What is a cover letter?

Cover letter

A cover letter is a letter of introduction to an employer, which is used to

identify your intent to "apply for" or "seek out" a specific position within a company. It also formally presents yourself as available for a job position or range of positions within a company.

In addition, the cover letter is an opportunity to quickly introduce yourself and grab the employers’ attention. Like the resume, it is another chance to market yourself to the hiring manager, promoting them to read your resume and ultimately grant a job interview. A cover letter is a critical part of the job search process. It allows you the first opportunity to gain some interest from the employer.

Due to the various styles and formats of cover letters, you may have to choose the one that really fits to your need. For example, you may use a cover letter in different situations, such as:

- Applying for a position in response to a job advertisement or online job

   posting

- Submitting the cover letter after being referred from a colleague

- Sending your resume cold to employer that you know hires people in your

   field and industry

-          Using a cover letter to introduce your resume for an internal position

(Source:www.cvtips.com/cover_letter.html )

Work Sheet

1. Discuss the following questions with your partner.

1. What is a cover letter?

2. Have you ever written a cover letter and sent it to a company to apply for a job?

3. Do you think that a cover letter is important for applicants when they would like to

    introduce themselves to a company? Why? or Why not?

4. What information should be included in a cover letter?

2. What elements of a cover letter do you think are important to employers?

Tick (/) the boxes. Discuss with your partner why they are important.

- Correct spelling

- Important facts about the applicants

- Friendly and polite tone

- Your qualification details

- Your failure details

- Relevant experience details

- Long and chatty opinion

- Short and precise details

- Willingness to work

- More detailed information

- Illegible signature

- Boastful words

- Your specific ability to do a good job

What are elements of a cover letter?

Below are two examples of the cover letter. Study the elements of each cover letter.

Example 1

85 Soi Ladprao 98 Road

Kwaeng Wangtonglang          Letterhead

Bangkok, Thailand

10310

22 June 2009                          Date Line

Chandrakasem Rajabhat University

39/1 Rachadapisek Road,                               Inside Address

Khet Chatuchak, Bangkok

10900

Dear… Sirs,                            Salutation

I am writing to apply for a position of an English instructor posted in the website

(www.cru.ac.th) of Chandrakasem Rajabhat University. I have been teaching English at

Kasetsart University for three years. While teaching there I am also responsible for a voluntary

program. Using the skills I have gained in my career, especially those related to my Master’s                         Body

Degree, will enable me to teach and assist the students at your university to gain more knowledge

of English.

If you find that my skills match your standard qualifications for the instructor position,

I hope to have the interview with you at your convenience.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,                                                                         Complimentary Close

Jenny Patrison                                             Signature Bloc

Jenny Patrison (Ms.)                                                                Typed name

  

Language Focus

 COVER LETTER FORMATS:

Here are the elements of a cover letter used when applying for a job.

1. Letterhead (Your Address)

The writer’s name and address should be included in the letterhead. The letterhead should

be written on either the left or right top of the page. It should include the following:

- Name

- Address

- City, Zip Code (US.) or Post Code (Brit.)

- Country

2. Date Line

There are two styles of writing the date in a cover letter.

- British English (DD/MM/YYYY)

Example 22 nd June, 2009 or 22 June, 2009

- American English (MM/DD/YYYY)

Example September 12, 2007 (Always use a comma (,) after the date

Note: Do not abbreviate the date.

3. Inside Address (Receiver’s address)

The inside address should be written at least three lines but not more than six lines long. It should contain the following items:

3.1 Name

3.2 Position

3.3 Name of Company/ Organization

3.4 Address of your organization

3.5 City, Zip Code

            3.6 Country

Note: We use open punctuation which means “no punctuation mark” in both the receiver and

sender’s address at the end of each line. However, we use punctuation within the same line.

4. Salutation

The salutation can be divided into 2 types which are:

1. British English Style 2. American English Style

Table of Salutations

Salutations	Addressee/recipients
	British English	American English
The Prime Minister	Sir, Madam,	Sir: Madam:
The ABC Co., Ltd. (Brit.) The United Import Inc. (US.)	Dear Sirs, Dear Mesdames,	Gentlemen: Dear Mesdames,
Women Culture Club	Mesdames,	Ladies:
The Sales Manager (Position title)	Dear Sir, Dear Madam,	Dear Sir: Dear Madam:
Miss Kelly Chan Mrs. Leonita Patrick Mr. Tom Vanderputt Dr. Somsamorn Jingjai Prof. John Pollard	Dear Miss Chan, Dear Mrs. Patrick, Dear Mr. Vanderputt, Dear Dr. Jingjai, Dear Prof. Pollard,	Dear Miss Chan: Dear Mrs. Patrick: Dear Mr. Vanderputt: Dear Dr. Jingjai: Dear Prof. Pollard:
Khun Sompong Mungmee (Thai)	Dear Khun Sompong,	Dear Khun Sompong:
Mr. Sittichok Rumruay (Personal Acquaintance )	Dear Sittichok, Dear	Sittichok:

5. Body

The body of a cover letter should be brief and highlight your qualifications for the job.

6. Complimentary Closes

You must end your cover letter with a complimentary close. There are three types of

complimentary closes:

6.1 Standard Close

-This is the most common close used in writing a cover letter.

Example         Sincerely,

Sincerely yours,

6.2 Formal Close

- It is used in a formal letter.

Example         Very truly yours,

Yours truly,

Yours very truly,

6.3 Proper Close

-It is used in a very formal letter and with an honourable or respectful person.

Example         Respectfully,

Respectfully yours,

Yours respectfully,

Very respectfully,

Most respectfully

7. Signature Bloc

- It should include the writer’s signature together with his/her name.

7.1 Unmarried woman

Very truly yours,

Jenny Chan

Jenny Chan(Miss)

Applicant

or

Very truly yours,

Jenny Chan

(Miss)Jenny Chan

Applicant

7.2 Married women

Very truly yours,

Sonya Huges

(Mrs.)Sonya Huges

                                                                       Applicant

7.3 Unmarried and married woman

Very truly yours,

Tina Roger

(Ms.)Tina Roger

Applicant

8. (Typed Signature)

Yours sincerely,

Jerradin Dupont

Ms. Jerradine Dupont

Applicant

Exercise 1: Rearrange the information given below in correct form for the inside address.

1. Albany/ Professor of Marketing/ New York 10010/ Mr. Finley Van Der Putt/ State

    University of N.Y. at Albany/ U.S.A./ 1400 Washington Ave.

2. 9 James Street/ London WCIM 5YR/ Florists Co., Ltd./ Great Britain

3. 555 East 5th Ave. / The Marketing Manager/ Columbus/ Furniture Corporation/ Ohio

    43215/ U.S.A.

4. P.O. Box 3021/ The Far East Co., Ltd// Macau/ The Personnel Manager

5. Seattle/U.S.A. / ASAP Corporation / WA 98109/ 558 Seventh Avenue

   The Marketing Director

Exercise 2: What salutation would you use in each of the following? Match the salutation

(Column A) with the appropriate person (Column B).

A                                                                     B

…….1 Dear Sirs                                a. to an unmarried woman

…….2 Dear Sir                                  b. to a married woman

…….3 Dear Madam                          c. to a friend or someone you know well

…….4 Dear Mr. Smith                      d. to a company

…….5 Dear Mrs. Hunts                   e. to a man if you do not know his name

…….6 Dear Miss Pitt                        f. to a man whose name you know

…….7 Dear Ms. Willy                      g. to a married or unmarried woman

…….8 Dear James                            h. to a woman if you do not know her name

Test

Choose the best answer.

1. Rearrange the following parts to form a business letter.

a. Solution, Date, Inside address, Complimentary close, Enclosure, Typed name, Signature,

               Return address, Body

b. Date, Inside address, Body, Complimentary close, Typed name, Solution, Signature,

               Return address, Enclosure

c. Return address, Enclosure, Solution, Complimentary close, Date, Typed name, Signature,

               Body , Inside address,

d. Return address, Date, Inside address, Salutation, Body , Complimentary close,

               Signature, Typed name, Enclosure

2. Which of the following is NOT a function of a cover letter?

a. To tell the employer what kind of job you seek

b. To show how well you write or express yourself

c. To inform the reader of what you expect to get out of the job you're applying for

d. To entice the reader to want to get to know you better by interviewing you

3. How can you make the most of your college experience in your cover letter?

a. describe skills gained in the classroom

b. describe sports and extracurricular activities

c. discuss hands-on projects

d. all of the above

4. Which of the following should be included in the cover letter?

            a. Introduction to your background and your interests.

            b. Reason for writing.

            c. An action statement such as an expectation that the employer will get back to you soon.

            d. All of the above

5. Which of the following should be included in the closing paragraph of the cover letter?

            a. Indication of why you are the best candidate for the job.

b. Thanking the employer for the opportunity.

c. Contact details.

d. Signature and printed name.

6. Rewrite this sentence to indicate your experience: "I was a journalist for a marketing enterprise."

a. I have over two years in journalism specifically in Marketing

b. I have good experience in Marketing, Journalism and Public Relations
c. I wrote more than 800 articles on marketing techniques at Company X over a period of

               two years.

d. I’m a good journalist for a marketing enterprise.

7. Rewrite the sentence in a positive manner: Even though I haven’t worked much with Access, I have some knowledge of databases.

            a. I have basic knowledge of Access with more experience in related databases

            b. I am an access expert in Access

            c. Have basic working knowledge in Access

            d. Have a good foundation in databases

8. Should you use white paper for your cover letter?

            a. No, because it isn’t original

            b. Yes, because it looks neat and is easy to fax or copy

            c. No, because colored paper makes you stand out

            d. Yes, because it is quite bright.