Writing the Cover Letter

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Writing the Cover Letter
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What is A Cover Letter?

• Marketing Tool Product YOU
• Persuasive Writing Invitation to find out more
  about you and land you an interview
• A way to make the readers job easier
• Targeted Response to A Job Description and/or a
  Particular organizationnot generic
• ANSWERS THESE QUESTIONS
• Can you do the job?
• Will you do the job?
• Will you fit in?
• Writing Sample

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Four Steps for Cover Letter Writing From
Idealist.org

• Conduct Research on The Organization
• Deconstruct the job or internship description
• Consolidate and prioritize the key requirements
  you have extracted
• Plug yourself into the organizational and job
  requirements

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The Job Description

• Climate and Energy Program (CEP) Internship,
  WRI
• Position SummaryWRI's Climate and Energy Program
  (CEP) seeks a motivated, well-organized, and
  detail-oriented intern to support our climate
  change and energy policy work. The successful
  candidate will support CEP staff in a wide
  variety of activities including publications
  management, event coordination, database
  management, financial management, and other tasks
  related to general program administration.

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1. Research World Resources Institute

• Climate, Energy and Transport Division
  Projects
• COP-15 Countdown to Copenhagen
• U.S. Federal Climate Policy
• International U.S. Action
• Business Markets
• Technology Green Power
• Energy Security Climate Change
• Information Analysis Tools

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1. Research World Resources Institute

• From Dec. 7-18, 2009, the world will convene in
  Copenhagen, Denmark to create a new global
  climate agreement to reduce greenhouse gas
  emissions at the United Nations Climate Change
  Conference (COP-15).
• WRIs experts have been actively involved in the
  negotiations leading up to COP-15 and are
  analyzing various dimensions of a new agreement,
  among them Vulnerability and Adaptation
  Forestry and Reduced Emissions for Degradation
  and Deforestation (REDD) Technology and
  Technology Transfer Developing Country Actions
  and Finance.

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1. Research World Resources Institute

• Staff
• Jonathan Pershing
• Director, Climate, Energy and Pollution Program
• Rob Bradley
• Director of International Climate Policy
• Debbie Boger
• Director of U.S. Climate Policy
• Pankaj Bhatia
• Business/Climate Change Associate III
• GHG Protocol

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1. Research World Resources Institute

• News from Website
• On January 15, 2009, the US Climate Action
  Partnership (USCAP) issued the Blueprint for
  Legislative Actiona detailed framework for
  legislation to address climate change.

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2. Deconstruct the Job Description

• Climate and Energy Program (CEP) Internship,
  WRI
• Position SummaryWRI's Climate and Energy Program
  (CEP) seeks a motivated, well-organized, and
  detail-oriented intern to support our climate
  change and energy policy work. The successful
  candidate will support CEP staff in a wide
  variety of activities including publications
  management, event coordination, database
  management, financial management, and other tasks
  related to general program administration.

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2. Deconstruct the Job Description

• QualificationsKey qualifications for this
  position include  An undergraduate degree with
  an excellent academic record. Administrative
  support and/or nonprofit work experience a
  plus. Mastery of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel,
  Outlook, PowerPoint) and the Internet. Experience
  with constituent database systems a
  plus. Excellent written and oral communication
  skills.  Ability to juggle multiple priorities
  and work under pressure with tight deadlines is a
  must. Familiarity with and interest in climate
  and energy issues a plus.

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2. Deconstruct the Job Description

• ResponsibilitiesThe intern will work in the
  following key areas Assisting with production
  and tracking of CEP publications. Assisting
  with events coordination and setup.  Entering
  contacts into WRI's Constituent Relationship
  Management system (Raiser's Edge) and maintaining
  the accuracy of contacts. Serving as a point of
  contact for internal requests for CEP
  information. Processing contracts and payment
  requests for consultants, grantees, partners,
  vendors, etc. Assisting with preparation and
  tracking of project budgets, grant reports, and
  funding proposals.  Organizing and updating the
  program's internal wiki and network
  drives. Providing general office and
  administrative support as needed.

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3. Key Requirements

• DEGREE
• Minimum Bachelor
• KNOWLEDGE
• Energy policy
• Climate change
• TECHNICAL SKILLS
• MS Office Suite
• Database
• PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
• Publications
• Program Administration Support
• Event Coordination

• PERSONAL QUALITIES
• Motivated, organized
• FINANCIAL EXPERIENCE
• Processing payments
• TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
• Oral and written communication, dealing with
  public, detail-oriented
• WORK ENVIRONMENT EXPERIENCE
• Juggling, Pressure, Deadlines

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4. Plug Yourself In

• DEGREE
• Minimum Bachelor
• KNOWLEDGE
• Energy policy
• Climate change
• TECHNICAL SKILLS
• MS Office Suite
• Database
• PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
• Publications
• Program Administration Support
• Event Coordination

• PERSONAL QUALITIES
• Motivated, organized
• FINANCIAL EXPERIENCE
• Processing payments
• TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
• Oral and written communication, dealing with
  public, detail-oriented
• WORK ENVIRONMENT EXPERIENCE
• Juggling, Pressure, Deadlines

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Two Types of Cover Letters

• 1) Letter of Application
• Specific job
• 2) Letter of Inquiry
• Interesting company, or lead

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Cover Letter Structure

• Your name
• Address
• Phone
• Email
• DateFebruary 14, 2009
• Contact Person's Name
• Contact Person's Position
• Company Name
• Company Address (Don't forget this.)

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Cover Letter Structure

• Dear Ms. Jones, (Try to learn the NAME of the
  person you are applying to)
• First paragraph
• I am writing to apply for the position of .
  advertised in ......... on ........ (date). I am
  extremely interested in the work of ..,
  particularly....... I feel I can
  bring.to..(why are you interested in the job
  and employer, a succinct demonstration of your
  knowledge of them, and why they should look at
  you)

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Paragraph One SAMPLE

• I am writing to apply for the Energy and
  Climate Change Internship currently posted on
  World Resources Institutes website. I have been
  actively following WRIs role in the negotiations
  leading up to COP-15 and am very interested in
  supporting this and other programs through this
  internship. I believe I would bring valuable
  skills, experience and knowledge to the support
  of publications, events and other priorities in
  the Climate, Energy and Transport division.

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Second Paragraph

• In broad terms and in one or two sentences, list
  the top experience, knowledge, training, and
  skills that are relevant to the selection
  criteria and the job description.
• Select one or two relevant highlights to explain
  in more detail

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Paragraph Two SAMPLE

• At Yale School of Forestry Environmental
  Studies I am a candidate for a Master of
  Environmental Management with a focus on Global
  Climate Change Science and Policy. I have two
  years of non-profit work experience excellent
  interpersonal, communication, computer and
  internet research skills and significant event
  coordination experience. At _____, I served as
  administrative support to the Director and
  excelled at organizing the weekly roundtable
  program, managing multiple deadlines for grants
  and publications, and keeping the website
  up-to-date. As co-leader of ________, I
  initiated and have been responsible for
  organizing two semester-long lecture series
  focusing on climate change and energy policy.

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Third Paragraph

• CONNECT THE DOTS FOR THE EMPLOYER
• Tell them why you are a great fit for the company
  and how your skills will meet their needs.

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Paragraph Three SAMPLE

• I hope to be attending COP-15 as part of the
  ______ class at FES next winter, and am very
  enthusiastic about the possibility of supporting
  WRIs Countdown to COP-15 and other projects
  this summer. I would love to learn more about the
  planning for COP-15, and believe my combination
  of climate change science knowledge and
  administrative experience would make a valuable
  contribution to the Climate, Energy and Transport
  division.

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Closing

• Thank them for considering your application, tell
  them that you have attached a copy of your
  resume, and when you would be available for an
  interview. Provide your contact details (Phone /
  Fax / Email)
• Yours sincerely,
• Your signature
• Print name

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Closing SAMPLE

• My resume and a writing sample are enclosed
  for your review, and I am happy to answer any
  additional questions you might have. I would
  welcome the opportunity to visit Washington, DC
  to interview for the internship, and can be
  reached at fes.student_at_yale.edu or [phone].
  I look forward to hearing from you.
• Thank you for your consideration.
• Sincerely,
• (hand sign here after printing if sending by
  mail)
• Fes Student

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Writing Tips

• Use Keywords from job description
• Always use a reader or readers to review your
  materials
• Develop a standard set of phrases for the basics
  of the cover letter, but target all content to a
  particular employer or job
• SPELL AND GRAMMAR CHECK
• No more than one page
• Standard fonts, single-spaced
• Print on quality paper if sending by mail, white
  or off-white
• Make a pdf if emailing to avoid track changes
  showing up

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CDO/FES Resources for Cover Letter and Resume
Writing

• Peer Career Advisors (PCAs)
• Office Hours
• Meredith Mondays, 9-12 , Donaldson Cafeteria
• Audrey Tuesdays, 2pm-4pm, Knobloch Environment
  Center
• Communication Coaches
• Website environment.yale.edu/cdo
• CDO Staff, by appointment
• Career Library