Your Cover Letter – When You Don’t Have Much Job Experience

Cover letters introduce you and your resume. The tone of your cover letter reflects the tone of the job advertisement. Simple and friendly is good for an entry-level job, knowledgeable and experienced for a higher-level job, energetic and positive for a customer service job. Regardless of the job, be respectful, honest, and upbeat.

Don’t try one cover letter for all jobs. It will read as fake, copied again and again, maybe even a little desperate. Create a list of keywords from the job advertisement. Create a list of keyword phrases that describe you, and incorporate the job keywords into your phrases. Here are a few examples:

Job Ad #1
Looking for a good time? If you like to have a great time at work, we’re looking for you!!
CITY CRAB SHACK is hiring fun, energetic servers and greeters. Come and join one of our great teams at Joe’s, where WORK HAS NEVER BEEN SO FUN!!! Now hiring at Fisherman’s Wharf location.

Keywords we can pull from this Job Ad include: Fun, energetic, team, people person with a positive attitude.

Job Ad #2
City Cyclery is currently accepting resumes for the position of part time Retail Sales Associate (16 to 23 hours a week) for the spring/summer season. This position requires strong sales and interpersonal skills, enthusiasm about cycling and the ability to give great customer service in a high volume sales environment. Weekend schedule: both Saturday and Sunday are required. Duties will include greeting customers, new bike
sales, accessory sales, clean up, stock and working in a team environment. Experience in the Bicycle Industry is welcomed but not required. Having a friendly, self-starting, retail customer service oriented personality is a must in our shop. Pay commensurate with experience and ability.

Keywords we can pull from this Job Ad include: strong sales and interpersonal skills, enthusiasm abou tcycling, great service in a fast paced store. Greeting, upselling, stocking, working with a team, self-starting, friendly personality.

This job also uses the term “currently accepting resumes” which is a more formal approach to the hiring process than the first job listing suggests.

If it seems like writing a different cover letter for each job takes too much time, remind yourself that it takes less time than looking for a lot more jobs. Also, some of your cover letter will be the same from job to job. Let’s take a look, first at the format:

Your Name
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Phone Number
Email Address

Date

Employer Contact Information (if you have it. Look them up on the web if these details aren’t in the listing. This shows you’ve done your homework.)
Name
Title
Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, (leave out if you don’t have a name)

First Paragraph
Identify the job you are applying for.

Next Paragraph(s)
What you offer the company. How your qualifications fit great with the job you’re applying for. Don’t repeat your resume.

Last Paragraph
Thanking the employer for considering you, restate your interest in the job.

Complimentary Close,

Signature
Your signature is typed if sent by email, signed by hand if sent in the mail or delivered in person.

Next, let’s take a look at examples for both of the jobs we described earlier. You would change these words to reflect you, your personality, your enthusiasm for the job.

Job #1 Cover Letter Sample

Job #2 Cover Letter Sample

In summary, target the Job Ad, add your strengths, and be enthusiastic about working the job. Good luck.