Out of this project, I found there to be two key takeaways for me, being the importance of tone and the “you” vs “me”. The tone of one’s writing is important in every context, but its height of importance comes with cover letters. Setting the way you want to convey yourself is the make or break decision towards getting not only the job, but even the interview. It even comes down to the choice of phrases to use such as “I look forward to hearing from you” or “at your convenience”. In my own letter I had initially used these with the idea of them being professional and eager for the offer. Now having participated in our class discussion and readings, my view is quite the opposite. This is similar to my other takeaway regarding the “you” vs. “me” concept in cover letter writing. On the surface, one believes that the cover letter should cover everything about yourself and what you do (in the scope of the job). What comes with this though is the idea of the “me”, meaning a self-centered laundry list of things you can do. In fact, a cover letter should be quite the opposite. Yes, it should include the basics of what you can do, but it meant to show what you can do for THEM. Ultimately this is because you are a cog in the machine of their company, not a prized jewel for them to be discovering.
Journal #11 (Cover Letter Reflection)
