Lesson 1: Introduction & Overview

Welcome to “Writing a Cover Letter”. This lesson will take you through the following material:

1. Welcome to “Writing a Cover Letter”. This lesson will take you through the following material:
   • What is a Cover Letter
   • Why is a Cover Letter important?
   • Where can we use a Cover Letter?
   • Who should have a Cover Letter?
   • When should we use a Cover Letter?
   • And How do we create a Cover Letter?
2. Breaking down a cover letter template, step by step where we will be looking at the following:
   • Contact Information
   • Introduction Paragraph
   • Body
   • Concluding Statement
   • Signature
3. Analyzing the Do’s and Don’ts of Writing a Cover Letter
4. Cover Letter writing tools and resources

 This lesson encompasses the following learning objectives:

1. Develop a general understanding of what a cover letter is, where, when and who uses it and why it is important 
2. Gain an insight into the structure of a Cover Letter
3. Be able to distinguish between the Dos and Don’ts of a Cover Letter
4. Develop skills in expanding on and narrowing down on specific experience
5. Become aware of the resources that can be utilized in constructing a Cover Letter

A cover letter is a written document that is in the direct accompaniment of a resume, cover letters allow job seekers the opportunity to expand on their work experience and qualifications as noted in their resume. You might wonder, well why do we use cover letters, if our resumes already highlight our experiences? Well, cover letters allow job seekers to go into greater detail about their existing experience, qualifications and skills that are most applicable to a job. Cover letters give a greater opportunity for a prospective employer to determine what makes you most distinguishable and understand in your own words how you are an ideal candidate for the role.

Cover letters are utilized by job seekers who are looking to attach an additional document within their resume application, that further illustrates their existing background in relation to the job for which they are applying for. 

Cover letters are needed when a job seeker is putting forth an application towards a job listing. “Cover letters identically to Resumes” can be submitted in a variety of ways such as in-person by attaching your cover letter to your resume and through online hiring portals/professional networking sites. For both of these options oftentimes there are file attachment areas that allow you to attach both your resume and your cover letter.

In this mini-test your knowledge challenge you will be required to match the applicable term on the left side towards the correct definition/description. If you correctly match the term to its corresponding definition a checkmark will appear indicating that this is correct. If you incorrectly match the term to its corresponding definition an “X” will appear indicating that this is an incorrect match. To move onwards to the next task, you will need to correctly match all the terms, if needed, you can refer back to the existing material to support you.