Mini Lesson

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Mini Lesson 41

• How do you introduce yourself in the following
  situations (1 sentence for each)?
• Face to Face To a potential new friend
• Face to Face To a potential girl/boy friend
• Online To a potential new friend
• Face to Face A 50 year old person
• In a letter A potential employer

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Professional Portfolio

• Cover Letters

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Lesson 42

• 3 Minute quick write
• What is a cover letter? Why is it a useful tool?

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Why Cover Letters?

• A cover letter is a necessary friend to your
  resume. Your cover letter will make an important
  first impression, since it is the first contact
  between you and the employer. A good letter will
  complement and expand upon your resume while
  showing your intelligence, skills, and
  confidence. The cover letter should highlight
  your strongest qualifications and how they match
  what the employer seeks. Mass-produced form
  letters will not be well received by employers
  because they convey going through the motions
  and lack sincerity. You will develop a general
  format, but it is critical that you prepare a
  personalized copy of your letter for each
  employer from now on!

Adapted from Cover Letters and Other
Correspondence, Santa Clara University Career
Center
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Directions

• We will be writing your cover letter today in
  much the same way as we did your resume- I will
  explain a part of your letter, then you will
  write it.
• First, however, we need some basic formatting
  tips- your letter both needs to read and look
  right!

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Part 1 Overall formatting

• Letter is typed, 12pt font (Times New Roman or
  Arial)
• Letter is centered vertically on the page
• No indentations used at any time- each part of
  the letter is left justified
• No spelling or grammar mistakes

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Lets Write!

• Turn to a new page in your journal (this
  continues 42) and get a pencil out
• Note From now on in this presentation,
  explanations/directions will be black text, while
  what you need to write/examples will be in green
  text

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Part 2 Your address

• At the top of the page write your address, phone,
  and email
• Peter Oskin
• 777 Williams Rd
• Salinas, CA, 93905
• [phone]
• poskin_at_salinas.k12.ca.us
• We will vertically center your letter as the
  last step- after you have typed it!

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Part 3 Date

• ltSKIP A LINE ON YOUR PAPERgt
• December 15, 2005 (use the date of your workshop)

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Part 4 Business Address

• ltSKIP A LINE ON YOUR PAPERgt
• At this point you would write the address of the
  business you are applying for. We will not here,
  but you will write a pretend address
• XYZ Business
• 1234 Blanco Rd
• Salinas, CA, 93905

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Part 5 Salutation

• ltSKIP A LINE ON YOUR PAPERgt
• Now, write the salutation, or letter opening.
  Whenever possible, use the name of the person you
  are applying to- but here just use
• Dear Sir/Madam

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Part 6 Body Paragraphs

• Now, lets write! Most basic cover letters have 3
  paragraphs
• Introduction (2 sentences)
• Information (2-3 sentences that explain why you
  are interesting and right for this job)
• Closing paragraph restating that you would be
  great for the position (2-3 sentences)
• We are keeping things simple here the 1st and
  3rd paragraphs have been done for you (but you
  can change them if you wish!).

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Part 6 Body Paragraphs

• ltSKIP A LINE ON YOUR PAPERgt
• 1. Introduction
• Please accept my resume as a first step towards a
  positionwith your organization. I believe that
  my knowledge and skills make me an ideal fit for
  your recently advertised position.
• In the real world, you would customize this
  paragraph each time you send it. How would you do
  this?

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Part 6 Body Paragraphs

• ltSKIP A LINE ON YOUR PAPERgt
• 2. Information
• As you can see from my resume, I have strong
  teamwork and customer service skills. My previous
  experience includes working as part of a small
  team conducting after school tutoring for 20 7th
  and 8th grade students. Additionally, I have
  experience working in a variety of customer
  service situations, including a retail store in
  which I usually helped over 100 customers a day.
• This is an example, lets get some tips on this
  part...

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Part 6 Body Paragraphs

• Tips for the Information paragraph
• This is where you sell yourself and your skills-
  think of your strongest skills and experiences
  and include them!
• In the 1st sentence highlight 2-3 skills you
  have, and then in the next 2 sentences explain
  how you practiced them at work.
• This should be information that is on your
  resume!

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Part 6 Body Paragraphs

• ltSKIP A LINE ON YOUR PAPERgt
• 3. Closing
• I believe that my experience and skills make me
  an excellent match for your position. I would
  welcome the opportunity to meet with you in
  person or over the phone. Again, thank you for
  your time and interest I look forward to
  speaking with you further.
• This paragraph just restates your interest in the
  job- it provides a summation that ties up your
  letter.

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Part 7 Complimentary Closing

• ltSKIP A LINE ON YOUR PAPERgt
• Sincerely,
• ltSKIP 2 LINES ON YOUR PAPERgt
• Peter Oskin
• Sign your name BETWEEN Sincerely and your typed
  name. Example
• Sincerely,
• Peter Oskin
• Peter Oskin

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Now You are Ready to Type

• Cover letters are due November 11
• We will not have computer lab time to type your
  letters
• Remember AFTER YOU HAVE TYPED THE LETTER, CENTER
  IT VERTICALLY ON THE PAGE!