applying for the position of a Facebook Advertiser. You scan the job ad and see that the top requirements are:
- Experience managing a Facebook ad budget of $10,000+ / month
- Some skills in advertising on other platforms (Google Search + Twitter)
- Excellent copywriting skills
Now, in this section, you need to discuss how you fulfill these requirements. So, hereâs how that would look for our example:
In my previous role as a Facebook Marketing Expert at XYZ Inc. I handled customer acquisition through ads, managing a monthly Facebook ad budget of $20,000+ . As the sole digital marketer at the company, I managed the ad creation & management process end-to-end. Meaning, I created the ad copy , images, picked the targeting, ran optimization trials, and so on.
Other than Facebook advertising, Iâve also delved into other online PPC channels, including:
- Google Search
Are you a student applying for your first internship? You probably donât have a lot of work experience to show off in this section. Learn how to write an internship cover letter here.
Step #6 - Explain why youâre a good fit for the company
Once youâve written the last paragraph, you might be thinking - Iâm a shoo-in for the job! What else do I need to write? Iâll just wrap up the cover letter and hit that sweet SEND button.
Well, no. Youâre not quite there yet.
The HR manager doesnât only look at whether youâll be good at the job or not. Theyâre looking for someone thatâs also a good fit for the company culture.
After all, employees that donât fit in are bound to quit, sooner or later. This ends up costing the company a ton of money, up to 50% of the employeeâs annual salary .Â
Meaning, you also need to convince the HR manager that youâre really passionate about working with them.
How do you do this? Well, as a start, you want to do some research about the company. You want to know things like:
- Whatâs the companyâs business model?
- Whatâs the company product or service? Have you used it?
- Whatâs the culture like? Will someone micro-manage your work, or will you have autonomy on how you get things done?
So, get to Googling. Chances are, youâll find all the information you need either on the company website or somewhere around the web.
Then, you need to figure out what you like about the company and turn that into text.
Letâs say, for example, youâre passionate about their product and you like the culture of innovation / independent work in the organization.
Youâd write something like:
Iâve personally used the XYZ Smartphone, and I believe that itâs the most innovative tech Iâve used in years. The features such as Made-Up-Feature #1 and Made-Up-Feature #2 were real game changers for the device.Â
I really admire how Company XYZ thrives for excellence for all its product lines, creating market-leading tech. As someone that thrives in a self-driven environment, I truly believe that I and Company XYZ will be a great match.
What you donât want to do here is be super generic for the sake of having something to write. Most job seekers tend to mess this one up. Letâs take a look at a very common example we tend to see (way too often):
Iâd love to work for Company XYZ because of its culture of innovation. I believe that since Iâm super creative, Iâd be a good fit for the company. The company values of integrity and transparency really vibe with me.
See whatâs wrong here? The example doesnât really say anything about the company. âCulture of Innovationâ is something most companies claim to have.Â
The same goes for âvalues of integrity and transparencyâ - the writer just googled what the values for the organization are, and said that they like them.
Any hiring manager that reads this will see through the fluff.
So, make sure to do a lot of research and come up with good reasons why you're applying.
Step #7 - Wrap up with a call to action
Finally, itâs time to finish up your cover letter and write the conclusion.
In the final paragraph, you want to:
- Wrap up any points you couldn't in the previous paragraphs. Do you have anything left to say? Any other information that could help the hiring manager make their decision? Mention it here.
- Thank the hiring manager for their time. It never hurts to be courteous, as long as you donât come off as too needy.
- Finish the cover letter with a call to action. The very last sentence in your cover letter should be a call to action. You should ask the hiring manager to take some sort of action.
And now, letâs turn this into a practical example:
So to wrap it all up, thanks for looking into my application. I hope I can help Company X make the most out of their Facebook marketing initiatives. I'd love to further discuss how my previous success at XYZ Inc. can help you achieve your facebook marketing goals.
Step #8 - Use the right formal closing
Once youâre done with the final paragraph, all you have to do is write down a formal âgoodbyeâ and youâre good to go.
Feel free to use one of the most popular conclusions to a cover letter:
- Best Regards,
- Kind Regards,
And weâre finally done! Before sending off the cover letter, make sure to proofread it with software like Grammarly, or maybe even get a friend to review it for you.
Does your cover letter heading include all essential information?
- Professional email
- Relevant Social Media Profiles
Do you address the right person? I.e. hiring manager in the company / your future direct supervisor
Does your introductory paragraph grab the reader's attention?
- Did you mention 2-3 of your top achievements?
- Did you use numbers and facts to back up your experience?
Do you successfully convey that youâre the right pro for the job?
- Did you identify the core requirements?
- Did you successfully convey how your experiences help you fit the requirements perfectly?
Do you convince the hiring manager that youâre passionate about the company youâre applying to?
- Did you identify the top 3 things that you like about the company?
- Did you avoid generic reasons for explaining your interest in the company?
Did you finalize the conclusion with a call to action?
Did you use the right formal closure for the cover letter?
5+ Cover Letter Examples
Need some inspiration? Read on to learn about some of the best cover letter examples weâve seen (for different fields).
College Student Cover Letter Example
Middle Management Cover Letter Example
Career Change Cover Letter Example
Management Cover Letter Example
Senior Executive Cover Letter Example
Want to discover more examples AND learn what makes them stand out? Check out our guide to cover letter examples .
Next Steps in Your Job Search - Creating a Killer Resume
Your cover letter is only as good as your resume. If either one is weak, your entire application is for naught.Â
After all, a cover letter is just an introduction. Imagine going through all this effort to leave an amazing first impression, but flopping at the end because of a mediocre resume.
...But donât you worry, weâve got you covered on that end, too.
If you want to learn more about Resumes & CVs, we have a dedicated FREE guide for that. Check out our complete guide on how to make a resume , as well as how to write a CV - our experts will teach you everything you need to know in order to land your dream job.
Or, if youâre already an expert, just pick one of our resume templates and get started.
Key Takeaways
Now that weâve walked you through all the steps of writing a cover letter, letâs summarize everything weâve learned:
- A cover letter is a 250 - 400 word document that convinces the hiring manager of your competence
- A cover letter goes in your job application alongside your resume
- Your introduction to the cover letter should grab the hiring managerâs attention and keep it all the way until the conclusion
- There are 2 main topics you need to include in your cover letter: why youâre the perfect candidate for the job & why youâre passionate about working in the company youâre applying to
- Most of the content of your cover letter should be factual , without any fluff or generalizations
At NovorĂ©sumĂ©, weâre committed to helping you get the job you deserve, every step of the way! Follow our blog to stay up to date with the industry-leading advice. Or, check out some of our top guidesâŠ
- How to Write a Motivational Letter
- How to Write a Resume with No Work Experience
- Most Common Interview Questions and Answers
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This article emphasizes the importance of including a cover letter when applying for jobs, despite conflicting information online. It highlights employers’ expectations and perceptions of cover letters.
How to Write a Cover Letter That Will Get You a Job
I âve read thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of cover letters in my career. If youâre thinking that sounds like really boring reading, youâre right. What I can tell you from enduring that experience is that most cover letters are terrible â and not only that, but squandered opportunities. When a cover letter is done well, it can significantly increase your chances of getting an interview, but the vast majority fail that test.
So letâs talk about how to do cover letters right.
First, understand the point of a cover letter.
The whole idea of a cover letter is that it can help the employer see you as more than just your rĂ©sumĂ©. Managers generally arenât hiring based solely on your work history; your experience is crucial, yes, but theyâre also looking for someone who will be easy to work with, shows good judgment, communicates well, possesses strong critical thinking skills and a drive to get things done, complements their current team, and all the other things you yourself probably want from your co-workers. Itâs tough to learn much about those things from job history alone, and thatâs where your cover letter comes in.
Because of that âŠ
Whatever you do, donât just summarize your rĂ©sumĂ©.
The No. 1 mistake people make with cover letters is that they simply use them to summarize their rĂ©sumĂ©. This makes no sense â hiring managers donât need a summary of your rĂ©sumĂ©! Itâs on the very next page! Theyâre about to see it as soon as they scroll down. And if you think about it, your entire application is only a few pages (in most cases, a one- or two-page rĂ©sumĂ© and a one-page cover letter) â why would you squander one of those pages by repeating the content of the others? And yet, probably 95 percent of the cover letters I see donât add anything new beyond the rĂ©sumĂ© itself (and thatâs a conservative estimate).
Instead, your cover letter should go beyond your work history to talk about things that make you especially well-suited for the job. For example, if youâre applying for an assistant job that requires being highly organized and you neurotically track your household finances in a detailed, color-coded spreadsheet, most hiring managers would love to know that because it says something about the kind of attention to detail youâd bring to the job. Thatâs not something you could put on your rĂ©sumĂ©, but it can go in your cover letter.
Or maybe your last boss told you that you were the most accurate data processor sheâd ever seen, or came to rely on you as her go-to person whenever a lightning-fast rewrite was needed. Maybe your co-workers called you âthe client whispererâ because of your skill in calming upset clients. Maybe youâre regularly sought out by more senior staff to help problem-solve, or you find immense satisfaction in bringing order to chaos. Those sorts of details illustrate what you bring to the job in a different way than your rĂ©sumĂ© does, and they belong in your cover letter.
If youâre still stumped, pretend youâre writing an email to a friend about why youâd be great at the job. You probably wouldnât do that by stiffly reciting your work history, right? Youâd talk about what youâre good at and how youâd approach the work. Thatâs what you want here.
You donât need a creative opening line.
If you think you need to open the letter with something creative or catchy, I am here to tell you that you donât. Just be simple and straightforward:
âą âIâm writing to apply for your X position.â
âą âIâd love to be considered for your X position.â
âą âIâm interested in your X position because âŠâ
âą âIâm excited to apply for your X position.â
Thatâs it! Straightforward is fine â better, even, if the alternative is sounding like an aggressive salesperson.
Show, donât tell.
A lot of cover letters assert that the person who wrote it would excel at the job or announce that the applicant is a skillful engineer or a great communicator or all sorts of other subjective superlatives. Thatâs wasted space â the hiring manager has no reason to believe it, and so many candidates claim those things about themselves that most managers ignore that sort of self-assessment entirely. So instead of simply declaring that youâre great at X (whatever X is), your letter should demonstrate that. And the way you do that is by describing accomplishments and experiences that illustrate it.
Hereâs a concrete example taken from one extraordinarily effective cover-letter makeover that I saw. The candidate had originally written, âI offer exceptional attention to detail, highly developed communication skills, and a talent for managing complex projects with a demonstrated ability to prioritize and multitask.â Thatâs pretty boring and not especially convincing, right? (This is also exactly how most peopleâs cover letters read.)
In her revised version, she wrote this instead:
âIn addition to being flexible and responsive, Iâm also a fanatic for details â particularly when it comes to presentation. One of my recent projects involved coordinating a 200-page grant proposal: I proofed and edited the narratives provided by the division head, formatted spreadsheets, and generally made sure that every line was letter-perfect and that the entire finished product conformed to the specific guidelines of the RFP. (The result? A five-year, $1.5 million grant award.) I believe in applying this same level of attention to detail to tasks as visible as prepping the materials for a top-level meeting and as mundane as making sure the copier never runs out of paper.â
That second version is so much more compelling and interesting â and makes me believe that she really is great with details.
If thereâs anything unusual or confusing about your candidacy, address it in the letter.
Your cover letter is your chance to provide context for things that otherwise might seem confusing or less than ideal to a hiring manager. For example, if youâre overqualified for the position but are excited about it anyway, or if youâre a bit underqualified but have reason to think you could excel at the job, address that up front. Or if your background is in a different field but youâre actively working to move into this one, say so, talk about why, and explain how your experience will translate. Or if youâre applying for a job across the country from where you live because youâre hoping to relocate to be closer to your family, let them know that.
If you donât provide that kind of context, itâs too easy for a hiring manager to decide youâre the wrong fit or applying to everything you see or donât understand the job description and put you in the ânoâ pile. A cover letter gives you a chance to say, âNo, wait â hereâs why this could be a good match.â
Keep the tone warm and conversational.
While there are some industries that prize formal-sounding cover letters â like law â in most fields, yours will stand out if itâs warm and conversational. Aim for the tone youâd use if you were writing to a co-worker whom you liked a lot but didnât know especially well. Itâs okay to show some personality or even use humor; as long as you donât go overboard, your letter will be stronger for it.
Donât use a form letter.
You donât need to write every cover letter completely from scratch, but if youâre not customizing it to each job, youâre doing it wrong. Form letters tend to read like form letters, and they waste the chance to speak to the specifics of what this employer is looking for and what it will take to thrive in this particular job.
If youâre applying for a lot of similar jobs, of course youâll end up reusing language from one letter to the next. But you shouldnât have a single cover letter that you wrote once and then use every time you apply; whatever you send should sound like you wrote it with the nuances of this one job in mind.
A good litmus test is this: Could you imagine other applicants for this job sending in the same letter? If so, thatâs a sign that you havenât made it individualized enough to you and are probably leaning too heavily on reciting your work history.
No, you donât need to hunt down the hiring managerâs name.
If you read much job-search advice, at some point youâll come across the idea that you need to do Woodward and Bernsteinâlevel research to hunt down the hiring managerâs name in order to open your letter with âDear Matilda Jones.â You donât need to do this; no reasonable hiring manager will care. If the name is easily available, by all means, feel free to use it, but otherwise âDear Hiring Managerâ is absolutely fine. Take the hour you just freed up and do something more enjoyable with it.
Keep it under one page.
If your cover letters are longer than a page, youâre writing too much, and you risk annoying hiring managers who are likely sifting through hundreds of applications and donât have time to read lengthy tomes. On the other hand, if you only write one paragraph, itâs unlikely that youâre making a compelling case for yourself as a candidate â not impossible, but unlikely. For most people, something close to a page is about right.
Donât agonize over the small details.
What matters most about your cover letter is its content. You should of course ensure that itâs well-written and thoroughly proofread, but many job seekers agonize over elements of the letter that really donât matter. I get tons of questions from job seekers about whether they should attach their cover letter or put it in the body of the email (answer: No one cares, but attaching it makes it easier to share and will preserve your formatting), or what to name the file (again, no one really cares as long as itâs reasonably professional, but when people are dealing with hundreds of files named âresume,â itâs courteous to name it with your full name).
Approaching your cover letter like this can make a huge difference in your job search. It can be the thing that moves your application from the âmaybeâ pile (or even the ânoâ pile) to the âyesâ pile. Of course, writing cover letters like this will take more time than sending out the same templated letter summarizing your rĂ©sumĂ© â but 10 personalized, compelling cover letters are likely to get you more interview invitations than 50 generic ones will.
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5 steps to negotiate more financial aid.
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Colleges have continued to raise their prices year after year. In the past 20 years, in-state tuition at public universities has increased by an astounding 158 %. The cost of attending a university is one of the many factors students are considering when making their college choice. As May 1, "decision day," draws near, students should evaluate their financial aid offers with the cost of attendance to determine feasibility. With no relief in sight from rising tuition costs, students and their families might be wondering how they can get more financial aid from schools. Here are five steps students should follow to negotiate for more financial aid.
College has become increasingly expensive but there are ways you can potentially reduce the tuition ... [+] bill.
Step 1: Access Changes In Your Financial Situation
When schools initially send out their aid offers, they often use a formula to evaluate the family's ability to pay for college. Of course, a standardized system will always have flaws, giving the student wiggle room to negotiate with the college.
To negotiate successfully, students must prove their need is more significant than indicated on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or the CSS Profile. When families fill out these forms, the information collected is based on two-year-old tax and income information. Many things might have changed since then, and these forms often donât address those unique financial circumstances that families might find themselves in.
For example, families might have recently experienced high healthcare expenses, job loss or change in compensation, care for an elderly grandparent or a child with disabilities, natural disaster, change in marital status or family size, unusual capital gains, the loss of child support or Social Security benefits for a child, or many other factors. All of these factors and more can play a role in changing how much aid a family should get.
Step 2: Gather Relevant Documents
Once the family has accessed what has changed in their financial situation, the next step is to gather any necessary documentation to help demonstrate the changes or special circumstances. Make copies of any documents and include them in the appeal.
Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024
Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, step 3: compare other aid offers from comparable colleges.
The next step is to look at the other financial aid offers received. If another university offers a student a substantial amount, they can use that in negotiations with their top choice university. However, only compare similar schoolsâa financial aid offer from a private university isn't comparable to an offer of financial assistance from a public university.
Step 4: Write A Letter Appealing For More Aid
The student is encouraged to be the one to contact the financial aid office. Colleges like to see the student take ownership of the application journey, and it might be better received if the student is the one to write it.
In the letter, clearly state what has changed and why more aid is necessary to be able to attend college. This letter shouldn't be more than 1-2 pagesâthe student doesn't need to include their entire life story, but it should continue with the relevant documents to prove that more aid is necessary.
The tone of the letter should remain courteousâremember, the financial aid officers do want to help students get more aid, but sometimes, they can't help more. Remaining polite in the initial letter and any further correspondence can help make a better impression.
Before writing and sending the letter, check with the institution on how they want to receive the letter. There might be a particular form that should go with the letter or be in a certain format. Following instructions can help improve the chances of getting more funds.
Step 5: Wait To Pay The Deposit
Students can appeal for aid at any point if their financial situation changes, including after the May 1 deadline. However, it might help if they wait to submit their enrollment deposit until they have written the appeal letter. It would also give students the chance to weigh all of their options more fully once they have the final decision from the financial aid office.
What Won't Work
- Making appeals based on academic merit. When trying to bargain for more financial aid, one thing that isn't considered is the student's academic achievements. If a student's grades or test scores have improved, which might mean they can qualify for a better merit-based scholarship, the student should contact the admissions office.
- Comparing a financial aid offer from a dissimilar institution. On average, the cost for a private college in 2021-2022 was $38,185, whereas public school attendees paid $10,338 in-state tuition or $22,698 out-of-state tuition. Because of the higher sticker price, a student's overall scholarship at a private institution tends to be higher. However, because the overall cost of attendance isn't the same for private vs. public schools, students shouldn't use a financial aid offer from Drexel University to negotiate with the University of Michigan.
- Harassing the financial aid office to get a response. Colleges are not obligated to give more money, regardless of the family's financial situation. Therefore, students and parents should respect the financial aid officers' time.
This financial aid letter can be worth thousands of dollars. Even if your appeal for more aid fails, your offer of acceptance is not in jeopardy. Do your research, prepare the documents, and write the letter to make your dream school more attainable.
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A successful cover letter for a university application should contain specific elements that demonstrate the applicant's qualifications, achievements, and passion for the program. These elements include: Addressing the letter to the appropriate recipient. Crafting an engaging introduction that captures the reader's attention.
Use a proper salutation. Begin your college application letter with a formal salutation. The standard, in this case, is "Dear". Be sure to avoid informal salutations such as "Hey", "Hi", and "Hello". đĄ Tip: Do your best to personalize your university application letter in every way that you can.
Use this University cover letter example to finish your application and get hired fast - no frustration, no guesswork. This cover letter example is specifically designed for University positions in 2024. Take advantage of our sample sentences + expert guides to download the perfect cover letter in just minutes. 4.8.
1. Write your name and street address. At the top of your cover letter, write your first and last name. On a separate line include your street address, followed by your city, state and zip code on another line. 2. Include the date. Below your contact information, write the date you plan on sending the cover letter.
Here are 3 examples of personalized cover letter greetings. Dear Mr. John Applewood, Dear Hiring Manager John Applewood, Dear Mr. John Applewood & the Hiring Department, 3. How to write a compelling introduction as a university student. Next up, you need to begin the body text of your cover letter with a compelling introduction.
A cover letter is more than a resume in paragraph form. 3 The format, content and purpose of a cover letter are highly individualized. âą Follow basic professional writing standards, paying special attention to differences in uploading a cover letter into an online application or using your letter as the body of an email message.
The header usually includes your name, occupation, address, phone number and email . 2. Greeting. The greeting line of a university application letter, also known as a salutation, is where you say your greetings. In a university application letter, don't go too inventive. A simple "Hey" is obviously ineffective.
At their most basic level, academic cover letters accomplish three things: one, they express your interest in the job; two, they provide a brief synopsis of your research and teaching; and three, they summarize your past experiences and achievements to illustrate your competence for the job. For early-career scholars, cover letters are ...
2. Format the page. As with most other documents, your academic cover letter contains a heading with your name, contact information and location at the top, followed by the date and the organization's name. Set your page margins to one inch, and use a professional font like Times New Roman, Calibri or Garamond.
1. School Name and Address. You college application letter should follow formal letter formatting guidelines, which include writing the full name of the college or university you are applying to in the upper left hand corner of the letter. Try to be as specific as possible with the address you choose to use. 2.
1. Start with your address. The first part of your cover letter includes your mailing address. This informs the admissions officer where to send your acceptance letter. As most colleges now use email, this might be unnecessary in some instances. To write your address, start with your full name.
Academic Cover Letter Example #2 (Text Version) Betty Applicant 567 North Street, Boston, MA 02108 555-555.555 [email protected]. April 5, 2021. Dr. Robert Smith Chair, Department of Biology Acme University 123 Business Rd. Business City, NY 54321. Dear Dr. Smith, I am writing to apply for the position of Assistant Professor of Biology ...
He also stressed the importance of strong lead sentences, using the cover letter to highlight and point to other parts of your application, and controlling the narrative you want to tell. Others have also written about writing a cover letter. Cheryl E. Ball, for example, provides excellent advice and a paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown. Indeed ...
A cover letter must accompany and be tailored to any application you submit. STEM letters should not exceed one page. Humanities and social sciences letters may extend up to two pages. Check with faculty in your department. Address to the individual named in the job posting, or with "Dear Members of the Search Committee." The cover letter ...
Cover Letter Example 2. Undergraduate sophomore applying for an internship with a non-profit, political organization. Cover Letter Example 3. Graduate student applying for a Project Assistant position at UW-Madison. The original job posting for this position can be found here. Cover Letter Example 4.
With your cover letter, you'll aim to: Highlight your qualifications: You'll show how your skills and experience relate to the employer's needs for a specific position. Showcase your motivation: You'll demonstrate your enthusiasm for the specific position and the organization. Reflect your voice and written communication skills: You ...
Street address. City, state, zip code. Dear first and last name (address to someone specific or Dear Hiring Manager): Paragraph 1: State what you are applying for and why you are applying to XYZ organization or position. Introduce yourself by saying something about yourself (i.e., I am a senior studying communications at American University).
Tailor Each Cover Letter to the Position You Are Applying. Be sure to research the role and customize your cover letter for each position, relating your experience to the particular role you are applying for. Personalization is keyâresearch who you are sending the cover letter to and address the letter to them directly.
Student cover letter example Here is a sample cover letter for a student that you can use as a guide to write an impressive cover letter of your own: Kellen Daniels 555-555-5555 [email protected] December 10, 2020 Dear Hiring Manager, I am a sophomore business major at Houston University writing to express my interest in the Online Advertising Intern opportunity at Blueprint Digital.
The First Paragraph. In the opening of your letter you need to convey some basic information, such as what specific position you are applying for (using the title given in the job notice) and where you learned of the opening. Since a cover letter is a kind of persuasive writing (persuading a hiring committee to include you on a list of ...
Write clearly and concisely. Use proper grammar and check for misspelled words. Limit your letter to one page. Be sure to include the date, an appropriate salutation, and close with your signature. Do Not Mass Produce. Mass produced cover letters are a common mistake, and easy to detect. Be sure to relate your specific skills and experiences to ...
Header - Input contact information. Greeting the hiring manager. Opening paragraph - Grab the reader's attention with 2-3 of your top achievements. Second paragraph - Explain why you're the perfect candidate for the job. Third paragraph - Explain why you're a good match for the company.
How to format your cover letter for academic posts. A fill-in-the-blanks template that will produce your academic cover letter within 15 minutes. Save hours of work and get a cover letter like this. Pick a template, fill it in. Quick and easy. Choose from 18+ cover letter templates and download your cover letter now. Create your cover letter now.
Columbia University. Columbia School of Social Work. Toggle search. Main navigation expanded. Academics. Research. People. News and Events. Campus Life. Admissions. ... Tips for writing a cover letter created by the Office of Career and Leadership Management. cover-letters_0.pdf 223.6 KB. Document Topics.
This article emphasizes the importance of including a cover letter when applying for jobs, despite conflicting information online. It highlights employers' expectations and perceptions of cover letters.
Tips For Writing A Career Change Cover Letter. 1. Personalize Your Approach: Address the letter to a specific person whenever possible.Doing so demonstrates attention to detail and a genuine ...
Middle paragraph (s) Closing paragraph. Letter ending and signature. Your cover letter should be one page long and use a simple, professional font, such as Arial or Helvetica, 10 to 12 points in size. Your letter should be left-aligned with single spacing and one-inch margins. Show Transcript.
Instead, your cover letter should go beyond your work history to talk about things that make you especially well-suited for the job. For example, if you're applying for an assistant job that ...
Tips for Writing a Cover Letter. There are a lot of points that need to be kept in mind when writing a cover letter. The following section explains all the components as well as some cover letter writing tips: Call To Action (CTA)-While ending the cover letter, tell the hiring manager what you want them to do. You can request an interview or a ...
Before writing and sending the letter, check with the institution on how they want to receive the letter. There might be a particular form that should go with the letter or be in a certain format.