honor society april leadership presentation

LEADERSHIP, VALUES AND BENEFITS PROGRAM

Cover Letters &

Recommendation LettersApril 2017

Today’s Agenda• President’s Welcome

• Executive Board Updates

• Core Value of the Month

• March LVBP Topic: Cover Letters & Recommendation Letters

• Announcements

WelcomeApril 2017 Chapter Meeting

Updates from the Executive Board

Leadership, Values & Benefits Program April 2017


Core Value of the Month

Be Bold, Creative and Open Minded Go after opportunities. Be bold. To make an impact in today's world, you have to be

able to put yourself out there. Creativity is at an all time high, and being open minded is essential to this, as shared creativity and embracing others’ opinions can lead to the

formation of great ideas.

Watch the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuItShgNElw&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuItShgNElw&feature=youtu.be

Be Bold, Creative and Open Minded


• How have you recently put yourself out there? How did it feel?

• When are you most creative?

• Share how a time you were open minded about someone’s ideas turned out to be very beneficial

Cover Letters


Your cover letter is more powerful than you might think…

During your job search, you should never underestimate the power of a cover letter. Your cover letter can be the deciding factor in getting you the interview over someone who has essentially the same resume and work experience as you.

Hiring managers do take the time to open your cover letter. If they see that someone does not take the cover letter seriously or that they’ve copy pasted it from another job that they have also applied to, it’s an automatic no, regardless of past experience.

Keys to a great cover letter


•Keep it concise •Tell a story •Don’t use the same cover letter for

every application •Don’t write out your resume in

paragraph form •Share why you’re excited about the

opportunity •Don’t sell yourself short

Keep it concise


Keeping a cover letter short and concise is sometimes harder than it sounds.

Keep your cover letter to one page. This makes sure that even if the reader is skimming it, they will get the main idea right away.

It’s important that you have someone read over and edit your cover letter because they will be able to help you decide where to cut something out or where you can make your

sentences more clear and shorter.

Tell a story


Your cover letter is your chance to let your personality shine through and to tell a story that relates to the position that you are applying for.

You could share about a time when in class or in an internship you had to overcome something or how you got assigned a project that let you realize what you are

passionate about.

Don’t use the same cover letter twice


This one can be tempting, especially when you are applying to many jobs at once. You might think that substituting a word here and there will customize it enough to work.

Most hiring mangers can see right through this.

Think of your cover letter as you having a one-on-one conversation with someone. Even if it’s the same topic that you would have with someone else, it’s going to be different

depending on who you are speaking to.

It’s not your resume in paragraph form


Your cover letter is not a chance for you to write your resume in paragraph form. That’s what your resume is for.

If a hiring manger is reading your cover letter and it looks just like your resume, they’re going to move on to the next candidate who is ready to put in the effort to go above and

beyond in their job application.

Share your excitement


While your resume tells a hiring manger why you are qualified for a position, the cover letter is your chance to share why you are excited about the opportunity.

Hiring managers want to hire candidates who are excited about not only the job, but about being with the company long term. They want to see that you are excited about

building a career there.

Don’t sell yourself short


Too many times applicants use their cover letter to apologize for their lack of experience or expertise or they spend too much time talking about their weaknesses.

Whether this approach is to sound humble or honest, it’s not the time or the place to do sell yourself short.

This is the place to explain why this job is the one for you regardless of your past experience.

Recommendation Letters


How to ask for a recommendation letter for a job or graduate school application:

If you have started the application process for graduate school, then you already know the importance of lining up your three recommendation letters.

Even if you aren’t applying to graduate school and instead are applying for full time jobs, you will see that you need to line up your references as well.

These tips work for both situations and will ensure that you are asking for recommendation letters in a professional, polite, and successful manner.

Keys to asking for a recommendation letter


• Ask someone who knows you • Be mindful of the timing • Let them know your goals • Give them a copy of your resume • Say thank you

Ask someone who knows you


When it comes to choosing who you are going to ask for a recommendation letter from, make sure that you ask a professor, mentor or manager who actually does know you

and how you work.

Ask the professor whose office hours you attended or whose class you raised your hand in and participated frequently in. Even if you didn’t get an A in the course, they will still

be able to write you a quality letter because they have gotten to know you.

What you don’t want to do is ask a professor in your 150 student lecture who might not even know your name. The people who read recommendation letters read hundreds of them and they can tell the difference between a letter written by someone who knows the student and someone who is writing a generic letter that could work for just about

anyone.

Be mindful of the timing


It is important that you are respectful of the time of the person you are asking to write your letter.

Make sure that you ask well in advance so that they know that they have an upcoming deadline and can plan their schedule accordingly.

What you don’t want is to make them feel rushed to meet the deadline and they feel stressed or aren’t able to provide a high quality letter.

Ask if they would be willing to write the letter about two months in advance. About four weeks before the deadline, follow up with them letting them know that the deadline is

four weeks away.

Let them know your goals


In order for someone to write you a great recommendation letter, it is important that you let them know why you are applying for something.

Let them see your passion in this next academic or professional move so that they can see the importance of you being accepted.

The more details you give, the more specific and compelling your recommendation letter will be.

Give them a copy of your resume


If you are asking a teacher to write you a recommendation letter, they may know what you have ben up to in the classroom, but not outside of the classroom.

By taking a look at your resume, they will be able to get a holistic view on how you spend your time and your experiences.

Say thank you


Don’t forget to say thank you and send a handwritten thank you note.

They have taken the time out of their schedule to help advance your education and career, so make sure that you let them know how much they appreciate it.

Chapter Announcements


honor society april leadership presentation

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