#1. Respect the FormatBefore you can focus on your cover letter’s contents, you should first make sure you’re sticking to the right format.Otherwise, your cover letter will be disorganized and the recruiter will have a hard time following your train of thought.So, here’s the format that your cover letter for an internship should follow:
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
– Header with contact information. This includes your full name, professional email, phone number, and LinkedIn profile (if you have one). Underneath your contact info, you should add the date and the receiver’s information (the recruiter’s name and title, the company/organization name, and their physical address).
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
– Addressing the recruiter. Greeting the recruiter with “Dear Sir/Madam” or “To Whom It May Concern” is common, but not the best approach. Want to show the hiring manager that you did your research? We recommend you address the hiring manager by name directly. Our guide on how to address a cover letter covers everything you need to know on this topic!
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
– Opening statement. Your opening statement should be brief, but at the same time professional and attention-grabbing. Here, you introduce yourself, mention the position you’re applying for, and potentially a key achievement or two.– Body. The body of your cover letter consists of 2-3 paragraphs where you highlight
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
your education, provide background for your skills, and explain how you (and the company) would benefit from each other professionally.– Closing paragraph. Your closing paragraph is your chance to include a call to action, to thank the recruiters for their time, or mention anything important you left out.– Formal salutation. End
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
your cover letter with a formal salutation such as “kind regards,” “sincerely,” or “best regards.” Our guide on how to end a cover letter can teach you all you need to know on the topic.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
#2. State the Position You’re Applying For in the OpeningRecruiters hate one-size-fits-all cover letters and resumes.Around 48% of recruiters and hiring managers aren’t even going to read your cover letter if it’s not customized to the role you’re applying for.And one of the easiest ways to do this is by mentioning the role you’re applying for right in
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
the cover letter opening.This allows you to:– Show that you will be tailoring the rest of your cover letter for that position alone.– Prove that your cover letter is customized for this specific internship, and you’re not just randomly applying for the job,
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
#3. Mention the Right KeywordsWhen reviewing your application, hiring managers tend to scan your cover letter or resume and look for the right keywords that would make you qualified for the internship you’re applying for.E.g. If you're applying for a job in graphic design, the recruiter is probably looking for keywords like “Photoshop,”
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
“Illustrator,” or “InDesign.”As such, it’s very important to include the right keywords in your cover letter.How can you find these keywords, you might ask?It’s actually pretty simple - just look at the internship job description and go through the required skills & responsibilities and identify the keywords that you’d think the recruiter would be looking for.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
Then, do the following:1. Sprinkle some of those keywords throughout your cover letter. When relevant, back them up with an experience. E.g. don’t just say “I’m good at Photoshop,” say how you’ve taken 3 different Photoshop classes and used Photoshop for 2 different projects.2. Don’t include keywords that don’t apply to you, they’ll just
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
make it seem like you’re copy-pasting from the job description.3. Research and add other popular soft skills that recruiters look for in applicants for the role you’re applying for. E.g. If you’re applying for an internship as a communications assistant, chances are, you’ll need strong communication skills (even if this is not something listed in the job description.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
#4. Highlight Your EducationIf you don’t have a lot of work experience, your education and relevant coursework is your best chance to show that you’re a good fit for the internship.Letting the recruiter know what kind of courses you’ve completed that are relevant to the internship you’re applying for will be a big plus for your application. Say, for example,
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
that you’re applying for an internship as a graphic designer. To make your internship cover letter impactful, make sure to mention all the relevant courses and related accomplishments.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
#5. Provide Background For Your SkillsIt’s one thing to just claim that you have a set of skills and another to prove it.Anyone can say that they’re great at doing something, but what makes all the difference is when you can actually put your money where your mouth is.For example, in your internship cover letter, instead of just
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
mentioning that you have “good time-management skills,” actually back it up with a past experience that proves it.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
#6. Explain Why You’re a Good Fit For The PositionIn addition to just listing out the skills that are relevant and beneficial for the internship, you should also explain why you are a good fit for the position.This means that you should connect the dots between what the company/organization is looking to gain from its interns and what you can do to provide those services.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
So, after you research and create an understanding of what is required of you, you should use your cover letter to explain why you’re a good fit for that position.For the sake of the example, let’s assume you’re applying for an internship at a Human Rights organization. A big chunk of what the role requires is categorizing virtual files
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
of the cases the organization has worked on in the past.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
#7. Describe What You Would Gain ProfessionallyIn addition to showing (and proving) your skills and how you can benefit the company, you should also explain how getting the position will benefit YOU.When it comes to internships, oftentimes they serve the purpose of helping students and young professionals
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
acquire in-depth knowledge about the industry, create a network, and develop skills that will benefit them throughout their careers.So, it will surely help you make an even better impression if you show that you are self-aware about what you’ll get out of the internship and how it will help you grow professionally.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
#8. Proofread Your Cover LetterAfter all, is written and done, there’s one final thing to do and that is make sure your cover letter doesn’t have mistakes.A spelling or grammar mistake probably won’t disqualify you, but at the same time, it will probably be a red flag for recruiters that you’re not too attentive. For this reason, ask a friend to proofread your cover
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
letter or use spell-checking software such as Grammarly and Hemingway.
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How to Write a Cover Letter for Internship
#9. Match Your Cover Letter & Resume DesignsWant your internship application to truly shine?Match your cover letter design with your resume!