Cover Letter and CV

SYAHADAH ALBAQIYATUL KARIMAH

 Agenda

• Cover Letter Basics

• Preliminary Research
• Header
• First Paragraph
• Middle
• Conclusion
• Language
• Extra Tips
 Cover Letter Basics

• A cover letter expresses interest and

qualifications for a particular position

• Personal but professional

• Tailored to position/company

• Explains how you fit with organization and how

you will help them

• Expands main points from your resume

• “Sells” qualifications to the prospective employer

 Preliminary Research

Make sure you know:

-General job information
-Desired qualifications and skills
-Key values and words

Research helps you tailor your cover letter

-Look for mission statements, organization
“vision,” goals, etc.
 Student Address
Stacy Lolkus
222 Harrison Dr Date
Apartment 5
West Lafayette, IN 47906
765-450-7583
slo@purdue.edu

October 16, 2006

Employer Address
Salutation Jenny Lock
Uline — HR Recruiting Center
2105 S. Lakeside Drive
Waukegan, IL 60085

Dear Ms. Lockridge:

After speaking with Emily Richards about her past summer in the internship program, I am very interested in your
Human Resources Summer Internship position. I worked with employee benefits this past summer and became
very interested in the human resources aspect. I have obtained many leadership opportunities while working as a
First Paragraph
Middle Paragraph Business Writing Consultant Assistant Coordinator at Purdue’s Writing Lab that would be valuable in a career at
Uline.

As Business Writing Consultant Assistant Coordinator at Purdue’s Writing Lab, my primary role is to help train
new tutors for the Writing Lab. I work directly with the Business Writing Coordinator teaching classes and
participating in mock tutorials to allow students to obtain hands-on experience tutoring business documents. I
also organize educational workshops to refresh the skills of current Business Writing Consultants. My position as
a Boiler Gold Rush Team Leader also challenged me to use my enthusiastic personality to motivate incoming Conclusion
freshmen to be involved in campus activities. As a Human Resources Intern at Uline, I could use all of these
leadership skills while learning more about recruiting and hiring practices.

Thank you for considering me for this position. I would love to discuss these and other qualifications with you. If
you have any questions, please call me at 765-450-7583 or e-mail me at slo@purdue.edu.

Sincerely

Stacy Lolkus
,
Stacy Lolkus

Enclosure: Résumé

Closing
 Header

Your Street Address

City, State, Zip Code
• Make sure you
address the letter Date
to a specific
person if possible Name of Contact Person

(preferably the Title

interviewer) Organization
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Ms., Mr., Dr., (etc):

 More Examples

Date
October 4, 2006
Name of Contact Person
Stacy Lo
Title
CEO
Organization
Lo Labs
Street Address
300 State St.
City, State, Zip Code
Chicago, IL, 60611
Dear Ms., Mr., Dr. (etc):
Dear Ms. Lo:
 First Paragraph

Purpose:
•Get the reader’s attention
•Introduce yourself
•Explain purpose of letter
•Explain why interested in the
position or the company
• Culture?
• Approach?
•Explain how you will help the
organization
•Preview the rest of the letter
 First Paragraph
(sample)

After speaking with Emily Richards about her past summer

in the internship program, I am interested in your Human
Resources Summer Internship position. I worked with
employee benefits this summer and became interested in
the human resources aspect of the position. In addition to
the leadership opportunities I obtained while working as a
Business Writing Consultant Assistant Coordinator for
Purdue’s Writing Lab, I have also developed my
communication skills during my summer internship. I
believe my skills will help your Human Resources
department maintain its excellent track record.
 Middle Paragraphs

• Highlight skills and benefits to the company

• Emphasize interest in the company
• Provide concrete evidence
- Show don’t tell (use information from
resume)
- Include specific, credible examples of
qualifications for the position
• Begin paragraphs with topic sentences
 Middle Paragraph
(Sample)

As a banking representative at Chase, I provided

quality customer service while promoting the
sale of products to customers. I also handled
close to $20,000 each day and was responsible
for balancing the bank’s ATM machine. My
experience with customer relations and money
management can help your accounting firm
expand its Middle East division located in
Dubai.
 Conclusion

• Conclude with next step

• Provide contact information

I would like to discuss these and other qualifications with you to further
explain how I can contribute to your Middle East operations. I look
forward to meeting you soon. If you have any questions, please call me
at 555-555-5555 or e-mail me at abcd@purdue.edu.
 Closing Formats

Sincerely, Sincerely,

Simon Smith
Simon Smith 5886 Tunbridge Crossing
Fort Wayne, IN 46815
ssmith@purdue.edu

Enclosure: Resume Enclosure: Resume

 LookLook
for:
for:

• Language:
Weak Language:
I worked as a ramp agent at Comair.

Strong Language:
As a ramp agent, I assisted in loading baggage,
oversaw fueling the aircraft, and stocked
commissary items on the aircraft.
 Extra Tips

• Unprofessional language
• Length
- Letter should only be one page
• Strongest and most relevant qualifications should
be highlighted
- Limit to a few qualifications
• Easy to read
- Begin with topic sentences
 Extra Tips

• Appeal to company values, attitudes, goals,

projects, etc.
• Explain how you will help organization
• Elaborate on the information in your resume
• Provide evidence of your qualifications
• Proofread carefully for grammatical and
typographical errors
 Extra Tips

• Opening paragraph – motivation for the job

• Followed by background skills and experience developed

through study, work experience and paid work

• ‘Matching up’ with job description

• What you can offer the employer

What is a CV?

What is the purpose of a CV?

• To inform the employer about
your education, work
experience, skills and interests
• To ‘sell’ these qualities and to
persuade the employer to invite
you to interview
When should a CV be used?
 When an employer asks for an application
in that format
 When an employer states ‘apply to…’
without specifying the format
 When making speculative applications
 Matching up your CV with the position/company

• It is not ‘one size fits all’, you

need to tailor your CV to each
position you apply for.

• Research the company. Do they have a mission

statement or core values? What will they be looking
for in you? Who works there at the moment? What
are they passionate about?
 Proving your ability
There are four main things employers will look at in CVs:

• Education - ability to think clearly, analyse and assess information,

draw conclusions, work independently, research

• Work experience - ability to get on with people, work under

pressure, meet deadlines

• Leisure interests - ability to plan and organise, co-operate with

others, compete, lead, work hard to achieve results

• Specific skills – e.g. driving licence, computer skills, foreign

languages, artistic skills
 CV types

Chronological
In date order (starting with the most recent first) e.g.
EMPLOYMENT
April – December 2011: Venture – Editing Assistant
Working with Photoshop, I have learnt various editing styles. I
have gained customer service experience and understand the
importance of listening to what customers want in order to
achieve high sales.

February 2009 – March 2010: Topshop – Retail Assistant

My interest in fashion enabled me to help customers and to
suggest styles that might suit them. I helped to design the layout
of the stock in the store, with an aim to increase our revenue by
positioning various items in ‘eye-catching’ places.
 CV types
Skills based
Focusing on skills e.g.
SKILLS

• Attention to detail – as an Editing Assistant at Venture, I needed to prove that I

could spot any mistakes or flaws in the photographs, as well as being attentive to the
requests of the customers

• Computer skills – I regularly used Photoshop during my time at Venture. I am

also a competent user of Microsoft Office, which I proved throughout my time as a
Retail Assistant at Topshop, where I was often required to produce reports on our
sales

• Customer service – in all of my roles, customer service has been of key importance.
I have experience of dealing with difficult customers, and try to ensure that every
customer is satisfied with the service they have received.
 Personal Details
• Name (as a heading rather than ‘CV’)
• Website/online portfolio/CV
• Address (term-time and home)
• Telephone number
• Email address
– Make sure this is a professional email address
• The following are not requirements, but if you wish, you can include:
– Nationality
– Sex
– Date of birth
Education and Qualifications
• Start with the most recent
• Don’t forget your current study
– Mention relevant modules
– You might like to mention top marks
• You don’t have to put your grades on if you
weren’t happy with them
• Include the years of study
• Primary school not needed
Education and Qualifications

2011 – Present University of Kent

BA (Hons) Fine Art
Modules include: Contextual Studies, Creative
Investigations
Project: Communication and Critique

2009 – 2011 Maidstone Grammar School

A-levels: Media Studies (A), Art (B),
Information Technology (C)

2005 – 2009 Wrotham School

GCSEs: 8 GCSEs including English and Maths
 Work Experience
• There is no need to list every job you’ve ever had – detail
the most relevant
• Don’t just list your duties – sell your skills. Which skills
are relevant to the position/company you are applying to?

• Dates, name of company, position and skills:

April 2010 – Present Museum of Kent Life

As a shop assistant, I have learnt the importance of providing great customer service to
gain maximum sales. I am responsible for organising stock and ensuring that costs are
controlled. Carrying out weekly risk assessments has increased my awareness of health
and safety issues.
What examples can you give from your work experience?
If you have no paid work experience, give examples from voluntary work or
from your course
 Action Verbs
created instructed analyzed produced
negotiated designed calculated maintained
administered controlled reviewed
consolidated delivered founded increased
studied invented supplied detected
programmed recommended distributed
developed solved prepared installed
selected arranged formulated solved started
 Interests and Activities

Choose interests and activities which can demonstrate skills

relevant to the job such as:

• Teamwork
• Organising
• Commitment
• Your intellectual abilities
• Your personality
• Your artistic ability

Talk about your passion for music/art etc.

 Presentation of your CV
• The first visual impression of your CV is
important
• For standard CVs, use plain white A4 paper
• Do not double side
• Keep your CV to two sides of paper
• Check your spelling
• Use bullet points and bold font but in moderation
 Presentation of your CV
• Formatting – make sure it’s consistent
• Size 10-12 font (depending on font style)
• Clear font e.g. Arial, Calibri
• Focus on accomplishments
• Target your CV to that job/company
• 2:1, not Two One or 2,1
• Use short, concise sentences
• Consider your audience
 Creative presentation

• Be creative in design BUT ensure all relevant CV

information is included
• Include a weblink to your portfolio
 ASSIGNMENT
• Please make your own CV (Curriculum
Vitae).
• Please make your own cover letter based
on the Job Vacancy that given to you.