{"id":1574,"date":"2020-04-22T10:24:03","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T14:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/?page_id=1574"},"modified":"2025-01-09T10:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T15:46:07","slug":"cover-letter-writing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover Letters"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"lead\"><strong>Goal: Provide more nuanced information about yourself and help employers recognize how you can benefit them and those they serve<\/strong><\/div>\n<p>Most professional job applications include a cover letter in addition to a resume and reference sheet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cover letters provide job applicants with the opportunity to:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Introduce themself - in a more narrative and nuanced way than is possible in a resume<\/li>\n<li>Highlight their most relevant and impressive qualifications<\/li>\n<li>Make it clear what they have to offer the employer and those they serve<\/li>\n<li>Proactively address resume information gaps - if deemed necessary<\/li>\n<li>Express enthusiasm and interest in a position and\/or business\/organization<\/li>\n<li>Inspire employers to invite you to an interview<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Emphasize what you can do for the employer<\/strong> (vs. the other way around), and answer the following questions for them:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Does this applicant really want <em>this<\/em> job - ie. for the right reasons?<\/li>\n<li>Will this applicant be better at <em>this<\/em> job than other applicants?<\/li>\n<li>Could this applicant be a great fit for <em>this<\/em> business\/organization?<\/li>\n<li>Would it be worthwhile to interview this applicant?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A cover letter can also serve as <strong>a useful interview prep aid<\/strong>,\u00a0 since it will include professional language to describe the most exemplary and relevant qualifications for a particular position.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-accordion su-u-trim gcc\">\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-default su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span>Templates &amp; Tips<\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p>The following links lead to examples of cover letter content formatting, content, and language, which are free.\u00a0 (Please note that 911±¬ÁÏÍø is not promoting any for-fee tools or services embedded in these resources.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1envIhJ8tB9mMy1wgoubQ-HoODBRadwKl\/edit?usp=sharing&amp;ouid=110947284081317158046&amp;rtpof=true&amp;sd=true\">How to Format a Cover Letter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/cover-letter-samples\">How to Format a Cover Letter (tips &amp; examples)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/how-to-choose-cover-letter-font-and-font-size\">Font &amp; Font Size<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additional considerations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/powerful-ways-to-start-a-cover-letter\">Powerful Ways to Start a Cover Letter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/how-to-address-a-cover-letter-with-examples\">How to Address a Cover Letter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/how-to-include-a-referral-in-your-cover-letter\">How to Include a Referral in Your Cover Letter<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-default su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span>Submitting Your Cover Letter<\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/cover-letter-checklist\">Before Your Submit Your Cover Letter (tips)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/how-to-send-an-email-cover-letter-with-example\">How to Email a Cover Letter (tips &amp; examples)<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"yui_3_18_1_1_1710524012376_53\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.grammarly.com\/blog\/professional-email-in-english\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"\">How to Write a Professional Email, with Tips and Examples<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most professional job applications include a cover letter in addition to a resume and reference sheet. Cover letters provide job applicants with the opportunity to: Introduce themself - in a more narrative and nuanced way than is possible in a resume Highlight their most relevant and impressive qualifications Make it clear what they have to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3709,"featured_media":0,"parent":1761,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mc_calendar":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-1574","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cover Letters - Career Readiness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cover Letters - Career Readiness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most professional job applications include a cover letter in addition to a resume and reference sheet. Cover letters provide job applicants with the opportunity to: Introduce themself - in a more narrative and nuanced way than is possible in a resume Highlight their most relevant and impressive qualifications Make it clear what they have to [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Career Readiness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-09T15:46:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/files\/2021\/08\/cv-4043315_12_80_Image-by-ShariJo_pixabay-300x143.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/\",\"name\":\"Cover Letters - Career Readiness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-22T14:24:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-09T15:46:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Get-A-Job\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Get-A-Job Docs\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Cover Letters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/\",\"name\":\"Career Readiness\",\"description\":\"and Internships!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cover Letters - Career Readiness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/cover-letter-writing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cover Letters - Career Readiness","og_description":"Most professional job applications include a cover letter in addition to a resume and reference sheet. 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