W 5 D2

COVER LETTER

A good cover letter is crucial for demonstrating your experiences and abilities in this ever changing information technology and system field. Your cover letter will be a strategic tool in proving you are a competitive candidate for specific job openings.

Your cover letter should combine and demonstrate your ability to analyze and build information systems and your business administration experience--recruiters want to know that you can use technical resources to support effective and efficient decision making.

Your cover letter needs to include the following points:

•   What positions are you applying for? In what contexts, organizations, or business areas are you interested?

•   What are the information related skill sets you have for this position? Your skill sets should be relevant to the job posting.

•   What relevant business experiences do you have? They do not have to be in the same or similar industry as the job postings, but you need to have some understanding of basic business structures and relationships.

Some resources:

•   Ashford University’s Career Center has many resources to aid your job search and help compose your cover letter.

In your initial post,

•   Search for a position that you are interested in from job search sites such as www.indeed.com, www.monster.com, and www.craigslist.com. Identify the job title, job description, and the required skill sets. (TIP: Social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and meetups are common sources of job openings. These sites are not purely personal--they provide professional and reliable job-related information.)

•   Create a three to four paragraph cover letter that connects your skill sets to the job requirements. Your cover letter should be specific enough to fit the job you identified.

•   Post the job description and your cover letter to the discussion forum as an example of understanding job requirements and personal qualifications.