Writing a cover letter

[TheInstigator]

I need to write a cover letter so I can apply for a traineeship sort of thing in the real estate industry. I really want to get in but I have no idea where to start with this cover letter as I've never had to write one before. Can anyone offer some helpful advice please

 

[ellua]

it's gotta be something that makes them want to read your resume, and use it to show them an enthusiastic personality and why you're so excited to get into the industry.
it doesn't have to be very long, a paragraph or two should do, or about half of a typed page.
sorry no specific advice for that path, try googling resumes for that kind of thing for inspiration, maybe.

 

[alasdairm]

did the ad (or whatever) give you any guidelines? even if they're vague, stick to them.

what is a "traineeship sort of thing"? will you be getting paid? do you have to interview? is it a covering letter for a resume? etc.

google search for "cover letters" produces 153 million hits. surely one of those at least gives you a starting point?

i'll be quite frank with you - your original post suggests you put absolutely no thought into this at all before you asked for help. just post a question on bluelight and let others do the work for me. remember, i don't know anything about you - that's just how posts like this come across to me.

my advice is to consider all the information you have about the position, the company, the person who will be reading the letter, etc. then draft a version and post it asking for criticism.

it's my humble opinion that this is much more likely to generate a helpful response.

how many people will you be competing against, if any, to get this position? if they've all just posted on a discussion and sat back and waited for answers, maybe you've got a chance. this doesn't have to be wall street but a little bit of motivation on your part might reap enormous rewards. find out who's going to be reading this letter... find out if they have a secretary? go talk to them and ask them for some advice on writing a successful letter specifically for this person... what will succeed...what will fail... etc.

ok, perhaps it's a little wall street but it depends on what's at stake here and how badly you want it.

i've made a lot of assumptions.if they are wrong, i apologise. let us know how you get on?

alasdair

 

[Mona Lisa]

There are books on etiquette available

 

[TheInstigator]

what is a "traineeship sort of thing"? will you be getting paid? do you have to interview? is it a covering letter for a resume? etc.

Its a straight traineeship, I do on and off site training with pay. Come to think of it Im not sure why I even wrote 'sort of thing' there. I basically have to apply with a cover letter and a resume to begin with, if they like what they see I start the interviewing proccess and go from there.

i'll be quite frank with you - your original post suggests you put absolutely no thought into this at all before you asked for help. just post a question on bluelight and let others do the work for me. remember, i don't know anything about you - that's just how posts like this come across to me.

Yeah my bad I was very busy all day getting a lot of things in order and also making phone calls trying to get more information about it all from different companies. I was told I needed a cover letter and was just like 'what the fuck?'. Being pressed for time as I had to head out to work I thought I'd ask here for some general advice in the hope that someone could give me some real estate specific things to put into the letter. I guess in hindsight I should have just waited till I had the time and searched around for some info on google


I'll see how I go with google and most likely do as you said by offering my letter to you guys for critisism before sending it off

 

[Pop Popavich]

My standard cover letters normally go along the lines of:

Dear Guy who I want to give me a job,

I am writing to apply for the position of _______ as advertised in ______ (only if applicable).

Please find attached a copy of my resume, outling my work history and skills in the fields of <relevant experience areas here>. <Insert a brief summary of why you want to work in the field and what you feel you have to offer>

Feel free to contact me if you have any queries regarding my resume. I look forward to discussing my suitability for this position with you in the near future.

Sincerely
TheInstigator

If you know of any specific skills/traits/experience that they want, make sure you mention them in the letter, and make sure yo9u can back them up both in your resume and then further in person.

Remember that a cover letter has the sole purpose of getting their attention enough that they will read your resume. Your resume in turn performs the sole function of impressing them enough that they want to speak to you in person. From there on in, it comes down to how well you can sell yourself to them.

Good luck, and as others have said, post your draft up here if you want some (hopefully constructive) critisism of it.