What is a Cover Letter?

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From the course by University of Pennsylvania

English for Career Development

1372 ratings

University of Pennsylvania

English for Career Development

1372 ratings

Welcome to English for Career Development, a course created by the University of Pennsylvania, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs. To enroll in this course for free, click on “Enroll now” and then select "Full Course. No certificate." This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in advancing their careers in the global marketplace. In this course, you will learn about the job search, application, and interview process in the United States, while comparing and contrasting the same process in your home country. This course will also give you the opportunity to explore your global career path, while building your vocabulary and improving your language skills to achieve your professional goals. The first unit in this course will introduce the U.S. job application process and provide strategies for identifying the jobs that match your interests and skills. Unit 2 will take you through the steps necessary to produce a professional-looking resume. In unit 3, you will work to develop a clear and concise cover letter. The final unit of the course focuses on networking and interview skills. Anyone may take this course for free. If you want to get a Coursera Verified Certificate for free, please fill out the Financial Aid form. Unless otherwise noted, all course materials are available for re-use, repurposing and free distribution under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution license. Supplemental reading materials were provided by Newsela, which publishes daily news articles at a level that's just right for each English language learner.

From the lesson

Unit 3: Writing a Cover Letter

This unit focuses on another important document for job-seekers: the cover letter. You will learn how to write a clear cover letter that tells employers why you are the right person for the job.

What is a Cover Letter?5:01

Professional Writing: Letter Format6:30

Unlockable Achievement 50:09

Meet the Instructors

Brian McManus
Language Specialist
English Language Programs
Robyn Turner
Senior Language Specialist
English Language Programs

Hello.

In this unit, we are going to introduce you to professional letter

writing as the third part of the application process.

In addition to a resume,

job seekers include a cover letter as part of their application.

There are three main reasons to write a cover letter.

A written letter shows the applicant's personal style, explains

the applicant's qualifications for the job and formally asks for an interview.

In later videos, we will take you through each part of the cover letter,

and how to write a clear and organized cover letter.

At the end of this unit, you will write your own cover letter to apply for

a specific job.

To begin, a cover letter is a one page formal letter and

there are some parts that looked the same in each cover letter.

In a later video, we will talk about professional letter format or

how it looks.

However, the content or information in the cover letter

should be a little different from each job you are applying for.

The cover letter helps an employer to understand more

about the applicant and helps to direct attention to certain parts of the resume.

The first reason for writing a cover letter is that it shows the applicants

personal style or personality.

Job seekers choose very specific words to introduce themselves to an employer.

This is how they show their personal style.

For example, Tom and Beth are both applying for

the same job as an international student advisor.

In his cover letter,

Tom writes, I am interested in working with international students.

Beth writes, I am very excited to meet and work with international students.

The word choices in these examples show us their personal styles.

We see that Tom is interested in working with international student,

but Beth is very excited to meet and work with international students.

Beth's personality is much clearer with her word choices,

excited to meet and work with.

The second reason for

writing a cover letter is to explain the applicant's qualifications for the job.

Using our same candidates Tom and Beth,

let's see how they would write a short description of their qualifications.

Tom writes, I have two years of experience

working as an activities director of a language school.

Beth says, as a Resident Advisor, I advise students on

counseling on personal, cultural and immigration issues,

as well as organize professional, social and cultural programs.

From the short descriptions in their cover letters most employers

would want to read Beth's resume to find out more about her experience.

The third reason, for writing a cover later is to formerly ask for an interview.

There are different ways to make a request as we will discuss it in later videos.

When applicants know the name and the contact information of the hiring manager,

they may say that they will call like at a certain time to arrange for an interview.

For those who do not know who the hiring manager is, they should give their

phone number or email address so the employer can contact them.

To review.

We now know the cover letter is the introduction to the applicant's

personal style and gives a summary of the applicant's qualifications

which are explained in the resume.

If employers like what they read in the cover letter,

it is possible that the applicant will be invited for an interview.

Next, go on to reading number one, which shows two sample cover letters.

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