CATEGORY: BUSINESS

GROUP: 1. JOBS/PEOPLE/ORGANIZATIONS
Topic: 5. Cover Letters
Introduction:
A cover letter is part of a typical job application in the United States. This letter
expresses your interest in a position and highlights your qualifications to a prospective
employer.

Dialogue:
Danni is about to graduate from college and is in the process of applying for jobs.
Today shes meeting with Jake Simms, a career counselor at her school, to discuss
cover letters.

Jake: Hi, Danni. What can I help you with today?

Danni: Well, Im about to graduate, and Im applying for jobs. Ive worked a lot on my
resume, which I think is pretty good now, but I need some help with writing the
cover letters.
Jake: OK, sure. What kind of help did you need with them?
Danni: Ive never really written one before, so I would like some help with what to
include in one, and any other advice you have.
Jake: A cover letter is a very important part of your job application. It covers the main
points of your resume and helps you to sell your qualifications to a
prospective employer.
Danni: OK. How long should it be?
Jake: It shouldnt be longer than one page. Employers dont have the time to read
lengthy letters.
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Danni: OK. What should I include in my cover letter?

Jake: Your introductory paragraph should express your interest in the position, should
state where you heard about the opening, and highlight your qualifications that
youll discuss in the letter.
Danni: Do I discuss my qualifications in detail in the beginning?
Jake: No, youll do that later in the letter. In the introduction paragraph, you might want
to say something like, I believe that my knowledge of public relations and my
strong communication skills make me a strong candidate for the position of
Customer Relations Coordinator that was posted in the Daily Herald.
Danni: Oh, I understand.
Jake: Your body paragraphs should emphasize your strongest qualifications and
demonstrate how these will benefit the employer.
Danni: How much detail should I include?
Jake: Well, you want to be fairly brief, but you should elaborate on the information listed
on your resume.
Danni: So, just kind of re-word my resume in a letter format?
Jake: The cover letter is an opportunity to really show the employer specific, credible
examples of your qualifications that youve gained from past experience. You
want to mention numbers and amounts, equipment or programs you know how to
use, or specific projects youve worked on.
Danni: Maybe instead of saying, I was a customer service representative at Pizza
Barn I could say, As a customer service representative at Pizza Barn, I initiated
a program to attract customers and increased sales 10% in the month of June.
Jake: Bingo! Thats exactly the kind of description that you want to include.
Danni: All right. I think I understand that clearly then.
Jake: Another thing to remember is to coordinate the design of your letter with the
design of your resume.
Danni: Is that really important?
Jake: If you do that, it looks very professional and can create a good impression.

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Danni: OK. Ill do it.

Jake: Finally, the most important thing to do is to carefully proofread your letter for any
grammatical or typographical errors.
Danni: I have a friend who said she would read over my letters for me to double-check
them.
Jake: Thats a great idea. If your letter has any errors in it, an employer is going to get
a very bad impression of you. Do you have any other questions about the cover
letter?
Danni: No, I think you covered everything. I have a good idea of what to include in one
now.
Jake: Good. Good luck writing them and good luck with your job search.
Danni: Thank you!
Jake: Youre welcome.

Vocabulary:
to sell: to develop a belief in the truth, value, or desirability of your qualifications
prospective: future, likely to become
body paragraphs: main paragraphs
demonstrate: show
re-word: to restate in other words
Bingo!: this is an interjection used to express endorsement of a correct statement
coordinate: make matching
typographical: typing

Discussion Questions:
1. Are cover letters a common part of job applications in your country?
-Yes. In the United States, cover letters are a common part of professional job
applications. An employer usually requires applicants to submit both a resume
and cover letter.
2. Have you ever written a cover letter?
-Yes. I have written many cover letters. Its quite time consuming, but it was
necessary to do for all of the jobs Ive applied for in the past.

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3. Have you ever made typographical errors on a professional document? What

happened?
-Yes, I have. A few months ago, I wrote some flyers that I was going to use as
advertisements for my business. For some reason, I didnt spell check them and
sent them to be printed. When I got them back, I saw that I had many spelling
mistakes. They had to be reprinted again after I corrected the text.
4. If you had questions about writing cover letters, who would you ask for help?
-If I had questions, I would probably use the Internet as a source for help. There
are many sites that provide information on writing cover letters.
5. What other kind of professional business letters do you write in English?
-I write a lot of business letters in English. I write fax cover letters, emails,
request letters, social letters, invitations, and announcements.

Copyright 2007 English 1 on 1 Corp. All rights reserved. No reproduction without expressed written permission of English 1 on 1.