Chances are that everyone here at the University will be looking for a job or an internship at some point in their life, and they’ll have to send a cover letter with their resume.

Cover letters are usually the first page to a persons resume. They are typically one page long and gives the job candidate precious space to give a potential employer a sense of who they are.

“In one or two sentences you need to state who you are and what the person you are writing to can do to help,” said John Kneiring of Career Services

Kneiring says it is important to state why an employer should want to meet you, provide contact information to follow up with you, and always say thank you. Still Kneiring says that a cover letter needs to be an opportunity to show off who you are.

“You can be congenial and show your sense of humor even tell a story,” sayd Kneiring.

Kneiring says the most important thing when writing a cover letter is to think about who will read it and that no size fits all. Job candidates should have several different cover letters to fit the person they are writing to.

Kneiring says that the worst thing that can happen in a cover letter is if a candidate misses there mark and does give pertinent information to the reader.