What the hell are cover letters?

> A how-to guide on the most tedious aspect of job hunting

Brittney MacDonald
Life and Style Editor

M2”. of us are taught how

to make up a résumé fairly

early in our high school or middle
school careers. Something of
lesser focus is the construction
of a cover letter. In the past, a
cover letter was restricted to
specialized jobs, or as a bonus
piece of paper to attach to
your résumé should your work
experience be varied or limited.
It is meant to be used as a means
of displaying your eagerness, like
an opening argument in an essay.
Generally speaking, you used to
only have to use them when you
were entering your desired field,
whatever that may be. But, like
with everything, the concept
of a cover letter has changed.

Nowadays, more and
more employers are making it
mandatory for you to write one
up for even the most basic of
part-time jobs. As someone who
was recently job hunting, this
seemed entirely ridiculous to me.

Being forced to write a cover
letter to apply for a part-time job
youre only taking to afford to go

 

to school is stupid. There’s no one
person working 20 hours a month
at a mall or waiting tables who sits
down at night and contemplates
making a career out of it. You do
it for one reason, and that’s to
survive. Unfortunately, you can’t
put “to avoid becoming homeless”
on your job application under
reasons why you're applying.

Cover letters have become
the new way for hiring managers
to avoid actually reading a
résumé. Generally speaking, a
cover letter is extremely brief,
and only references your relevant
experience and skills for the
job youre applying for. From a
hiring manager’s point of view,
it tells them all they need to
know in about half the time it
would take to read a resume.
From a job hunter’s point of
view, it’s a pain in the ass.

When writing a cover
letter for more basic jobs, it’s a
good idea to write up a couple
different templates. Ones that
will display major, relevant
information, but with minor
details that can be swapped out
or changed depending on the
position. Here’s how you do it.

wW #DOUGLIFE

Tweet using the hashtag #DougLife, for a chance to be
icoclaelyere Bima tem pce u

 

ic Tweet

Aaron Guillen

 

| attended » NASH/8 with the
greatest student newspaper team

you'll ever meet % - toronto
“theotherpress *douglife

“i TE oe a

   

MU DTicm at) ecfay (tlm ce water UoameLerIN(cIn1

Begin by typing up your
contact information in the left
hand corner: name, e-mail,
and phone number. Beneath
that, you’re going to want to put
the date you're submitting the
application. This is one of those
things you need to remember
to change every time you use
the template. Leave a space
before typing up the mailing
address for the company/store/
whatever youre applying for.
This is really just a formality.

After another space, address
who youre speaking to. Generally
you'll write “Dear Hiring
Manager,” since you probably
won't know their name. If you do,
bonus. From here on in format
it like a regular letter. It should
be around three paragraphs, the
first addressing how you learned
about the job and letting them
know that you're local to the area
their company is in. Generally
you'll want to keep this brief, but
it’s one of those parts that you
can reuse since you'll probably be
applying for jobs around where
you live. Change the place you
heard about the job as needed.
The next paragraph will address

 

your formal education—focus
around large concepts like
communication and/or customer
service, and keep it general and
brief. Focusing on large concepts
makes the template reusable. Use
said template when you apply for
jobs that touch on those general
fields—do that and you won't
have to change this paragraph
much at all. In the third paragraph
address your work experience and
certifications for the field (Serving
It Right, Foodsafe, etc.), focusing
on the things that are most
relevant to the concept(s) you
chose in paragraph two. For added
effect, pop in a few buzz words
from the job posting, stuff like

Beauty on a Budget

> Covergirl LashBlast Clump Crusher Extensions Mascara

Lauren Kelly
Assistant Editor

 

overgirl’s original Clump
Crusher mascara is considered
by many to be one of the best
drugstore options. It’s well known
for creating a natural, clump-free
look that can be hard to come
by. I’ve been through two tubes
of it, so I was excited to try out
Clump Crusher Extensions, a
newer version of the product.
The packaging claims to have
added a “buildable fiber-
stretch formula to give up to
20 times volume and length.”
This mascara, like the
original Clump Crusher, takes
more than one coat to look
great, so the application can be
a little bit slower. However, it
is very easy to use. The curved,
plastic brush provides good
separation to the lashes instead
of clumping groups of lashes
together. Since it’s very buildable,
it’s easy to adjust how much
volume and length you want.
Even though I picked the
Very Black option, it still isn’t
overwhelming and would look
good with most eye makeup looks,
and I would use it even when I’m
not wearing any other eye makeup.
My eyelashes are pretty
average in length and not very
dark, so I like that this adds so

2 a
much length and definition. |
would say that it nearly doubles
my eyelash length. Although
I don’t curl my eyelashes as
I have enough of a natural
curl to get away with skipping
that step, reviewers online
say that it holds a curl well.

The formula is fairly dry,
which means it doesn’t smudge
or flake very much. The only issue
that I had with the original Clump
Crusher, and it might carry over
to this one as well, is that because
it’s a drier formula one tube did
dry up. However, one tip for that
is to add a few drops of eyedrops
or contact fluid, which are both
obviously safe for eye contact,
and mix the product around.

For me, this mascara isa
must buy. It and the original
are commonly placed at the top
of people's favourites lists for
good reason—they do exactly
what they say they will, and well.
Clump Crusher Extensions is
available at Wal-Mart for $8.50
and London Drugs for $9.50.

Image via thinkstock

“team-player” and “motivated.”

Lastly, sign off in a way that
invites conversation, something
like “I hope to hear from you
soon.” Don’t be too formal here,
especially if you're applying for
a part-time job. End with your
name and address. Altogether,
your cover letter should be
around 200-300 words.

Finding a job is hard,
especially while youre a student—
mostly because there’s about a
million others out there vying
for the same work you are. So
make it easier on yourself, and
save writing a real cover letter for
when you're actually passionate
about what you're applying for.

 

 

Image via beautynowapp.com