Cover Letters

  

Week 5 - Discussion 1

 

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
 

     

Cover   Letters

 Cover letters are recommended, and in some instances required, for job applications. If you want to stand out from other candidates, you will want to write a unique cover letter for each position you apply to.  Cover letters allow you to clarify, detail, and expand on your most relevant skills and competencies. In addition, a cover letter allows you to showcase your written communication skills.  It is important that you have a compelling cover letter. To write an impactful cover letter, you need to answer the following questions before you begin composing it. Starting with these questions will help provide a clear and concise message for the person reading your cover letter.

• Why are you interested in the position? Consider what      makes the position, organization, or company interesting to you.
• What three skills or competencies do you possess that      match the skills the employer is seeking in a candidate? 
  • You can find these skills by viewing the job       description. These specific skills are the reason every cover letter       should be unique for each job for which you apply.

For this discussion, you will explore the components of a cover letter, reflect on your most relevant skills, and assess what action steps you can take to make your cover letter stronger.

• The Cover letters resource contains step-by step instructions for      creating a cover letter including formatting suggestions, tips regarding      how to highlight your best skills and qualifications, and how to tailor      your letter for specific job you wish to apply to.
• For more in-depth guidance for writing a cover letter,      please watch the Creating a compelling cover letter webinar.

In your initial post

• Identify a position on www.indeed.com      or other similar websites , that interests you as a potential job      opportunity. Using the job description, identify three skills or      qualifications that match your background and type them out.
• Using the format suggestions from both the webinar and      cover letter sample, create a three- to four-sentence paragraph that      communicates the three matching skills and/or competencies you would like      to highlight for the employer. The goal is to tailor the body of your      cover letter to the position you seek.
• Paste the link of the job description you are      interested in and the three- to four-sentence paragraph that you have      written for this job application into the discussion forum so you can      obtain feedback from your classmates.

Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your peers by providing feedback on how their three key skills will help them to achieve their career goals. In addition, provide at least one suggestion for how they might emphasize their relevant skills. Your three required posts must be on three separate days.