COMM 202Tutorial 4: Cover Letter Peer Edit

LAPTOPS & PHONES AWAY! NAME TENTS OUT!T15 + T17

AGENDA For today

CourseTimeline

PeerEditing

ActionItems

Course TimelineWeek 9Week 6 Week 8Week 7

• Cover letter peer review

• Cover letter drafts due

• Skills matrix due Friday, October 14th

@ 2:00PM

• LinkedIn / networking

• Event networking / informational interviews

• Cover letter & resume due Tuesday, November 1st

@ 2:00PM

• Networking event on November 3rd

• Resume peer review

• Resume drafts due

Resume Draft Due Next Friday!

Time to

Peer edit

The room setup

Ali

Instructions• Write your table number on ALL documents

• Put all cover letters in a pile in the middle of the table

• Get out your marking utensils!

EACH NEW SLIDE SECTION:

PASS cover letter TO THE RIGHT

Let’s learn aboutFORMATTING

Formatting• Left aligned (NOT justified)

• No indents on paragraphs

• Bullet points vs. paragraphs

• 2-3 relevant skills

• consistent font size (min. size 11)

• appropriate font• margin sizes

• spacing between paragraphs

• white space

Addressing the cover letterDate

Contact Name

Title

Company Address 1

City, Province Postal Code

Re: Position Title (reference number if given)

Dear [first name Last name],

or Dear Hiring Manager/Committee,

Here are some examples

specific person(assume known marital status)

unknown person

SIGNING OFF THE RIGHT WAYSincerely, / Regards, / Best,

(Written signature if you want)

Your name

Bcom Candidate 20XXSauder School of Business

Enclosed vs. Attached: Resume

Let’s look atThe Opening

The opening• Expresses very keen genuine interest and/or passion for

position

• Makes a clear expression of the skills/experience matching the job description

• Integrates genuine and unique primary or secondary research indicating interest in firm

• Name Drop (when applicable)

• HOOK

Moving ontoSkills Matching

Skills Matching• Describes specific skills that are clearly matched to the job description,

referencing specific examples that leverage experiences and qualifications

• Experiences highlighted are specific and concise linking past experiences through transferable skills

• Results show success or strength in past experiences

• STARL FORMAT (EMPHASIZING ACTION… LINK WHERE APPLICABLE)

• TEAM EXPERIENCES – EMPHASIZING INDIVIDUAL VS. TEAM ACTIONS

• SHOW ME, DON’T TELL ME

And nowThe closing

Closing Effectively• Very clear reference to specific skills

• Interest and request for meetingAka “call to action”

• Graciously thanks the employer for their consideration

• TIE BACK TO HOOK/INTRO

Look for theUnique Brand

BRANDING• Provides strong, insightful research that

demonstrates knowledge and interest in the industry or organization

• Clearly illustrates how the candidate will “fit” into the industry or organization

So…Who got the interview?

Tips to help you get that

“A”

TIP #1

TIP #2

TIP #3

HOW TO GET AN ‘A’• Ask friend’s for feedback!

• Sign-up and show up to Office Hours!

• Work on your cover letter everyday for 20 minutes!

One last thing

Action items

1. Skills Matrix today @ 2PM on TURNITIN

2. SIGN UP FOR OFFICE HOURS

3. Access resume resources on the blog

4. Bring 2 hard copies of resume draft and job posting to tutorial next week!

5. Have an awesome weekend