September 28, 2017
The Cover Letter
Here’s a cool Forbes article I wanted to share. It’s called, 7 Reasons You Are Struggling To Get Your First Marketing Job.
There’s a saying that “successful people are those who make a habit of doing the things other people don’t want to do.” Or something like that…. the point is that there are some things that are a bit tough or boring or uncomfortable. The people who do those things have an advantage over others.
The very first item in this list is about the cover letter. Some people don’t use a cover letter at all and those who do essentially use a form letter without customization for each specific job. Why? It’s not easy to write a letter that brags about one’s self and to do so effectively and persuasively while linking directly to the needs of the company and the job at hand.
The rest of the list is similar — whether it’s networking, learning soft skills, learning tactical skills that will help one start off strong on the job, and so on.
Our students have networking opportunities (like our LinkedIn group and Employer in the Foyer), writing samples from classes, and so on — but the most successful will be those who take action.
Dr. Tracy Tuten is a professor in the College’s Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management.