A cover letter is not an unknowable beast. It is, very specifically, a personal persuasive essay. Each body paragraph of your cover letter goes like this:
- Introduce a previous job (1 sentence)
- Explain something(s) you did at that previous job (1-2 sentences)
- Describe how the things you did there make you qualified for the position you're applying for (3-5 sentences)
Most of the letter should involve relating your previous experiences to the responsibilities listed in the job description. If most of your letter just describes previous jobs, you need to do a rewrite.
If you're wondering which specific experiences to bring up, focus on soft skills. Interpersonal skills, organizational skills, things that get lost in the weeds on a resume. Eg: I was a writing tutor in college. I had to use MS Word for that job, but that mechanical skill can be easily listed on a resume. I also had to know how to write, but I have an English degree, so my education wasn't in question.
What you can't list on a resume is all the times I helped exhausted, frustrated, panic-stricken students an hour from their essay being due. That involves deescalation and complex communication skills, which were particularly useful to describe when applying to work at a library.
I feel like this is useful but idk how to get people to see it. Cover letter cruesday? Cover letter Christmas? Yeah sure, merry Cover Letter Christmas






















