Job Application Cover Letter

 

This assignment is for students who are planning to graduate from Northampton Community College and are not planning to transfer to a four-year college. If you are planning to transfer to a four-year college, whether or not you are getting a degree from Northampton, click here for a different version of this assignment: Transfer Application Cover Letter.

 

Your assignment is to write a cover letter to send along with a resume or a job application form. 

You are writing this letter as if this were a time period in the future: specifically, your last month in college.  For example, your last month would be December 2009 if you are planning to graduate from here this semester and then enter the job market, or it would be May 2010 if you are planning to graduate next semester.  On the other hand, the year could be 2011 or later, depending on when you expect to get your degree.

 

The job you’re applying for should be on the entry level for your field if you haven’t worked in this field before.  If you have, then you should apply for a higher-level position.

 

Please try to use the CareerBuilder.com, Craig's List (for the Lehigh Valley), or Monster.com website to locate a good job to apply for, or you can use another Internet site for finding jobs, if you prefer.  If you are unsuccessful in finding a job to apply for, please let your professor know.  (Don't forget that you are not actually applying for a job--this is a writing assignment!)

 

Before you begin writing the cover letter, read pages 193-202 in your textbook for guidelines on writing business letters and cover letters.

 

Also, print out a copy of the requirements for your major here at NCC.  You can find these requirements by going to the Programs and Majors webpage on the college website. You will then be able to include details in the letter about the courses you take in your major.  Students who are planning to transfer to another college should also try to find the course requirements for their major at the transfer college.

 

Your letter should be at least four paragraphs in length, although two of them (the introductory and concluding paragraphs) can be short.

 

Here are some basic guidelines for you to consider as you write your rough draft of the letter:  Cover Letter Basic Guidelines.

 

Follow the full-block letter format on page 195.  Use Microsoft Word for this assignment, and submit a rough draft that you have saved on a disk, a flash drive, or as an email attachment.

 

Here are some good webpages with more information on writing cover letters:

About Cover Letters

Cover Letter Success is All About Specifics

The Basics of a Dynamic Cover Letter