What should I include in my argument?
When writing your argument, try to answer the following three questions:
1. Why am I qualified for this position?
2. How can I prove I'm qualified for this position?
3. What have I done that sets me apart from other candidates?
1. Why am I qualified for this position?
Once you know what the most important qualifications are for a position,
you should show your reader you possess these qualifications. This will
help you to accomplish your primary goal: to convince your reader you
are the best person for the job.
When proving you're qualified for a position, we recommend highlighting
your transferable skills. A transferable skill is an ability you utilized
in your past that can be used at your next place of employment. For example,
if you learned to use specific technical applications through a previous
job, and a potential employer seeks a candidate who can use these applications,
your ability to use them is a transferable skill.
Transferable skills are worth featuring in your cover letter because
they demonstrate why you are right for the position. They show you can
meet your reader's expectations, because you have used the skills he or
she seeks at a previous place of employment.
Before deciding which transferable skills to include in your argument,
make sure that the skills you wish to feature are important to the position
for which you are applying. For instance, if you used interpersonal skills
at a previous place of employment, but these skills are not essential
to the position you seek, we suggest highlighting other skills your reader
would be more interested in.
Let's look closely at Deborah Jones, an individual applying for a position
in human resources. The most important qualifications for this position
are three years of experience in the field, the ability to work independently,
and written communication skills. We recommend that Ms. Jones prove to
her reader she possesses these qualifications. Perhaps she would write
the following in her argument:
I worked for the city of Lafayette's department of human
resources for four years. My supervisor (Jacob Seymour) often gave me
independent projects without deadlines, so I set my own schedule. I
always finished my projects within two weeks of receiving them, demonstrating
my ability to work independently. Mr. Seymour also made me his 'personal
editor,' as he gave me copies of reports to edit for content, grammar,
and punctuation. Combined with my experience writing memos and letters,
this experience shows strong written communication skills.
2. How can I prove I'm qualified for this position?
Think of your argument as a series of statements about your abilities,
followed by proof that your claims are true. For example, if you claim
to have expertise in a specific field, show how you gained this expertise.
Did you gain it through obtaining a degree, working in your field, or
both?
It is common for cover letter writers to make claims about their abilities
without proving their claims are true. For instance, a job applicant may
write, "I have strong interpersonal and written communications skills."
If the author does not go on to discuss these qualifications in more detail,
a reader will not know whether these claims are true.
To persuade a reader that the author has these skills, she might want
to write the following:
I have strong interpersonal skills, which I gained from
working as a server at Tom's American Restaurant while going to school.
At Tom's, I learned to work well with other employees, while putting
the needs of customers first. I also have experience with writing in
the workplace. When I was an intern at Newberry & Jones, I wrote memos
and letters to customers and colleagues on a daily basis. This experience
taught me to write professionally and to-the-point.
Note that the author of this paragraph uses transferable skills to demonstrate
her interpersonal and written communication skills. She focuses on her
experience working with colleagues and customers at a previous place of
employment, and then she features her familiarity with writing day-to-day
business correspondence.
3. What have I done that sets me apart from other candidates?
To capture your potential employer's interest, it is important to know
what sets you apart from other candidates. Before writing your argument,
it is important to think carefully about everything you've done that makes
you impressive. Try to focus on accomplishments,
awards, and special projects.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
An accomplishment is something you've done that most other individuals
with your level of experience have not. Accomplishments can be professional,
academic, or personal.
The best kind of achievement to mention in your cover letter is a professional
accomplishment. These accomplishments are impressive to potential employers
because they demonstrate you can make decisions that will improve their
business. A professional accomplishment is something you did at a former
place of employment that helped to improve your employer's efficiency
and productivity.
If you claim to have improved a former employer's productivity, however,
be sure to show how you achieved this goal, and explain the outcome in
precise numbers. For instance, if you instituted a program that improved
the rate of employee retention, describe the program, and give the figures
that prove the retention rate improved.
Another kind of professional accomplishment involves working part- or
full-time while going to school. Employers are enthusiastic about college
graduates who financed their own education, because this experience demonstrates
an ability to work hard, to set and achieve goals, and to handle multiple
tasks. If you paid for your own education, consider mentioning this in
your cover letter.
If you are a student who does not yet have professional accomplishments,
focus on academic and personal accomplishments. An academic accomplishment
is something you did in school that shows you have skills your employer
seeks. For example, you may have attained a high GPA while participating
in multiple activities, demonstrating your ability to complete multiple
tasks with excellence. Or you may have organized a formal event for your
sorority or fraternity, demonstrating leadership skills. Try to focus
on anything you did in school that your potential employer would be interested
in.
Another kind of achievement you can feature is a personal accomplishment,
something you did that you're proud of. It can be a goal you set and accomplished,
or a passion you have for your work. For example, you may have played
on your basketball team in college, and you set out to give your best
efforts to the team. You may want to mention in your argument that your
commitment to playing well improved the team's success. Or, perhaps you
dreamed of working in the fashion industry since you were a child, and
you were able to realize this dream through studying fashion. Featuring
these items in your cover letter will help to give your reader confidence
that you have a desire to carry out goals, and that you are capable of
outshining others.
AWARDS
Awards are important to feature in cover letters because they show that
others have recognized the high quality of your work. If you mention an
award in your cover letter, however, do not assume that your reader knows
anything about the award or the context in which you won it. Be sure to
say something about the competition and the number of competitors.
The best kind of award to feature in a cover letter is one related to
the position you seek. For instance, a candidate applying to law school
may want to mention that she was selected by her undergraduate professors
as the best student in pre-law, and that this award was announced at her
graduation ceremony.
Be careful, however, not to mention awards that are completely irrelevant
or outdated. Employers seeking a retail manager, for example, will probably
not be interested in a beauty pageant a job seeker won six years ago.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
For some fields, such as engineering, aviation, and building construction
management, it is essential to include in your cover letter information
about special projects you've completed. Your potential employer will
want to know exactly what you're capable of doing, and in what capacities
you've worked. Remember, however, that the projects you include should
be relevant to the position you seek.
If you are still a student, feel free to include information about projects
you've completed for your courses. The experience many students gain in
the classroom is as valid as on-the-job experience, and most employers
know this.
To illustrate how to include information about special projects, let's
take a student applying for a position as a web consultant. This student
has classroom experience working as a web consultant for a local business
in her college town.
While at Purdue University, I participated in a web-consulting
project, a collaborative assignment for English 421: Technical Writing.
With two of my peers, I served as a web consultant for a local business,
Patters' Painters. In order to make feasible recommendations for revisions,
additions, and deletions to Patters' Painters' website, we conducted
interviews, observed the workplace, and completed multiple web analyses.
William Patters, the manager of Patters' Painters, took my team's recommendations
to heart. Since receiving our recommendation report, he has implemented
all of our recommendations.
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