COMM 202 Tutorial 4 – Cover Letters

Week 8, Tutorial 4| TA: Jaime Reston | February 26th/27th

“I’m so happy reading week is over, I missed 202 and midterms”

-Drake

Agenda

1 – Stop Start Continue2 – Cover Letters3 – Cover Letters4 – Talk About Our Feelings5 – Cover Letters

STOP START

CONTINUE

STOP START

CONTINUE

WHY?

WHY?INTENTIONS

WHY?INTENTIONS

WRITTEN SKILL

WHY?INTENTIONS

WRITTEN SKILL

ELABORATE ON SKILLS MATRIX

WANT

CAN

FIT

WANT

CAN

FIT?

YOU DO THE JOB?

DO YOU

THE JOB?ARE YOU A GOOD

THE RESUMEIS ABOUT YOU

THE COVER LETTERIS ABOUT THEM

THE RESUMEIS ABOUT YOU

THE COVER LETTERIS ABOUT THEM

1. OPENING

My name is _________ and I’m applying for _______

My name is _________ and I’m applying for _______

Your opening should: • Be Unique• Be Employer-Centric • Show Genuine Interest • Leave the reader curious • Show relevant research

SUCH UNIQUE!

SO CENTRAL TO THE EMPLOYER!

LEAVES YOU MUCH CURIOUS!

MANY TELLS YOU SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW!

SUCH UNIQUE!

SO CENTRAL TO THE EMPLOYER!

LEAVES YOU MUCH CURIOUS!

MANY TELLS YOU SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW!SO MUCH GENUINE INTEREST!

SUCH UNIQUE!

SO CENTRAL TO THE EMPLOYER!

LEAVES YOU MUCH CURIOUS!

MANY TELLS YOU SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW!

VERY EMOTIONAL APPEALS!

SUCH UNIQUE!

SO CENTRAL TO THE EMPLOYER!

LEAVES YOU MUCH CURIOUS!

MANY TELLS YOU SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW!

MUCH RELEVANT RESEARCH!

SUCH UNIQUE!

SO CENTRAL TO THE EMPLOYER!

LEAVES YOU MUCH CURIOUS!

MANY TELLS YOU SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW!

VERY EMOTIONAL APPEALS!

SUCH UNIQUE!

SO CENTRAL TO THE EMPLOYER!

LEAVES YOU MUCH CURIOUS!

MANY TELLS YOU SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW!

VERY EMOTIONAL APPEALS!

MUCH RELEVANT RESEARCH!

What else works?• Ask a question

• Align your values to theirs

• Name Dropping (if applicable)

• Current business affairs

2. Skills Matching

What Skills?

What Skills?

SKILLS (From Skills Matrix and job description)

+

EXPERIENCE (2-3 examples)

+

EDUCATION (How you will leverage Bcom)

+

MATCHING QUALIFICATIONS (And any other qualifications)

Key Takeaways

Use STARL to your advantage!

Each line PROVES you have the necessary skills to be successful on the job

ALWAYS link back to the company/position!

Use skills listed in the job description

You either die a hero

Or write enough To see yourselfBecome the villain

4. Closing

4. Closing• Restate Skills in Different

Wording• Give Genuine Thanks• Call to Action• Tie it all Together (Hmph Factor)

“Thank you for looking at my application. I hope that I have shown you that my interpersonal skills, my leadership skills, and my ability to perform on a team make me a perfect fit for ABC position. Thank you very much and I hope to hear from you soon.”

“Thank you for looking at my application. I hope that I have shown you that my interpersonal skills, my leadership skills, and my ability to perform on a team make me a perfect fit for ABC position. Thank you very much and I hope to hear from you soon.”

AddressTheElephant

Key Takeaways

Make a good final impression

Show your passion

Restate your skills with different wording

Thank them

Use a call to action

4. Branding

5. Integration

Consistent throughout the CL

Fits with both company’s values and yours!

Leave an overall good impression!

Use industry jargon/company specific language

Word choice, tone, stories

Branding

What are the main products or services the company offers? Why is this interesting to you? In what locations do they operate/how many employees/annual revenues?

How would you describe the organizational culture? What do you think the working environment will be like?

What are the values and/or mission statement? How do these align with your values system?

What are the names of the top local executives/recruiters? Who will you address your cover letter to? Do you know anyone within the organization? What is the nature of that relationship?

Who are the primary competitors? What do they do better and where can they improve? (A brief SWOT analysis of the industry)

What is the topic of a recent media article about this company? Please summarize the main points.

Does the company have a Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/Glassdoor presence?

Have you connected with them via social media? What did you learn?

What are your most marketable skills for this position?

What are your strongest most relevant stories from your Skills Matrix assignment

Integration

Cover letter and resume use the same formatting

STAND OUT!

Cover letter reflects and expands on the resume

Date

Contact Name (if known)Their TitleCompany NameAddress 1Address 2 (if extra space needed)City, Province, Postal Code

Re: Position Title and Reference Number (if applicable)

Dear Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. or Hiring Manager or Hiring Committee (choose one),

[Opening Paragraph]

[Closing Paragraph]

Sincerely or Regards or Kind Regards,

Full NameBCom Candidate, (year of completion)Sauder School of Business

Attached: Resume (in an actual application you may also be including transcripts, etc.)

Differentiate yourself

Resumes are you, CLs are them

Personal connection

TAKE AWAYS:

NEXT WEEK IS TUTORIAL!

Skills MatrixDue February 27th @ 14:00[E-mail me technical problems by 13:55]

Resume E-Module & QuizDue Next Tutorial

Come to Office Hours