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Levett Career Center
Assessing Cover Letter

Cover letters are self-introductions accompanying any resume that you don't actually hand to an employer. They explain your resume, identify the position you are seeking, and highlight your key strengths for it so that employers can understand why they would benefit from interviewing you.

Evaluate your cover letter:

For each item below, use the slider to indicate how effectively you demonstrated that aspect in your cover letter. Try to give an honest and accurate assessment of your strength on each item. Those in italics are considered essential for mastery of this competency.

The closer to low your rating, the less effectively you applied the aspect in your cover letter.

The closer to high your rating, the more effectively you applied the aspect in your cover letter.

Low Rating High Cover Letter Factors
You have written your letter to a specific individual for a specific position. If this is impossible to find, you have addressed your message to the person's likely job title, e.g., "Dear Internship Coordinator".
You emphasize your three greatest strengths relative to the position, giving at least one full sentence to each.
You make it explicitly clear in what ways your background matches the requirements outlined in the job ad or description.
You focus on ways in which you can benefit the employer rather than stating what you would gain from the position.
Your letter is well-written and free of typographical errors.
Your letter matches your resume in font style and size, if printed or PDF.
You address the ways you plan to follow-up after the letter is sent.

Additional tips to improve your cover letter:

  • Review your responses to the Transferable Skills tool to help you identify your main strengths, which will become the themes you want to focus on in your cover letter.
  • Refer to the Career Center's Cover Letter Guide for explanations and illustrations of each of the items.
  • Request a cover letter critique at the Career Center. Be sure to bring both your resume and the job ad with you to the meeting.
  • Attend a cover letter workshop.