A cover letter allows a candidate to outline their specific qualifications, skills, and experience that make them an ideal fit for a job, internship, or other professional opportunity. Customization is crucial when writing a cover letter. The cover letter should supplement your resume by highlighting the specific skills, education, and experiences that are most aligned to the employer and the position.
Content
We recommend that you tailor your cover letter by highlighting your most relevant skills and experiences in detail. The employer will see the breadth of your skills, education, and experience when reading your resume. The cover letter provides an opportunity to tell stories about the most relevant parts of your background that make you a good fit. Generally, cover letters follow the format below:
- Introductory Paragraph – self-introduction, note position you are applying for and excitement for role.
- Body Paragraph(s) – outline most relevant skills, education, and experience that match the job description.
- Closing Paragraph – reiterate key skills and fit for position.
AI for Cover Letter Writing
AI can be used to customize your cover letter for each job or internship. One way to align your cover letter is to summarize your experience based on the job description. Some example queries are listed below:
- Based on this job description, how would you summarize the skills and experience from this resume?
- Rewrite this cover letter to align my background with the job skills listed in this job description.
Remember to write your cover letter in your own words – employers can use AI to determine if your cover letter was written using AI. Learn more about applications of AI tools and ethical best practices for using AI in the career process here.
Samples + Reviews
Sample cover letters (with corresponding job descriptions) can be viewed in the Taubman College Career Guide, available through Google Drive using your U-M credentials.
Students can learn more about cover letter writing by attending the workshop series events hosted by the Career & Professional Development team. If you have questions about cover letter writing or would like to have your cover letter reviewed, please schedule an appointment with the Career & Professional Development team.