{"id":74,"date":"2017-03-09T15:30:45","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T15:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wayup.com\/guide\/?p=74"},"modified":"2018-07-24T20:25:13","modified_gmt":"2018-07-24T20:25:13","slug":"write-cover-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write a Cover Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

While many jobs no longer require cover letters (especially most jobs on WayUp<\/a>), when a job <\/span>does<\/span><\/i> require one, your cover letter could be a big part of whether or not you get to the next round. If you haven\u2019t written a cover letter before (or even if you have), you may be wondering whether writing one is really necessary. The answer is yes, if you do it effectively. Think of your cover letter as your edge. If you write it well, it will give potential employers an insight into your personality, something that\u2019s hard to discover by just skimming your resume. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our simple formula to writing an amazing cover letter.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t restate everything in your resume. Instead, tell your story.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Think of your resume and your cover letter as a package \u2014 they complement each other, but they\u2019re not the same thing. While your resume covers your educational background and work experience, your cover letter tells a story about who you are and what you\u2019d like to do with your career. Since recruiters look through hundreds (sometimes thousands) of resumes every day, a memorable cover letter is more likely to stand out<\/a>. Give them something to remember by highlighting some of your unique qualities.<\/p>\n

Keep it short and to the point.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Cover letters should be short, sweet and to the point. Keep in mind that the recruiter<\/a> is likely reading dozens or hundreds of them, so make yours pop in a succinct way, and definitely don\u2019t make it longer than one page.<\/p>\n

Opening paragraph<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In two-three sentences, explain who you are and what position or program you\u2019re applying for. <\/span><\/p>\n

Second paragraph<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Then, in one-two sentences explain why you want the job. Be sure to mention your knowledge of the industry and your interest in the company. This is where research will come in handy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third paragraph<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In three sentences, explain why you’re qualified for the job. Include relevant work experience (paid and unpaid internships or other jobs you\u2019ve had) and mention classes you\u2019ve taken that have guided you towards this field.<\/span><\/p>\n

Closing sentence<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Your final sentence is all about finishing strong. Tell the employer that you look forward to hearing from them and include your contact information (email <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> phone number).<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask an advisor or professor to look it over.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Once you\u2019ve finished writing your cover letter, make a few edits to ensure that there are no typos. Then ask an advisor or professor to look it over, focusing on whether there are any additional areas you can highlight or any unique skills you can mention. Make sure to incorporate their feedback before doing a final edit and pressing send.<\/p>\n

Although writing a cover letter isn\u2019t always necessary when applying for a job, if done effectively it can be a valuable add-on to your job application. By following the steps outlined here, you can write a great cover letter and land the internship or entry-level job you\u2019ve been dreaming of.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next, get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as Tips to Make Your Resume Stand Out<\/a> and find answers to common interview questions such as Are You Willing to Relocate?<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While many jobs no longer require cover letters (especially most jobs on WayUp), when a job does require one, your cover letter could be a big part of whether or not you get to the next round. If you haven\u2019t written a cover letter before (or even if you have), you may be wondering whether … Continue reading “How to Write a Cover Letter”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,33],"tags":[53,54,197,198,199,200,204],"class_list":["post-74","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resumes-cover-letters","category-cover-letter-guide","tag-cover-letter","tag-cover-letter-tips","tag-underclassman","tag-postgrad","tag-senior","tag-preparation","tag-application"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Write a Cover Letter | Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While many jobs no longer require cover letters, your cover letter could be a big part of whether or not you get to the next round.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Write a Cover Letter | Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While many jobs no longer require cover letters, your cover letter could be a big part of whether or not you get to the next round.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/wayupinc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-09T15:30:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-07-24T20:25:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/guideassets.wayupcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/college-student-job-hunting.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"355\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"wayupstudent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@wayup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@wayup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"wayupstudent\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/\",\"name\":\"How to Write a Cover Letter | Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/guideassets.wayupcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/college-student-job-hunting.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-09T15:30:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-24T20:25:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2fe332dd1dccf78959bfd26713c1532f\"},\"description\":\"While many jobs no longer require cover letters, your cover letter could be a big part of whether or not you get to the next round.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/guideassets.wayupcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/college-student-job-hunting.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/guideassets.wayupcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/college-student-job-hunting.jpg\",\"width\":355,\"height\":200,\"caption\":\"College student job hunting\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Write a Cover Letter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/\",\"name\":\"Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2fe332dd1dccf78959bfd26713c1532f\",\"name\":\"wayupstudent\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ec3d0815a25c47f1342fc07241e3a3c35573d54cd862bacbb7b5abc6ec4a2955?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ec3d0815a25c47f1342fc07241e3a3c35573d54cd862bacbb7b5abc6ec4a2955?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"wayupstudent\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/author\/wayupstudent\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Write a Cover Letter | Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide","description":"While many jobs no longer require cover letters, your cover letter could be a big part of whether or not you get to the next round.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Write a Cover Letter | Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide","og_description":"While many jobs no longer require cover letters, your cover letter could be a big part of whether or not you get to the next round.","og_url":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/","og_site_name":"Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/wayupinc","article_published_time":"2017-03-09T15:30:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-07-24T20:25:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":355,"height":200,"url":"https:\/\/guideassets.wayupcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/college-student-job-hunting.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"wayupstudent","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@wayup","twitter_site":"@wayup","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"wayupstudent","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/","url":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/","name":"How to Write a Cover Letter | Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/guideassets.wayupcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/college-student-job-hunting.jpg","datePublished":"2017-03-09T15:30:45+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-24T20:25:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2fe332dd1dccf78959bfd26713c1532f"},"description":"While many jobs no longer require cover letters, your cover letter could be a big part of whether or not you get to the next round.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/guideassets.wayupcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/college-student-job-hunting.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/guideassets.wayupcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/college-student-job-hunting.jpg","width":355,"height":200,"caption":"College student job hunting"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/write-cover-letter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Write a Cover Letter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/","name":"Career Advice & Interview Tips | WayUp Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2fe332dd1dccf78959bfd26713c1532f","name":"wayupstudent","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ec3d0815a25c47f1342fc07241e3a3c35573d54cd862bacbb7b5abc6ec4a2955?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ec3d0815a25c47f1342fc07241e3a3c35573d54cd862bacbb7b5abc6ec4a2955?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"wayupstudent"},"url":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/author\/wayupstudent\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayupstudent.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}