COVER LETTERS FOR CAREERS IN AGRI-BUSINESS

Cover letters and the 4 scenarios 1. An interview is scheduled and a specific job opening that may interest you 2. Interview is scheduled but no specific job is available 3. After the interview takes place 4. No Interview has been scheduled

8 Guidelines for Writing Great Cover Letters 1. Write to someone in particular - Do a little research – never write “to whom it may concern” Why should we avoid that ? It will be treated as junk mail - Just think about the mail you and your parents get at home. 2. Make absolutely no errors - Can be the easiest way to offend someone (misspelling or wrong gender, incorrect title). - Use spell check and check grammar - Absolutely no slang or abbreviations

8 Guidelines for Writing Great Cover Letters 3. Personalize your content - Don’t use premade letters – its to generic and informal 4. Present good appearance - your contacts with prospective employers should be professional 5. Never hand write a cover letter

8 Guidelines for Writing Great Cover Letters 5. Use appropriate format - Always use business format writing 6. Provide a friendly opening - begin your letter wit ha reminder of any prior contacts and reason for your correspondence now 7. Target your skills & experiences - You must know something about the organization or person whom your dealing with. - Present relevent background that may be of particular interest to that person

8 Guidelines for Writing Great Cover Letters 8. Define your next step Don’t close your letter without clearly identifying what you will do next Don’t leave it to the employers to contact you You must take the initiative to contact them

Who should get your cover letter 2 groups of people should receive your cover letter A. People who know B. People who you don’t know - Call the person who you know if they already advertised the positon. - - Make some sort of personal contact before sending resume and - cover letter - If you don’t know the person hiring – makes no sense to contact them, just send resume and cover letter

Remember you are competing with other people for the same positon – you must work hard and fight for the positon that you want.. Nothing is ever handed to you 1. your resume should stand out from the rest. 2. Your cover letter & resume should be neat, clean, and professional at all times. 3. References must be reliable, credible, and not family

Example of a Good Cover Letter