Last week on November 7th, I attended a cover letter workshop held by the STARR development center with a couple of members of our FRO class. Although I already kinda knew most of the information they were giving us because of a career preparation class I took in high school, it was still very informative and helpful to be relayed the information again. We went over a few types of business correspondence. We went over the format of a cover letter, an informational interview request, and a followup letter. We went over examples of good and bad versions of each. They gave us packet to keep with all this information that I will refer back to in the future. I learned that cover letters should never be too general but that I can save a general format for myself and just slightly tweak each letter before I send them to prospective employers by customizing some information about the company. I learned the importance of telling prospective employers what I can do for them and not what they can do for me. I also learned that a cover letter is not always required when a resume is requested. I learned this when I asked if a resume is requested, should I automatically attach a cover letter and the answer was no. I asked because I was recently given an internship opportunity that requested I email a resume and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss out because I didn’t send a cover letter when I was supposed to.
In general, I enjoyed the workshop and it opened my eyes up to what the STARR development center can do for me. In the future, I will be using their resources and professional opinion for things such as reviewing and refining my resume.