internSHARE

This blog is written by Ellie, our Campus Ambassador for Iowa State University. She is a junior majoring in Agricultural Studies with minors in Advertising and Animal Science.

Writing a cover letter can be a stressful task looming about while applying for an internship.  It is hard to accurately depict your talents and apply them to the internship you’re applying for. Here are some helpful tips on how to catch the attention of the company and land that perfect internship.

1:  Keeping in mind the company’s mission statement, as well as key words the company uses to describe their employees is important to show that you know the companies values and ideals.

2: Typically, cover letters are only three to four paragraphs long. The first paragraph should be an introduction of yourself, why you would like to intern for them, and then how you heard about this opening. The next paragraph should be a brief background of your experience and knowledge that are applicable to the internship. Also, what skills that you have that would help you be the best intern for their company; in this paragraph, utilize those key words from the company’s website. The last paragraph should entail how you are open to the opportunity to meet and how you appreciate the chance to further discuss your qualifications and skills. Thank them for their time and you’re done! Simple as that.

 

3: Always send your cover letter as a PDF. It is easier for them to access the file, and it will not get distorted.  Also, entitle it as your name, then cover letter, for example, John Doe Cover Letter. It will make the job a lot easier for the person sorting applications.

 

4: Usually, applying for an internship includes sending email enclosed with a resume and cover letter. In the body of the email, introduce yourself and what internship you are applying for. Also, ask if they need any writing samples and provide them with your personal blog, or social media pages your write content for.

 

5: Always take the time to review your cover letters and make sure that it explains how your skills relate to the criteria listed in the job posting.

It can be time consuming to write a custom cover letter for each job you apply for, but it’s important to take the time and effort to show the company why you are a good match. Best of luck, interns!

This entry was posted on Monday, February 6th, 2012 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Intern Queen for internSHARE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.