Fillable Printable Professional Business Letter Download

Professional Business Letter Download

Template of Standard Business Format (Cover Letter)

(The format is the same for Thank You Letters)

Your street or box number

City, State, Zip

Date

Contact’s Name

Contact’s Title

Organization Name

Street Address

City, State, Zip

Dear Mr. Or Ms. (person’s last name only):

Paragraph 1: State immediately the position you are pursuing and how you came to know of the opening. If

you have an alumnus, family or other contact at the organization, you can mention that here as well. Tell the

employer briefly (one or two sentences) why you are interested in this position.

Paragraph 2: Explain the skills and experiences you have that will make you successful in the position. Talk

about classes you have taken, activities you have been involved in, summer experiences you have had. You

do not have to have directly related experience but think about the skills you have gained from what you

have done and how those could relate to the duties of the position you are applying for. You do not want to

repeat your resume to the employer in this paragraph but this is the place to highlight related

accomplishments that will make the reader want to learn more, which will lead them to your resume. The

goal is to show the employer that you have conf idence in your ability to succeed in the position.

Paragraph 3: Demonstrate that you have done some research about this organization. Go to their web site,

look in industry periodicals (Ad Week, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education) and talk to

alumni or other contacts that may currently work for the organization. This research does not have to be

extensive but it shows that you have taken some time to think about this position and put some effort into

this letter. This makes a very good impression on employers. It shows that this is not a form letter where

only the address and contact name is changed for each position.

Paragraph 4

: State that you would welcome a personal interview to further discuss this opportunity. If you

need to explain anything out of the ordinary on your resume, this is the place to do it. You might mention

that if you do not hear anything from the potential employer in two to three weeks time that you will call to

follow up this letter to see where they are in their process. Finish by thanking them for their attention and

express a desire to meet them sometime in the near future.

Sincerely,

Your signature (leave 4 blank spaces for this)

Your name in print