How can I learn what will impress prospective employers?
Summary:
Before you start to write a cover letter, you should gather information about yourself, the company, and the job. This page will help you learn what kind of information to find, where to find it, and how and why to use that information to "sell yourself" in a cover letter.
Contributors:Angie Olson, Allen Brizee
Last Edited: 2010-04-25 08:57:00
In order to impress prospective employers when writing a cover letter, you must first know what they are looking for in candidates. Learning more about the company itself—and what they value—can help you do this. Here are some suggestions:
- Read the job advertisement carefully
- Research the corporate website, read and try to understand their mission statement (sometimes an organization's mission may not be overtly stated)
- Call "insiders" (people that work with the company)
- Refer to your university's career center if you are at college
Information about each suggestion are covered in the sections that follow.
Job seekers at Purdue University may find value in the Purdue career Wiki here.
The following are additional Purdue OWL resources to help you write your cover letter:
