This week, we learned how to write a cover letter. I have only ever written one cover letter, and I was actually applying for the job my best friend had so she sent me her cover letter and I kind of just changed it around to be about me. That is essentially what we learned exactly not to do this week.
The articles and examples of good cover letters were definitely helpful and informative. There were some key points I hadn’t thought about before, like if you seem overqualified for a job, it’s best to address that confusion in your cover letter. Something that surprised me was how employers usually only spend a couple of seconds looking at an applicant’s cover letter. This really emphasized to me that I need to make it interesting and personal to hook the employer instead of just throwing my application to the side with all the others.
It was also helpful to make the lists in class of the top 10 things that are most important for a cover letter. On Friday, we have to turn in a cover letter for a hypothetical job we might apply for in the future. This may be a little bit difficult for me, because I want to be an actor and as far as I know actors don’t usually write cover letters. But I know everything I need to include, and it’s absolutely something I should know how to do well as it is essential to my future to help me get employed.