Creating an Eye-catching Cover Letter
A cover letter accompanies your resume and it should be tailored to the position. In your one-page cover letter, you introduce yourself and demonstrate your written communication skills. It should showcase your education, experience, and skills as they are relevant to the job for which you are applying.
"It is important for this document to not replicate your resume, but to highlight your accomplishments, strengths, and transferable skills focusing on what you’ve learned and how you will add value." UF Career Connections Center
One-page cover letter structure (from UF Career Connections Center)
Opening Paragraph: Who You Are and Why You Are Applying
- Name the job for which you are applying and how you learned about it
- Briefly highlight your education, skills, and experience
- If appropriate, mention the name of the person who referred you to the organization
Second Paragraph: Your Skills and Qualifications
- Discuss the skills and strengths you bring to the job, and explicitly connect them to the tasks of the position
- Provide brief examples of a few related achievements or experiences, discussing how it can transfer to the position
- Even if you haven’t done the exact things the job entails, you can show your preparedness through transferable skills
Third Paragraph: You and the Company
- Demonstrate that you’ve researched the company by incorporating information such as their mission statement, motto, services or products and relating it to your previous experience, goals, and why you are interested in working for them
- State why you would be a good fit for the organization, emphasizing how you can help the organization reach its goals
- Some organizations may have a focus on helping employees grow, but overall focus on what you offer, not what you want
Closing Paragraph: Wrapping Up
- Very briefly restate any important themes, creatively tying them together into a cohesive conclusion
- State that you are available for a personal interview at your reader’s convenience
- Make it easy for the person to contact you: list your email address, as well as your phone number. Even if this information is on the resume, list it here again, as you do not want to make the employer search for a way to contact you
- Thank the reader for their time
