cover letter

DPDP Labs: Scoring Guide for Cover Letter and Resume

Cover Letter Needs work. Almost there… Great job! Document approved.

Format Tone Mechanics Content

Format does not follow career services guidelines (see page 2). Tone is casual. Language is ambiguous and writing may include spelling, grammatical or phrasing errors. Lacks clarity and key information. Does not show use of keywords from job/internship description. Does not include specific information about company. 0 Points for documented plagiarism of materials.

Format follows 70% of career services guidelines (see page 2). Tone is a mix of casual and professional. Writing is mostly organized and is free from spelling and grammatical errors, however development and support of ideas may be weak. Most skills and abilities match the keywords from job/internship description. Includes only vague or limited company-specific information.

Format follows all career services guidelines (see page 2). Tone is professional. Writing is clearly organized and free from spelling and grammatical errors with excellent development and support of ideas. Skills and abilities match the job/internship description. Includes information specific to the company and connects experience and values to the role and the organization’s values.

Resume Needs work. Almost there… Great job! Document approved.

Length Format Mechanics Content

Resume is significantly more or less than one page. Format does not follow career services guidelines (see page 2). Several spelling and grammatical errors. Does not include key sections, and/or sections are not in the correct order. Bullet points are non- existent or underdeveloped.

Resume is slightly more or less than one page. Format follows 70% of career services guidelines (see page 2). Few spelling or grammatical errors. Includes key sections with some bullet points, however bullet points do not speak to accomplishments/results.

Resume is one page. Format follows all career services guidelines (see page 2). No spelling or grammatical errors. Includes key sections, showing clear accomplishments through detailed bullet points.

Guidelines for Cover Letters:

• One page (no more, can be slightly less) • Margins should be between 0.7 – 1.0 inch all the way around the page • Font size should be 11 – 12 pt. font • Font should be easy to read; sans serif fonts recommended • 3 – 4 paragraphs long (do not indent paragraphs) • Header matches the header on the resume and references • Includes a date • Includes company address block: Contact name, contact title, organization, street

address • Letter is addressed to contact or to the Hiring Manager • Opening paragraph includes reason interested in the position and employer and

how the position was discovered • Throughout middle paragraph(s), examples of skills and experiences are

highlighted which relate to the position • Closing paragraph offers an appreciative tone and excitement about the position

while reiterating the interest in the position and company culture

Guidelines for Resumes:

• One page (no more, no less) • Margins should be between 0.7 – 1.0 inch all the way around the page • Font size should be between 10 – 12 pt. for most of the text; headers and name

may be up to 14 pt. • Education should be first section • Must include 2 – 3 bullet points for each professional/work experience • Bullet points must start with action verbs in the correct tense • Bullet points begin with strong action verbs and show transferrable skills • Experiences must be in reverse chronological order within each section (most

recent/current listed first) • No color/grayscale • Align all dates to right side of page • Soft skills should not be listed under skills section (instead, incorporate into bullet

points for experiences)