Unsolicited Cover Letter for a Career-Related Job

Assume that you have graduated or that you are near graduation and that I am an employer (my title and company name are below). Write an unsolicited cover letter to me seeking a job in your field.

Cover letters, also known as application letters, accompany a resume, but you are not asked to include a resume for this assignment. The focus is on letter writing.

Solicited letters are sent when the company has an advertised/posted job opening to fill. The company has solicited (asked for) applications.

Unsolicited letters are sent to organizations that the applicant would like to work for based on research or recommendations. For example, you might be in advertising and have searched for advertising agencies in the city where you live. You identify the most desirable companies, and then you send unsolicited applications (the employer didn’t ask for applications) in the hope of generating an opportunity.
 
•Unsolicited means the company is not advertising a job, so don’t refer to a job posting or to “the” job, which implies that an opening has been posted (maximum “C” if you do, because that’s a different scenario, a different letter)

•You are seeking “a” job—you don’t know whether the company has an opening at this time). You are hoping the company might have openings, might be able to create one to bring you in, or will consider you when a job does come open

Many job opportunities are never advertised, especially entry level positions. It takes time and energy to process applications, and it’s not hard to find entry level people without advertising. These jobs are filled by word of mouth and networking or by prospective employees approaching the company. So, you want to be one of those people.

When you seek a career opportunity (usually after graduation), you can and should apply to appropriate companies that hire for the position you want (especially if you’ve read about the company expanding or landing a new contract, etc.). This letter is practice for that kind of application.

•Modified block style, mixed punctuation (colon after salutation, comma after complimentary close), left-aligned paragraphs… (see the letter writing unit, Week 6, for the parts of letters and format styles)

•Do not create letterhead or include your name or email or phone number with the sender’s address. Many sources show such information, but for this assignment, letterhead will be treated as a format error

•Sign the letter by adding your digital signature (see the letter unit in Week 6 for advice on creating the signature). Or you can sign by typing your name in a cursive font where the signature should be (a missing signature is an error), and type your name again in regular font below it (one font is the signature, and the font used in the rest of the letter is the signature block—see the sample cover letter in the notes posted in Week 6).

•Don’t use your actual address. For this assignment, your address (sender) is 562 Toynbee Avenue in Toronto. Your postal code is M5R 2Y5.

•For my address (recipient), use 70 The Pond Road, Toronto, Ontario. My organization’s name is Ersatz Inc. My postal code is N6C 3E4. I am the company’s General Manager.

•Write a clear, organized cover letter seeking a career-related job (i.e. that you are training for in your program). Assume that Ersatz Inc. employs people for that job.

•Think about typical qualifications/duties of the position (do some quick occupational research in you are unsure).

•You could check to see if there are any relevant job advertisements online to guide you; however, remember that you are not responding to a posting. 

•Identify the job/title that you seek and explain your qualifications for it based on your education and experience. Be specific.

Clearly identify job sought; indicate your awareness/interest in the company (make it up, but keep it brief); introduce your main qualifications (Seneca training…); mention resume here and/or in body paragraph(s)—but an actual resume is not required.

Provide details about your relevant qualifications (training, skills, experience); highlight your main assets and accomplishments from education and employment; note reader benefits (persuade me you’re a good potential employee to consider)

Brief review/reminder of main qualifications; ask for an interview; provide contact information (use fictitious information for an email address and/or phone number)

Write concisely, but be specific about your training and skills. Avoid overuse of “I” statements (you will need some, but the pattern can be excessive in cover letters and is sender focused.

Use appropriate tone, and proofread carefully for grammar and spelling (format, spelling, and grammatical errors: - 5% each). Cover letters with errors normally get rejected in the real world.