English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

I was happy to see that this week's readings on writing cover letters were more consistent and less frustrating than last week's frenzy of conflicting resume advice. Week five's cover letter readings presented fairly uniform advice: Successful cover letters use professional, appropriate and personable writing and have a message aimed toward satisfying companies' hiring goals.

I have actually never written a cover letter, thus I am on a new adventure! Upon reading these articles a few points clearly stood out regarding cover letters. Though they may not always be read or considered these letters aren’t by any means pointless and they may gain or cost you a position.

After reading these articles, it’s clear that the most important part of crafting a cover letter is to tailor it in a professional manner to suit the requirements of the position. Both Instructor Blog #3: Cover Letters and Junk Cover Letters Kill Good Resumes provided many good strategies to achieve this.

     The first thing I noticed in this week’s suggested readings is how each author emphasized the importance in tailoring the cover letter to match the position one is applying for. This was also made apparent in the previous weeks’ readings that emphasized the same concept but applied to resumes.

I think it is very important to make a positive impression using other means in addition to your resume. A good example is meeting company representatives during a career fair where you show your colors, explain your qualifications, and interact face-to-face. When not given this kind of opportunity, a cover letter is your best chance to push your resume to greater lengths with the same respect.

In my college experience I have never had to write a cover letter for any reason. Whenever I apply to a company it is always handing my resume to them in a career fair, giving it to them at their place of business, or sending them my resume online. Before reading these articles, I thought it was stupid to reword your resume in sentence form just to have a very slight possibility of anyone ever reading it. I have never had to have a cover letter for any interview, career fair, or online submission form; so I kind of feel like I am wasting my time in writing one.

Questions to be answered:
1. Do I need more detailed information regarding previous experience?
2. Does the overall formatting and structure appear to be professional?

Cover letters? I have never written a cover letter before in my life. From the readings it seems that they will not be read if you are applying for an entry level position. Does that mean we should not write one? Well they say you should dress for the job you want, might as well write a cover letter to show that you are serious about getting that job.

The two things I would like to know are:
-Does the formatting lose or draw your attention/why?
-Did I go too deep or not deep enough into awards, jobs, or personal interests?

When writing my cover letter for this particular resume and job opening, I plan on utilizing several techniques outlined in the reading. The first piece of advice comes from the second article, Junk Cover Letters Kill Good Resumes, when it instructs you to ask yourself some very important questions about your cover letter, “Does your cover letter use a personal approach?” This means addressing both the HR employee/manager and the company itself by name. This tailors your resume and cover letter to this specific job application, and so they know you’re interested.