Return to Writing Guides by Genre

Cover Letters

What is a Cover Letter? 

A concise, persuasive, and professional communication tailored to a specific position, organization, and industry.

Purpose: Your cover letter should be able to answer the following questions:

  1. Why this role?
  2. Why you?
  3. What pick our organization?

Expectations Vary by Sector

  • Nonprofits, Government, Education: Speak to your match with their mission.
  • Finance, Business, Consulting: Results-oriented, brief.

Format Basics

One page long, single space, standard margins (0.5″-1″ on all four sides)

Header Includes: 

  • Your contact information (name, address, email)
  • Use the same header from your resume for consistency
  • Date
  • Recruiter’s contact information (name, position, company, address)

Structure: 

  • Opening Paragraph: Make your case. Who are you? What motivates you to apply for this role? Identify mission, values, and priorities. What do you have to offer? 
  • Body: Demonstrate skills, values, and job qualifications through specific experiences.
  • Closing: Restate your skills/what makes you qualified and thank them for their time and consideration.

The STAR Method 

S – Situation

  • Explain the situation you were in. This should take up about 10 percent of your response.
  • For example: “I managed a range of different projects in my role as Senior Officer with XYZ Incorporated. This included projects in IT, business improvement, and policy implementation.”

T – Task

  • Explain the specific task you undertook in this situation. This should also take up only 10 percent of your response.
  • For example: “As a particular example, I managed the implementation of a new customer relationship management system.”

A – Action

  • Detail your approach to the task. This is where you really have the opportunity to get creative and demonstrate your expertise. Below, you will see that we have detailed the candidate’s project. However, we have not focused solely on their project management skills. It also shows skills like time management, written communication, and stakeholder engagement. 
  • This action part of your response should take up about 60 percent of your word count.
  • For example: “I conducted independent research and analyzed organizational requirements to identify appropriate solutions. I developed a business case for senior management that compared options and prices to minimum specifications and requirements. This included a recommendation to implement ABC Solution, which was agreed to by the board. I then developed detailed project documentation in consultation with the client relationship management team. In these documents, I established and negotiated deadlines, milestones, budgets, and key dependencies. This allowed me to closely manage the project outcomes. From there, I worked with the vendor to design the customized user interface and modules of the system and worked with senior managers to test the performance of the system. This ensured that the system met specifications before rollout. Once the system was designed, I developed and delivered a suite of training. I also created technical documentation and standard operating procedures to further support the implementation.”

R – Result

  • What was the result of your action? What were the outcomes your achieved, and how were things improved by your actions? This should take up about 20 percent of your response.
  • For example: “As a result, the system was successfully implemented, met organizational requirements, and staff were appropriately trained in its use. Additionally, the project was delivered on time and under because of my careful planning.”

Pieced together, this response would be a satisfactory response to a project management capability.

(Source: https://theresumewriters.com.au/star-method-in-selection-criteria-cover-letters/) 

Extra Tips: 

1.  Make sure there are NO spelling or grammatical errors. Run your piece through a free grammar checker such as Grammarly.

2.  Have a fluent English speaker read it over and provide feedback.  

3.  Start EARLY.  Set yourself up for success by giving yourself time to revise and edit. 

4. Always print a copy before you send it. Send in PDF.

(Source: https://www.teachingcove.com/writing/how-to-write-a-cover-letter)

CPDC Cover Letter Resources, Handshake