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Cover Letters
Cover Checklist
Use the Cover Letter Checklist to make sure you have covered all the bases with your cover letter. The samples below illustrate appropriate usage of the points addressed in this checklist.
Sample Cover Letters
To learn about how to tailor your résumé to your audience, read the Tailoring Your Cover Letter and Résumé PDF document.
- General Cover Letter Do's & Don'ts
- General Cover Letter Sample #1
- General Cover Letter Sample #2--Style A (With Matching Résumé)
- General Cover Letter Sample #2 (Style B)
- General Cover Letter Sample #3 (With Matching Résumé)
- General Cover Letter Sample #4--15 Years Business Marketing (With Matching Résumé)
- Block Letter Format (for B 220 students)
- Block Format Cover Letter Sample
Samples of What to Include In Your Cover Letter
The previous and following examples are meant to show you effective cover letter formatting and content. Please utilize these samples to internalize concepts, but do not copy and paste them into your own letter. Your letter needs to reflect who you are and not who someone else is.
Samples of What to Include in Introductory Paragraph:
- State why you are writing
- Include a 'grabber' that will catch reader's attention
- General/global claim about your qualifications/intended contributions (that will be backed up in the next paragraph)
- Explain how you heard about the job (optional--only if it will add value)
Samples of What to Include in Body Paragraph:
- Show (rather than just tell) audience how you meet their specific needs
- Direct reader to read your resume in a powerful (rather than obvious and weak) way
- Describe your successes, accomplishments, and qualifications in terms that are meaningful to your audience