Many of us want to pursue a career in the education industry. We wish to work as a teacher, librarian, exam controller, etc. All these jobs come under the academic field. When applying for these jobs along with your resume, you also need an academic cover letter.
A cover letter is basically a document attached to your resume. This document is your first point of contact with the employer. You cannot communicate directly, face to face with the employer, but you can communicate using this cover letter. The basic purpose of a cover letter is to help your resume get a preference over others. It helps you to present yourself to the employer in a clear and precise way. One must remember that your resume has all your qualification and professional details. So don’t confuse your cover letter with your resume.
Don’t start mentioning all your qualifications and experiences in this letter. This letter is like a response to the employer’s job requirement presented in the ad. Therefore, try to convey to the employer how you meet their requirements through this letter. This helps you decide if your resume is worth looking at.
To help you write an effective academic cover letter, the instructions given in the paragraphs below will prove very helpful.
Tips for writing an effective cover letter:
• Use a formal letter format. The cover letter should be precise and to the point. It is written for professional purposes. Therefore, it must be according to the formal letter format. Since you are applying for the academic field, you cannot afford to mess up the format of the letter. You are expected to know the basics. Also, typographical or grammatical errors are not acceptable. If you’re not quite sure about it, have someone write it for you or have someone who’s good at it proofread your letter.
• The first paragraph should be your introduction. It should not be more than 2-3 lines. The next paragraph should let the employer know your reason for interest in the organization. This needs some research on the organization. Let the employer know why he thinks this particular organization is a good fit for you and how you both benefit from it.
• In the next paragraph, talk about your relevant skills and experiences. Don’t start mentioning all the organizations you’ve worked for. These details are on your resume. In turn, you can write: ‘With 5.2 years of work experience managing operations in various organizations, I will bring my experience and learning from this experience with me.’ This statement will answer the employer and convince him that he should have preference over others.
• In the last paragraph, request action by the employer. Ask him to call you for an interview. Also, remember that it is very important to thank the reader. A simple line ‘Thanking you in advance’ reflects your courtesy and etiquette.
These tips will help you write an effective academic cover letter. There are many academic cover letter samples available on the internet. These samples can be used by you to write your cover letter.