English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

Based on the tone of the instructor blog on cover letters and a thread on the home page, the issue on how to formulate a resume and/or cover letter seems to be at least partially resolved. That is to say, focus your documents with regard to your situation and the primary reader with a certain level of empathy towards that primary reader.

The biggest thing I took from this week’s readings on writing your cover letter really taught me how situational factors can affect writing your resume. I will admit, I haven’t reached that 50 resume count, nor have I surpassed one. So sitting somewhere in cyberspace on my computer is your average generic cover letter that will work for almost any company, in the most negative way that is! So after reading these articles, I found it absolutely to approach this with a new mindset. First and foremost, do your research.

Just like other people, I also do not have very much experience when it comes down to writing cover letters. After reading through all the material provided I have a much better understanding about what it takes to create a well written and well composed cover letter. One interesting aspect that I stumbled upon while reading the instructors blog was, using the same header that was used in the resume as the header for the cover letter.

Having never written a cover letter before, I really spent some time pouring over this week’s readings, finding some useful tips and some disappointments. For a change, I actually found some of the questions posed really helpful. The two I found the most helpful from the Thompson handbook were “Why am I interested?”, and “How am I qualified?”. Being a little in the dark about cover letters up to this point, answering these two questions really helped me to see where I needed to go.

After reading the selected reading on tailoring your cover letter, I found it to be informative and helpful. The selected readings proved strategies in detailing ways to direct your cover letters to fit them appropriately towards a job ad. In the reading from “Kairos and the Cover Letter”, it discusses different approach methods to consider when writing a cover letter. One example in this reading stresses the importance of tailoring to the specific position described in the ad. This example provided insightful tools on tone and direction to consider in the “clincher” or opening paragraph.

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.