Friday 23 February 2018

Planning 10 - Lesson #23

Lesson #23 - Creating a Cover Letter

A COVER LETTER is a letter that accompanies your resume.  It's your opportunity to promote yourself and set you apart from other applicants --- to allow your personality to shine through (whereas your resume is more objective and impersonal.)

 A few guidelines when writing a cover letter:
  • Keep it to one page
  • Convey a confident, genuine, positive and enthusiastic attitude.
  • Tailor it to the position - focus on three personal qualities that make you an excellent candidate for the job.
  • Ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
  • Type and format the letter correctly (use full block letter style, as shown in examples.)  This is the format you should use with any formal letter (including any scholarship letters you may write in the future.)
  • Whenever possible, address the letter to a specific person (and make sure you spell their name correctly).  If you don't know the specific name of the person, use "To Whom it May Concern".
  • If you provide a hard copy of the letter to your potential employer, ensure that you have signed the bottom (between the salutation and your typed name.)

Your cover letter should consist of three paragraphs;

First Paragraph:  State the reason for your letter and the position you are applying for.  Where did you hear about the job and why are you interested in the position?

Second Paragraph:  This paragraph answers the question:  "Why should I hire you?"  Highlight the most relevant skills, knowledge and experience that are applicable to the position.  When possible, include some of your own research about the company or organization.

Third Paragraph:  Thank the employer for their time and consideration.  State that you are looking forward to hearing from them.


Examples of cover letters:

Cover Letter Example 1

Cover Letter Example 2

ASSIGNMENT (15 marks)

Create a COVER LETTER that you could include as part of your application for ONE of the examples of job postings at the following links;

Job Posting Example 1     Domino's Pizza
Job Posting Example 2     Canadian Tire
Job Posting Example 3     Thrifty's Foods

Please submit your assignment;
  • by placing a hard copy in the Planning 10 folder in the office OR
  • sharing it with me on Office 365