Writing a Cover Letter

Research & Reflection

Learn more about the role, company, department, and context. Review the:

• Job posting

• Company website

• Company and key employee's professional websites (eg. LinkedIn)

• Other job postings similar to this role

It is also important to reflect on the ways in which you intersect with the company's mission, the department's focus, the team's culture, and the job's demands. Consider:

• What appeals to you about this job and company?

• Which transferable and technical skills listed in the job posting have you used before? When?

• What aspects of the role compliments your strengths?

• What activities listed in the job posting have you done before (or similar versions of it)?

• What are you excited to learn more about in this role?

• Which specific accomplishments from your past experiences (work, volunteer, academic, or personal) demonstrate your ability to succeed in this job?

Start Writing

• It may feel intimidating to write your first cover letter. Start out by writing a draft, with the knowledge that you are going to revise and edit it later on. To start, just try to get words down on paper. Why do you feel you are the best fit for this job? What strengths would you bring to the role and company, and how have you demonstrated those skills in the past?

• Strive for an active sentence structure (for example, I [action verb] the [object] in order to [results])

  • Passive: "My current job taught me how to collaborate with 10 colleagues" -> In this sentence, it is your job doing the action, teaching.

  • Active: "In my current job, I collaborate with teams of 10 colleagues." -> In this sentence, you are doing the action, collaborating.