Q Today’s job seeker has 17 different ways to find an appropriate career position and must select the approaches that deliver the best yield. Most gravitate toward the published market [newspaper ads, internet job banks] though statistics prove more candidates find jobs through networking. Review 17 Ways to Find a Job. To market yourself to employers, you will need two products: a job application cover letter and a resume. When applying for advertised positions, boilerplate cover letters usually generate minimal results. Using standard, templated text may be expedient, but it typically lacks proper tone, content, and presence. Also, a cover letter should never be treated as routine correspondence, nor regarded as a transmittal document. Instead, a cover letter should focus on the specific skills and experiences required; this uses the resource of the cover letter to full advantage. Consider your cover letter a mini-resume which aligns your qualifications with the position requirements. Resumes are seldom written specifically to the parameters of a job. The cover letter, however, can bridge that gap when written according to the format and examples detailed in this module. The format intentionally parrots the key phrases of the job ad and parallels the requirements with the candidate’s qualifications. An important tactic appears in the closing paragraph – an action close – where the candidate indicates he or she will call the employer to discuss the next step. The savvy job hunter wants to be proactive and not wait for the employer to initiate the first move. However, if the employer specifies “No phone calls, please,” respect the request. Assignment Instructions Find one specific, real job you might be interested in applying for. Create a cover letter for that job. Refer to Writing The Job Application Letter and example as well as Chapter 10: Cover Letters (pp. 191-200) in MacRae's Business and Professional Writing: A Basic Guide to complete your cover letter. Submission Instructions Submit a document containing your cover letter in DOC, DOCX, or PDF format as an attachment in this activity. Include your surname, module number, and title of the assignment in the document name (e.g., surname_M3_CoverLetter). View Rubric