Academic Cover Letters

When you're applying for a faculty position with a college or university, the cover letter is your first chance to make a strong impression as a promising researcher and teacher. Below you'll find some strategies for presenting your qualifications effectively in an academic context.

Purdue University (1998). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters

Avoid the Top Three Cover Letter Mistakes!

As a career coach and professional resume writer, I'm often asked 'How important are cover letters to my job search?' My answer is, 'It depends on how long you want to search for your next job.' If you are in no hurry to get interviews, then don't worry about your cover letter.

Walker, Deborah. STC Puget Sound (2005). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters>Business Communication

Cover Letter Tips

A selection of writing samples for cover letters, CVs and resumes.

Carrer Advisor. CvTips.com. Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters>Writing

Cover Letter Writing Blues

Cover letters can mean the difference between your work being read and being tossed callously into the nearest wastebasket. Writing cover letters makes me feel stupid and small, as though I were begging some faceless entity (read: editor) to acknowledge my pitiful existence.

Van Nooten, Sylvia. Writer's Block (1999). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters

Cover Letters That Sell You  

Drake discusses the three objectives of cover letters to work applications.

Drake, Cheryl S. Intercom (2002). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters

The Million Dollar Letter: Some Hints On How to Write One    

This article suggests ways of writing a truly effective cover letter, an extremely important document in the search for a job. First, features gleaned from 13 model letters in technical writing textbooks yield figures on the number of words, sentences, and paragraphs per letter, plus the average number of words per sentence and paragraph, information helpful to those with little or no knowledge of how to write a strong cover letter. Second, the article surveys what the textbook writers offer as advice about the rhetorical principles that should be employed in composing cover letters. One piece of advice given by almost all of the experts is that writers should try to exude an energetic attitude, yet these same authorities do not delineate just how to display such a posture in the letters themselves. Third, examination of the letters reveals that one way that experts insert verve into cover letters is to use verbals, particularly gerunds, participles, and infinitives. In fact, 92.58% of the sentences in the 13 model letters have some type of verbal in them. The advantage of employing verbals is that while they are used for other parts of speech, they still retain the residue of action in their meaning. Fourth, the article describes the results of a survey to determine the acceptance of such constructions in the minds of two sets of readers: first-year writing students and third-year technical writing students. In both groups, more than 75% of the students preferred a paragraph with verbals in it over a paragraph devoid of verbals. Finally, the article suggests "sentence combining" as a procedure for teaching technical writing students how to combine basic sentences into verbals to garner variety and economy, one of the hallmarks of technical writing.

Myers, Marshall. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters

Use this Formula for the Perfect Cover Letter  

Never assume that hiring managers don't look at cover letters, even when you apply for a job via e-mail. Use this outline to make sure you include the right information in your cover letter.

Davis, Jeff. TechRepublic (2003). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters