A thoughtful, well-written cover letter can get you an internship.

A thoughtful, well-written cover letter can get you an internship.

But maybe you’re thinking:

“No one even reads cover letters.”

Before you decide that cover letters are a waste of time for college students, keep reading.

I’m going to explain exactly what a professional cover letter is, why you need one, and most importantly, I’ll outline a step-by-step process describing exactly how to write a cover letter.

What is a cover letter?

When you apply for a job, you typically submit a professional cover letter along with your résumé. A cover letter provides additional information about why you’re the best candidate for the job.

What is the purpose of writing a cover letter?

A cover letter serves three main functions:

1. To introduce yourself to a prospective employer.

   At a minimum, when you write a cover letter, you should include your year in school (or when you plan to graduate), along with your degree, major, minor, or area of study.

2. To share your interest in a specific position and company.

   When writing a cover letter, it is important to customize your letter to every company. You should reference the exact position title and the name of the organization you are applying to.

3. To explain what makes you a well-qualified candidate for the internship position.

   Your cover letter should connect the dots for an employer by explaining how your journey (e.g., co-curricular involvement, volunteer work, courses, etc.) make you the best candidate for the position.

If done right, your cover letter can get you an interview.

What makes a cover letter for an internship unique?

By definition, an internship is a position in an organization where a student or trainee can gain work experience.

While the organization understands that you lack hands-on experience, they do expect you to come ready to learn. That is why an internship cover letter must explain what you want to learn and why you want to learn it.

When you write a cover letter, tell the organization how their specific internship complements your academics. But don’t forget, you also need to communicate what you can bring to their team.

What’s the best way to format a cover letter?

I get it:

You want to stand out in the sea of résumés. But while you want to be creative, there are still specifications you should abide by: length, margins, font size, font style, colour, quantity of paragraphs, and bullet point usage. Here’s a quick primer on each of these:

Length:

Undergraduate interns should never submit a cover letter that is longer than one, single-spaced page.

Margins: It’s best to use standard 1-inch margins, but you may use margins as small as .5 inches.

Font: Choose an easy-to-read font like Arial, Calibri, Garamond, Georgia, Tahoma, or Times New Roman.

Font Size:

Use size 10- to 12-point font.

Colour: Unless you’re a graphic design major or a creative professional, you’ll typically use black font.

Paragraphs: A standard cover letter contains 3-5, left-aligned paragraphs.

Bullet Points:

Use bullet points sparingly to briefly summarize information where appropriate.

Those are the basic style guidelines when it comes to writing a cover letter. Every cover letter will include a header, date, company address, greeting, salutation, introduction, body, and conclusion.

How do you tailor your cover letter to each position and company?

Tailoring a cover letter is exactly what it sounds like. A tailor, or a person who alters clothing, adjust clothing to fit unique, individual people. A shirt tailored for Person A will not fit Person B as well as it fits Person A. You should take the same approach when writing a cover letter.

This takes a little extra time, but it’s worth it.

Conduct company research and understand the position inside and out. You should understand what type of candidate the company is interested in, the pain points the company needs to solve, and what the company wants from you as an applicant. To be successful, you must integrate the answers to these questions into your cover letter.

What do you include in your actual cover letter?

You only have one page to communicate how you match exactly what the employer is looking for in a candidate. Let’s use a four-step process to accomplish this task.

Step 1:

Highlight the job description.

Step 2:

Select three job responsibilities you want to focus on in your cover letter.

Step 3:

Identify three of your accomplishments that are relevant to those responsibilities.

Step 4:

Connect your accomplishments to the qualifications the employer seeks.

Now, it’s time to write the actual cover letter.

How do you write an interesting introduction, body, and conclusion?

As with any good story, the cover letter has a beginning, middle, and end. I will refer to these as the introduction, body, and closing. Let’s look at each section:

Introduction: In your introduction, you should briefly introduce why you’re writing, give a short overview of who you are, mention the specific company and position, and outline what you are about to discuss in the body.

Body: In the body, it’s time to prove your qualifications to the hiring manager. This is where you can match the requirements outlined in the job description with your most relevant skills and qualifications.

Closing: In the closing section, you should do the following two things: (1) Summarize why you are qualified for the position, and (2) Express your appreciation for the reader’s time and consideration.

That’s it. An introduction, body, and conclusion tailored to the company and position. Prove that you can do the job.

Bringing It All Together

What’s the bottom line?

Cover letters are important.

And better yet:

A well-written cover letter can help you secure your dream internship.

Take time to write an outstanding letter. You can land that internship you’ve been dreaming about!

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