You Majored in What? (33 page)

Now it’s your turn. See if you can craft some sentences that might ultimately fit into your cover letter.

4. WRITE A FAST DRAFT

I wanted to write “very fast,” but the voice of my ninth grade English teacher still haunts me: “You mean as opposed to ‘unvery’?” Fast writing is a common and successful exercise for a first draft because it clears away the cobwebs and heightens your focus. See if you can write the letter in less than ten minutes.

Sit down at your computer or grab your pen and notebook and just write and write and write. Try using the sentences you’ve already developed or write new ones. Don’t try to make it perfect: it’s not supposed to be. It’s a draft. Let it be as bad as any draft can be. If you can’t think of an opening line, skip it. Write the middle of the letter first if that works best for you. Write the closing line first. You’ll clean it up later. The goal now is to get everything down on the paper. Ready? Set?
GO!

See Kayla’s first draft on page 240. You’ll note that it’s too long, contains some misspelled words, and isn’t all that well organized or styled. But she has captured a lot of the information she will use in her final letter, and that’s the point of a first draft.

Dear_:

I read your job announcement for a Field Associate position in Santa Barbara, California and I would like to apply. I read your website and I was particularly impressed with the work you’ve done to save national forests and strengthening the clean water act. I am originally from Santa Barbara and I believe that my background in environemtnal issues and my knowledge of the politics of the region could be valuable in your fund-rasing and advocacy efforts.

I am a hard worker and understand the importance of dedication to an important cause. As a musician, I had to be very dedicated to my craft, and devoted numerous hours to practicing and perfecting my skills. In addition to managing a busy sechule of classes, performances and practices, but still found time to volunteer for a cause I consider imperative in today’s society: the environment. I also worked in a department store where I developed my skills of persuasion. I received an award for outstanding sales person because I increased sales in my department (juniorwear) by 20% in one month.

The first thing you will likely notice on my resume is that I’m a music major. On the surface, a music major might not seem particularly relevant for an environmental position. But through my major I have developed an analytic mindset which helps me take apart and fully understand an issue, an ability to easily perform in front of people, and focus on minute details, not to mention the dedication and commitment needed to learn an instrument at a professional level.

I was required to take a science course and specifically chose Environmental Science due to my interest in acquiring more understanding of the issue. We studied not only the science of global warming and the management of natural resources, but also the political forces which have an impact on those issues.

As I mentioned, I am originally from the region of California where your office is located. I am quite familiar with the environmental policies of the politicians in the area as well as the way the citizens have voted on environmental issues in recent elections. I hope you will consider my resume and experience. I look forward to hearing from you regarding this important opportunity.

5. EDIT AND PROOFREAD IT RUTHLESSLY

Congratulations! You’ve finished the hardest part: getting that first draft down on the paper. Now it’s all about refining it: seeing what works and changing what doesn’t. Someone once said that all good writing is rewriting, and one of the best ways to start rewriting is to read your letter out loud. The minute you stumble over a phrase or something doesn’t flow smoothly, chances are you need to make a change. Most people find their first draft starts falling apart after about the fifth word (!). Not to worry. You’re going to turn your draft into a better draft and then to the best final copy you can write. Notice you haven’t seen the word
perfect.
There is no perfect letter—like résumés, reviews of letters are based on opinions, not hard facts. One person’s “perfect” is another person’s “OK.” Edit and organize your letter now, using some of the suggestions below. Once you’ve worked it up to the better draft stage, get other people’s opinions. Ask your friends to read your letter (or try reading it aloud to your friends). If you’re still in college, ask someone at the career center to review it with you.

• Cover letters are generally three to five paragraphs, but you can break this rule if you have a good reason, and have carefully considered your audience.

• In the first paragraph connect yourself with the reader by explaining what you’re applying for, how you heard about the job opening, and some sort of indication as to how/why you are qualified for the position or they should consider you for it.

• The middle paragraphs allow you to expand on your résumé and bring up the “soft” skills that you couldn’t explicitly state in your résumé such as teamwork or your personality. Use the sentences you developed in the third stage, keeping brevity in mind and distilling your letter to the most important information of interest to the reader. Remember, your reader has little time to devote to your document (unlike a professor or teaching assistant who actively reads your papers), so get to the point.

• The final paragraph closes your letter with an indication of what action will be taken. You will need to know your field to determine the best close. In general, the more sales, marketing, or business oriented the position, the more appropriate it is to end with the action you will be taking.

• With government, nonprofit, or educational fields you can often get away with a less assertive close. In education, for example, it’s common to write something like, “I look forward to hearing from you . . .”

• In the business arena the previous ending would be less acceptable. There you would close with a more assertive, “I will contact your office in one week to discuss the opportunities in greater detail.” (And by the way, take that action. If you say you’re going to contact them, do it.)

• If you’re going through your on-campus recruiting program, an appropriate close would likely be, “I look forward to having the opportunity to interview with you when you visit . . .”

• Vary the openings of your sentences. Make sure each sentence doesn’t begin with
I
or another common opening.

• Remove any fluffy language. Just like résumé guides, many cover letter guides recommend fluffy phrases. You have way too much substance at this point to waste your time writing phrases like

• “I am looking for a position in a growth-oriented company that will utilize my many skills.”

• “I am a team player who enjoys hard work. Don’t hesitate to contact me.”

• “I am seeking a position in a well-known company such as yours.”

• “It is for this reason that I am hopeful you will consider me for this position.”

• “I believe I would be a strong asset because I have exceptional communication skills.”

• Don’t brag, deprecate yourself, complain, or appeal to sympathy.

• “You’d be lucky to have me working for you.”

• “Don’t miss this opportunity to interview me.”

• “Although I don’t have any experience in your field . . .”

• “I know that this letter is late, but . . .”

• “I didn’t major in business, but . . .”

• This probably goes without saying, but don’t exaggerate or lie. If you’re caught, you could lose your job and your reputation.

FORMATTING YOUR LETTER

So your content is strong and you’ve created the best possible document to market yourself to employers. Let’s make sure you don’t ruin those beautifully turned phrases with poor formatting. Here’s what you need to know about formatting a business letter, whether you’re sending a paper copy or uploading an electronic version.

1. If you’re printing the letter, always use good quality white, gray, or cream-colored 8½ by 11 bond paper. Use the same paper to print your résumé. Do not print the final letter or résumé on the typical paper found in most copies.

2. When possible, address the recipient by name, and use the appropriate courtesy title: Mr., Ms., Dr., and so on. Do not use “Dear Sir or Madam” or, worse yet, “Dear Sir” or “Gentlemen.” Even if the job announcement doesn’t show a name, a little detective work on the Internet can often uncover it Lacking that, use “To Whom It May Concern” as an absolute last resort.

3. Proofread. Repeat. Let someone else read it. Proofread again.

4. Copy traditional business letter guidelines (headings, locations of dates, spacing, and so on) from the sample letter in this book and/or on your career center’s Web site.

You’ll find Kayla’s final cover letter, which she sent via e-mail, on the next page. Remember, this is just a sample letter and not intended to be the only style of letter acceptable to employers. You should visit your career center’s Web page (even if you’ve graduated) to see if they recommend a different style or have other suggestions you might find helpful.

August 10, 2009

Ms. Susan Smith
Employment Manager
Environmental Agency
10500 East Main Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
[email protected]

Dear Ms. Smith:

I was pleased to discover the field associate position listed on your Web site recently. As a former resident of the Santa Barbara area with a deep concern for the environment, I am particularly impressed with the work your agency has done to save state forests and strengthen the Clean Water Act. I would like to be part of the team that assists you in your efforts, and I believe I have the fund-raising and advocacy skills you are seeking.

I worked in sales throughout my college years while pursuing a challenging and time-intensive major (music), but I always found time to demonstrate my concern for the environment. I received an A in the two-semester environmental science class I took in college and volunteered for numerous environmental projects, doing everything from highway cleanup to canvassing and fund-raising to protesting at the state capital when it appeared that much-needed environmental legislation might not pass.

I suspect you do not often receive applications from music majors, but it is my music background that actually honed many of the skills I would use at Environmental Agency. I developed my strong analytic skills through music theory classes, my dogged determination and attention to detail through endless practicing and rehearsing, and my communication skills through performances and presentations.

As requested, I have attached a copy of my résumé. I will be in the Santa Barbara area the week of September 7-14 and would like to arrange a meeting if that would be convenient for you. I will contact your agency within the next week to confirm that you received this e-mail. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Kayla Jones
100 Pine Street
Portland, OR 97212
[email protected]
Cell: 503-555-5555

Résumé attached as MS Word document

WISDOM BUILDERS

1. COVER LETTER HAIKU

One fun way to prepare to write your cover letter is to write it as a haiku, an ancient Japanese form of poetry consisting of exactly seventeen syllables. That sounds a little odd for a cover letter, but the structure of haiku requires you to be succinct and make every word count. In haiku, the first line has five syllables, the second has seven syllables, and the third five syllables. Here are some samples:

Nursing Position

Lifelong dream to heal
Tough, smart, caring hardworker
How can I serve you?

Social Worker in Youth Program

Adolescents rock.
I enjoy challenge and growth.
Hire me to change them.

Event Planner

Details. Beauty. Class. Organized. Experienced. Work wonders. Call me.

Investment Banker

Money. More Money. Never stop working for you. Bottom-line results.

If you had to distill your cover letter to these essentials words, what would you include?

2. CONSTRUCT A GOOD HOOK FOR YOUR COVER LETTER

You will want to open your letter with a good hook. A good hook keeps you reading; a bad hook doesn’t. Did you ever think about using your favorite authors as inspiration for your writing? Now, don’t get all stressed and think you have to be John Grisham or James Baldwin to come up with that perfect opening line. You just need to create an opening sentence that is interesting to the reader and conveys necessary information. Try to avoid the obvious “I am a senior at . . .” And don’t cross over the line into crazytivity with a silly or weird opening like quoting a famous author (“It was the best of times, the worst of times . . .”) or writing “You don’t know it yet, but you have just discovered your best employee.”