Just as you did when you drafted your résumé, you need to use invention strategies before drafting your cover letter. These strategies include making sure that you understand your purposes, your audience, and the information they require.

Below, you'll find a series of questions and tasks that will help you gather the essential information you'll need prior to writing.

Purposes:

State your primary purpose by listing the job you seek:

Explain how you learned about the job:

List any other positions you might be able to fill:

Audience:

What individual will be your specific audience?

What is that individual's organizational role?

What do you know about that individual (needs, preferences)?

What do you know about the organization (location, number of employees, growth, recent events, etc.)?

What are the duties and responsibilities of the job you seek? Be specific as to skills such as software knowledge, workplace experience, etc.

Essential Information:

Highlight specific features of your academic background prepare you to meet the organization's needs (you might use the table you created in the résumé section).

Highlight the specific features from your workplace experience that prepare you to meet the organization's needs (you might use the table you created in the résumé section).

List any skills or accomplishments that might set you apart from other applicants.

Note any specific details about scheduling an interview that might be pertinent.

 

Now that you have gathered all of the essential information, the next step is to draft a letter.

 

The Structure of a Cover Letter -->