One aspect of strategic planning is to develop a strong team of people. Discovering and retaining top talent may lead a company to success. Your goal for this journal assignment is to showcase why you would make a good candidate for an organization. To stand out from other candidates, you will want to write a cover letter for each position in which you apply. Cover letters allow you an opportunity to highlight your skills and competencies for potential employers.
For this assignment, you will develop a cover letter, reflect on your most relevant skills, and assess what action steps you can take to make your cover letter stronger.
To write an impactful cover letter, you should answer the following questions before you begin composing it. Starting with these questions will help provide a clear and concise message for the person reading your cover letter.
- Why are you interested in the position? Consider what makes the position, organization, or company interesting to you.
- What three skills or competencies do you possess that match the skills the employer is seeking in a candidate?
- You can find these skills by viewing the job description. These specific skills are the reason every cover letter should be unique for each job you apply for.
Begin by reviewing the following Forbes’ articles:
- Forget Cover Letters – Write A Pain Letter, Instead! (Links to an external site.)
- Stop! Don’t Send That Cover Letter (Links to an external site.)
- Tips For The Perfect Resume And Cover Letter (Links to an external site.)
Once you have reviewed the articles, identify a position of interest as a potential job opportunity. You may use any job search website. Two popular employment websites are Indeed (Links to an external site.)and CareerBuilder. After you identify a position of interest, use the job description to identify three skills or qualifications that match your background. Next, develop a cover letter by creating a three- to four-sentence paragraph highlighting your matching skills.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.