How to Write a Great Internship Cover Letter
There are so many miscellaneous paths for you to embark on upon graduating from college!
Those striving to keep developing in their area will search for an internship that can become a promising beginning of their career. It is not fulfilling enough to have an excellent GPA, however depressing that may sound. You need to boost up all your writing and creative thinking skills.
As you start your quest to find the job of your dream, a peculiar task pops out before you, covering your path to the successful future - the internship cover letter. That tricky little thing that can either make or break your acceptance into a company that will become your first step on the Yellow Brick Road of excellence.
You can't be too cautious when preparing the letter for the intern position. There are pitfalls and traps you may get stuck or caught in, and you must be extra careful when filling it out! Rejoice, for we will not let you perish in this tricky scenario. We have gathered our writing council and prepared a writing-tips feast for you!
But before you start reading our guide on how to write a cover letter for an internship, we want to share some pre-writing hints!
- Start searching for the intern openings early on. A lot of companies have extremely strict deadlines for the resume filing.
- For best results, choose the place for your internship based on the experience you can acquire, not the amount of money you'll get.
- Determine the line of work that is interesting for you and make developing in it your priority.
- Don't be afraid to try for a foreign internship. It may present itself as a great opportunity.
- Ask your teacher to write a recommendation for you. It could be an additional reason to hire you.
- Don't get discouraged if a large company doesn't answer you. They tend to have a lot of applicants. Try to find your place in a small, developing firm.
You may allow yourself a fleeting thought of ignoring this part of your job application, and that is your choice! But the sad truth of the labor market industry is that nobody cares about you that much unless you are a world-renowned specialist with a few patents up your sleeve.
Nobody wants to hire rookies unless there's some tedious coffee-run job. You have to force yourself out there, be persistent, and present yourself as a perfect candidate any CEO is dreaming about. And that includes creating a cover letter that will add another shiny plus to your CV's karma. Be bold, be brave!
7 Steps to a Successful Cover Letter
In this writing realm, it is not enough to be an A-grade essay author. Forget all the praise your English professors have bestowed upon you! Here, your writing skills make up just a small portion of the overall value of your resume. Draw the imaginary map of what you want to achieve when trying to score a certain position. Only this way will you reach the Olympus heights you desire.
Become an excellent resume builder with our internship cover letter writing tips - envision your goals and march toward them with your head held high!
1. Specify the position you are applying for.
Open with a title of the position you're applying for and draw the attention of the recruiter to your text. It will mean that you wrote this letter specifically for this company instead of using one general template. This way, you could show great respect to the employer and put one more tick on the list of your advantages.
2. Start with a hook.
The cover letter has two main missions. It inspires to learn more about you and calls to action. That is why one of the most essential parts of an internship letter is the opening. Employers card through dozens of cover letters every day, and if you need yours to stand out and make them remember you.
3. Use relevant keywords.
Browse the requirements listed in the job description and see where you can fit! Before taking up the pen and paper, look at the company site for some clues. You can find out what skills and knowledge they're looking for. Coursework instead of experience. After college or university graduation, you may not have enough skills and experiences. In this case, your relevant coursework can come in handy. It will show your employers that you have deep knowledge in this field and the lack of practice is not a big problem. Bear in mind that your text should be closely related to the job opening! E.g., if you have research about modern fashion photography on your coursework, it would be smart to apply for fashion photographer position.
4. State your worth.
Go all out on the value your skills and work experience you have. Mention the volunteering you've done during your school journey, the extracurriculars you've participated in, everything that might showcase your talents and the contribution you will make to the company!
5. What do you want to get from this internship?
The final part in the structure of the letter is the perfect place to write about the expectations of your intern period in this company. You wrote about what they will gain from you, but it is also important to express what you expect to get from this intern practice. Be honest and tell what you hope to reach and learn on the internship period. You need to highlight your intern purpose and show the employer why you are a highly ambitious and motivated person.
6. Edit and proofread your intern cover letter.
After finishing your text, there is one more thing that should be done. You have to read and review your paper a few times to check if there are any errors. You can recount it out loud to find out how good it sounds! It is also important to make your cover letter easy to read and understand, so divide it into paragraphs and include bulleted lists if it is needed.
7. Send your letter in.
Employers require that you email your CV, but in rare cases, it can be sent in using postal service. On the email, you have two ways: attach the PDF or Word file, or put it right in the body of the email. The PDF file is more convenient for employers and will help you to avoid random editing when a reader opens it in another application.
Never let yourself forget that you're a great person and a perfect candidate. It's all about the attitude! As long as you believe you can do amazing on the job, your employers will believe it too.
Be cautious, though! Don't act like an overconfident know-it-all. You don't want to come off like an obnoxious, irritating person whom nobody wants to work with no matter their fantastic qualifications. Companies care about the connections and friendliness between the members of their company's departments, meaning they will never want to hire someone who can disrupt that with their pretentious attitude.
If you gradually follow this expert guide, you have an interview secured in your bag! March in there with a confident smile and be ready to get the best offer that you could ever dream of!
Envision the light office with green plants and comfortable furniture, friendly staff, and exciting and challenging tasks every day. Sounds perfect for you? Then good luck with your internship cover letter!