Back to Menu of Workshops and Strategic Career Management Model Workshop Home CONTENTS Smart Resume Concepts Nuts and Bolts of Resume Development Electronic Resumes Cover Letters Suggested Format General Tips Cover Letter Samples Cover Letter Checklist In-depth Cover Letter Tutorial CVs For Graduate Students (Resumes/CVs) Additional Resume, Cover Letter, and CV links Web Handouts		SMART RESUMES, COVER LETTERS AND CVs COVER LETTER CHECKLIST (PDF FORMAT OF CHECKLIST) Before mailing each cover letter, quickly review this checklist. Format - Content - Writing Style   Format: Is your cover letter........ addressed to a named individual and NOT "sir" or "madam". . . and whenever possible, a person who is in a position to make a hiring decision? one page? inclusive of pertinent personal data; name, address, zip code, e-mail, and personal telephone number?   Content: Is your cover letter........ Stating why you are writing-what of type of position you are applying for? Projecting to the employer the contribution you can make? Tailored to the reader as far as is practical, to show that you have done your homework? Demonstrating energy and enthusiasm for the position, company, and or industry? Tied specifically to the target company and job? Free of all extraneous information; i.e., irrelevant responsibilities or job titles? Inclusive of references to some of your personality or behavioral traits that are crucial to success in your field? Actively selling your unique qualities and telling the reader WHY they should hire you? Targeting your skills, interests, and/or experience to the needs of the organization? NOT inclusive of any negative information; e.g., a low G.P.A.?   Writing Style: Is your cover letter........ Concise, clear, and cuts to the chase? Do you say everything you want to say in the fewest words possible? Free of as much technical jargon as possible? (Cover letters are likely to be screened by nontechnical employees. In subsequent letters to technical staff, however, the technical jargon may be desirable.) Professional tone, but sound as if a real person wrote it - in other words, not too pretentious or formal? Your letter should have a conversational tone. Comprised of short paragraphs? Long enough to whet the reader’s appetite for more details, yet short enough not to satisfy that hunger? Comprised of sentences that begin with or contain, wherever possible, powerful action verbs and phrases that demonstrate you as a mover and shaker? Well organized and inclusive of relevant ideas? Re-read? Have you put it down for a day or more and see how it reads when you pick it up again? Once more, read from the employer's perspective?
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