cover letters - nextstep careers · cookie cutter cover letter. i set my cover letters...

EMILY TAYLOR ‘08Founder, NextStep Careers

COVER LETTERS

www.nextstepcareer.org

AGENDA

• Customizable cover letter • Length

• Structure

• Example Cover Letters

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Common Mistakes

• Next Steps

•Walk Me Through Overview

nextstepcareer

nextstepcareers

linkedin.com/in/emilymalleytaylor


If I had had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.


STRUCTURE

1 Header

2 Opening

3 Body

4 Closing


Opening

Header

Body

Closing

NAME

name

addressphone


Opening

Header

Body

Closing

NAME

name

emailphone


GET THEIR ATTENTION


UNIQUE FIRST SENTENCE VS. GENERIC


NO NEED TO STATE YOUR NAME


NAME DROP


BE SPECIFIC


CORPORATE STRATEGY


COMPANY STRATEGY


START WITH THE COMPANY WEBSITE


ROLE


CORPORATE CULTURE


MA

KE

IT P

ERSO

NA

L


CONNECTION WITH THE PRODUCT


MAKE IT PERSONAL


PASSION FOR INDUSTRY & COMPANY


Hit on the company


2. HIGHLIGHT RELEVANT SKILLS


PARAGRAPH vs. BULLETSDear Mr. Last Name:

I am pursuing the Associate Marketing Manager Intern position with Company XYZ. More than any other company, I have interacted with, Company XYZ has demonstrated its strong commitment to excellence in every arena from marketplace performance to outstanding employee training and development. After speaking with you, Lucy A, Tina S, and Min N throughout several on-campus events and informational meetings, I am confident that I am an ideal fit for the Company XYZ culture.

• Creative Leadership: While at Company A, I created and led training sessions ranging from sales to budget management; resulted in increasing team motivation as members successfully established goals and tracked achievements.

• Problem Solver: At Company B, I turned around declining sales and market initiatives by creating and leading cross-functional teams of scientists and FDA regulatory experts to target and implement marketing campaigns; resulted in $3.2mm in sales to new clients

• Results Driven: I have consistently leveraged leadership and communication abilities to achieve results across various industries and functions, which I hope to apply to brand management at XYZ

• Strong Volunteer Ethic: With over 10 years of working with children and teens I hope to add to Company XYZ’s impressive 82% volunteer rate!

Thank you for the efforts you have made to reach out to the Anderson community this school year. I look forward to the opportunity to interview.

Dear Mr. Last Name:

I am pursuing the Associate Marketing Manager Intern position at Company XYZ. More than any other company, I have interacted with, Company XYZ has demonstrated a strong commitment to excellence in every arena from marketplace performance to outstanding employee training and development. After speaking with you, Lucy A, Tina S, and Min N throughout several on-campus events and informational meetings, I am confident that I am an ideal fit for the Company XYZ culture.

My past experience developing and leading teams will allow me to make a positive contribution to the exceptional marketing team at Company XYZ. As a District Manager with Company A, I trained college students in new skills ranging from sales to budget management and motivated my team to excel by setting goals and tracking achievements. I learned to think like a business owner and carried this perspective to my role at Company B where I turned around declining sales through new marketing initiatives. I led a diverse team of scientists and FDA regulatory experts to implement targeted consumer-focused marketing campaigns, which collectively resulted in $3.2 million in sales to new clients.

I am thrilled to have found a company whose strong values reflect my own. I admire the sincere and impactful actions that Company XYZ has taken to improve schools and communities, and I plan to add to the impressive 82% volunteer rate at Company XYZ by continuing my service work with children and teens. Finally, if selected, I look forward to moving to City ABC both this summer and after graduation.

Thank you for the efforts you have made to reach out to the Anderson community this year. I look forward to the opportunity to interview.


SKILLS INTRO


3. CLOSING


CLOSING


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


TO WHOM SHOULD I ADDRESS IT TO?

• To Whom It May Concern

• Dear Hiring Manager

• Dear Recruiter/Human Resource Manager

MR. WHITE

MRS. ROBINSON


DOUBLE CHECK WHETHER A MS. OR MR.


CAN MY COVER LETTER BE MORE THAN 1 PAGE?


WILL A RECRUITER EVEN READ MY LETTER?

MAYBE


DO I HAVE TO WRITE A COVER LETTER?

DEPENDS


HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE ME TO WRITE?

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE ME TO WRITE?


MOST COMMON COVER LETTER MISTAKES

• Generic letter that does not fit the position

• Wrong facts about the company

•Odd formatting• Typoes

• Wrong Company name


CO

MM

ON

IS

SU

ES

COMMON ISSUES


Companies can instantly tell if you are using a cookie cutter cover letter. I set my cover letters apart—including for Fox—by matching my skill sets to the job description. This awareness also helped me prep for interviews.

Alessandra Donadelli ‘14 Director of Partnerships,

Disney Streaming Services


Cover Letter Review


Networking Tip


TAKEAWAYS• Customize the first paragraph

• Consider an attention grabbing 1st sentence, such as personal connection to product or organization

• Name drop

• Mention something about company strategy

• Body• Match bold terms in the body to skills in the job description

• Pick the greatest hits.

• Make examples more story like

• Peer Review and/or office hours review


NEXT STEPS

1. Make revisions to cover letter 2. Prep Walk Me Through Your Resume 3. Optional: Sign-Up for 1-on-1 Cover Letter

Review


EMILY TAYLOR

Career Coaching & MBA Admissions

310.701.8747 [email protected]

Linkedin.com/in/emilymalleytaylornextstepcareer

QUESTIONS?

cover letters - nextstep careers · cookie cutter cover letter. i set my cover letters...

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