By Guillermo Metz
Guillermo Metz is an Associate Editor at Training & Conditioning.
Training & Conditioning, 13.9, December 2003, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/tc/tc1309/getnoticed.htm
You’ve logged long hours in the athletic training room and out on the fields, done well in all your classes, and volunteered at every local 10K race. You’ve gotten your certification and even contributed to some important research. There’s just one thing keeping you from starting your athletic training career: a job. And only one thing stands between you and your dream job: a blank sheet of paper you need to turn into an attention-grabbing cover letter.
It’s a daunting task, but by following a few simple guidelines—and avoiding a few common pitfalls—you can turn that sheet of paper into the first step to your future.
Linda Platt Meyer, EdD, ATC, Acting Chair of the Athletic Training Education Program at Duquesne University, believes effective cover letters address three important questions:
• Why am I qualified for this position?
• How can I prove that I’m qualified?
• What sets me apart from others?
“Cover letters need to go beyond simply highlighting things from the resume,” she says. “Rather than just saying ‘This is what I have done,’ say ‘Here’s what I can do with my experience.’
“A cover letter should also show how you can serve their company or school,” continues Meyer. “In other words, make it personal. To start with, students have to research who the letter goes to. It should never be addressed ‘Dear Madam or Sir’ or anything like that. It needs to go to a specific person.”
Beyond that, show you have done your homework on your prospective employer. “We encourage our students to call the company or school and learn something about it, and mention that in the cover letter,” Meyer says. “‘In speaking with so and so, I understand you’re looking for ...’ If you’ll be working with others who have research interests, mention any that interest you personally.
“We also tell our students to never mass produce cover letters,” she continues. “That tells me the letter came from somebody who needs a job, not somebody who wants to start a career, and that they don’t really care where they get a job.”
Ed Orr, MS, LAT, ATC, CSCS, Head Athletic Trainer at Arizona State University, agrees that cover letters must be personalized. “I’ve had inquiries that say, ‘I want to work with hockey.’ Well, if you’ve done any research at all, you’d see that we don’t have a hockey team,” he says.
“With the Internet, the information is there if you take the time to find it. If they write a cover letter that mentions somebody on our staff, the reputation of someone on our staff, or anything about our facilities, that shows that they took the time to get to know something about our school and are interested in our school for specific reasons.”
What about the growing trend to handwrite the cover letter? “Some people feel it is more personalized to handwrite the letter,” says Orr. “I think that’s okay, but it can backfire if people can’t read your handwriting.”
Meyer is also wary of handwritten letters, saying that there are better ways to give the letter a personal touch. “The best way to ensure some personal flavor in a cover letter is to really investigate the position the employer is offering,” she says. “Make a phone call to the secretary of the department and ask, ‘Can you tell me a little more about this position?’ Put pertinent personal pieces into the cover letter. That’s what makes it personal, rather than whether it’s handwritten.”
More important than the presentation is making sure the cover letter is well written. “It needs to be innovative and creative,” says Meyer, “and not the standard technical cover letter—‘I’m applying for ... thank you for your time.’ Use action words.”
“Primarily,” says Orr, “you’re looking at how professional the letter appears, because that can show attention to detail. You’d be amazed at how many people have grammatical or spelling errors in their cover letters. If someone doesn’t take the time to write a good cover letter, I wonder whether they will take the time to do the other attention-to-detail things that are important in a training room.”
Remember, the first impression you make will be a lasting one. Make your cover letter reflect your potential.