posted
There's an opening at my university for a Web Content Manager. They want someone with good writing and editing skills, who has an english, communications, or marketing degree (or related field). They want someone creative, who can juggle multiple projects, who can put out a biweekly newsletter online, who is diplomatic, adaptable, and understanding of the best practices in web communication. This person would edit the webpages and write new content as necessary. They would also decide whether the structure of the webpages are working, whether new pages are needed, whether it's understandable, and they would also work with the individual university departments to make sure that their sites were up to par.
I was an English major in college, and I'm currently working on my masters in English. I'm to the thesis part of my graduate work, and I'm doing a creative writing project--a novella called "Stealing Magic." (It is right now, anyway.) I worked as an editor of my school newspaper in academy (high school), but I am thinking that's too far back to include in my cover letter--but I have no other formal journalistic editing experience. I have edited about a million student's and friend's papers, though, in a professional and personal capacity. I have done plenty of academic writing and a smattering of creative writing. I am quite good at it, as is probably not evidenced in my cover letter--it's HARD to write about myself. I'm very good at using computers. I write html code--I'm no expert, but I have authored several pages on my own. I learn new programs quickly, and I even did so at my current job, completely changing the way my job operates because I moved everything over to a database.
Okay, that's how I think I'm relevant. Here's the cover letter that I have so far:
quote: Dear Ms. Lady’s Name:
I read your job posting for the Web Content Manager position in the Communication and Marketing Department at [the university] with great interest, as I believe I possess the skills and experience necessary to be an asset to the department and university.
My varied writing, editing, and computing experience will give me the expertise needed to bring informative, creative, and well-edited content to the university website. My experience as an English teacher, along with rigorous liberal arts graduate courses, have provided me with an exemplary expository writing skills as well as sharp analytical, problem-solving and research skills. In addition, I have honed my journalistic writing skills by serving as the editor of my academy’s newsletter, and am expanding my creative writing skills by choosing to write a novella to finish my master’s thesis. I am very skilled at utilizing computers to their fullest potential to accomplish my goals and those of my employer by quickly learning new programs and independently implementing new computer procedures to streamline operations.
I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how I can be a positive fit for the communications team.
Sincerely,
My Name
I know it needs work. Some of those sentences are just downright awkward. If you have some free time and actually like assisting people with their cover letters, I'll take all the help I can get.
posted
Do you have any IT skills you might list? Done any HTML or if nothing else maybe a computer course you can mention.
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I am self-taught in html, access, word, excel, adobe acrobat... probably some others I can't remember. I am acquainted with linux, but not an expert... I can softcode on a mux.. But the only computer class I've taken (that I can remember) was one that was required for education students. It was pretty lame.
I really don't like computer classes, as I can learn a program on my own much faster than the pace the computer classes are forced to go.
The last person who had this job was actually girl who graduated from our english department with a bachelor's. They wrote about her in the English newsletter, and she pointed out that she didn't need much technical skill, she only had to be able to learn it. They seem to really be concentrating on the writing and editing skills.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
It starts out really boring. Get rid of that opening paragraph about I saw your ad. Thats obvious. Just start bragging about yourself.
Give some specific examples stories from your experiece where you have demonsrated the skills desired by the position. For instance, instead of saying you served as the editor of the academys newsletter, say perhaps that you successfuly edited 200 issues of the newsletter and won an award of editing excellence.
(not my field, I dont know what exactly you can brag about)
Heres my cover letter, slightly edited for confidentiality. And I am looking for a job if any hiring managers are looking in the Fort Worth area.
-------------------- My success in understanding client needs and thinking outside the box at my current position will aid me in being successful as a Marketing Analyst. I exceeded my yearly sales goal two months early through identifying unique selling opportunities not given by management. I was trusted to lead meetings, attend training sessions and pass on what I had learned to my colleagues.
I have an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M and recently graduated from the University of North Texas with a master’s degree in marketing. At North Texas I coordinated a marketing research project sponsored by Chevy for the launch of the Chevy Cobalt. It was true to life in that we had a budget, individual responsibilities and a deadline. We had to conduct pre and post event surveys to measure the views, awareness and buying potential of college students before and after our on campus event. Finally we had to present our findings on the effects of our event to representatives from Chevy.
I am seeking to change the focus of my career to one that more closely matches my education and desires. Marketing research appeals to me because it adds an objective nature to a field that is often viewed as being very subjective.
I am eager to use my skills to learn and advance in your company. I believe that I can be the successful candidate for this position. I am a positive and focused individual who thrives on making key contributions for company success. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you and present myself as a strong candidate for the position. Thank you for your time and I look forward to interviewing with you. -------------------------------------
Posts: 375 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
*grin* Yeah, I guess it's boring, but every website I could find on writing a cover letter said to start out with a line like that, stating what job you're interested in. Some also suggested letting them know what you know about their company, but that doesn't really apply here, since they're the basically the PR department of the university.
Your third paragraph is something I should probably add. I like my job right now, but not only does it not pay enough, it is no where near what I actually went to school for.
I wish I could think of relevant accomplishments and awards.. it would help to "prove" that I'm the right person for the job, rather than just my say-so. That's what's making this so hard. I have gotten awards, done cool things, etc. but not much during graduate school.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
A couple of proofreading nitpicks (sorry I don't have time to help w/ rewrites, so I'm just fiddling w/ existing wording):
My varied writing, editing, and computing experience gives me the expertise needed to bring informative, creative, and well-edited content to the university website.
My experience as an English teacher, along with rigorous liberal arts graduate courses, has ["my experience" is still the subject here and shoud take a singular verb] provided me with an [delete the "an"] exemplary expository writing skills as well as . . .
and am expanding my creative writing skills by writing a novella to finish my master’s thesis.
And scrap the next sentence and start over listing specific computer skills you mentioned above rather than telling them how skilled you are with computers in a generic sense. I agree that you need to keep some reference in the letter to the job title you're applying for, whether it's in the body of the letter or a "re:" at the top.
Good luck, sounds like a fun job!
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I would definitely include some mention of your familiarity with html. This will directly bear on this job, and that way you establish that you have a least a familiarity with it.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Awesome suggestions, thank you. Uprooted, those areas were ones that were giving me a lot of trouble. Thanks so much for the rewording.
Except HTML, I'm not sure what computer skills are applicable to the job. I have worked some with web page editors, but I have found them very annoying--like netscape editor and the publisher that comes with word. HTML has always been better. I haven't had the opportunity to use Pagemaker (as I think it's called) or Dreamweaver--although I'd love to.
I'll definitely add that I write webpages in html, though.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
With a little research, you can find out what app they expect you to use to update the HTML content. This is very valuable information, since you almost certainly won't be hand-coding if they've got a largish site.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
I think I saw a reference to PageMaker on the site.
I don't think I'll be coding the actual site much at all. With the way it tends to work in this system, I'll probably be making content changes and sending the technical changes to the IT department.
And no, I wouldn't want to hand-code it. Yuck. Especially since official pages get way too complicated for me to do by hand very quickly.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
Here's my next draft. Thanks so much for your replies so far. If you wish to comment further (or for the very first time), please do. If not, still accept my thanks.
quote:Dear Ms. Lady’s Name:
I read your job posting for the Web Content Manager position in the Communication and Marketing Department at [university] with much enthusiasm, as I believe I possess the skills and experience necessary to be an asset to the department and university.
My varied writing, editing, and computing experience gives me the expertise needed to bring informative, creative, and well-edited content to the university website. My experience as an English teacher, along with rigorous liberal arts graduate courses, has provided me with exemplary expository writing skills as well as sharp analytical, problem-solving, and research skills. I am currently expanding my creative writing ability by writing a novella to finish my master’s thesis.
I learn new computer programs quickly, as I demonstrated by learning Microsoft Access early on in my current position, creating an efficient database of our serials records. I often write my own web pages using HTML code, and have some experience using graphical editors. I am proficient in Microsoft Access, Excel, Word, Adobe Acrobat, and several other programs.
I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how I can be a positive fit for the communications team.
Sincerely,
My Name
My concerns: How to end the second paragraph? I was thinking of adding something about my eagerness to move into a field related to my English degree (other than teaching). Right now, I work at the university library.
As for the computer paragraph, I'll probably add some other programs, but I don't have my resume with me, and it has a list of them. (Although, I'm not really supposed to repeat things on my resume, and I don't see how those programs are relevant anyway--especially because everybody knows how to use Word and Excel.)
Hmm...
ETA: I just realized that I also know photo shopping programs, and whatever program it was that we used to edit the school newsletter. Those would be relevant. I'll add those when I get home and can look up the names.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote:especially because everybody knows how to use Word and Excel.
No, they don't. Talk to my husband about the people at his work sometime! But I know what you're getting at. Everyone who applies for this job probably will.
As for the second paragraph, try something like, "I have a great enthusiasm for language and literature, which motivate me to excel in performing tasks pertaining to the English language." Or something like that.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
I did all the hiring for my old company and I worked at a labor law firm. I never looked at cover letters - I just threw them out. The hiring partner at the law firm didn't look at them either. From what I can tell, most people ignore them, so don't worry too much about yours.
quote: I read your job posting for the Web Content Manager position in the Communication and Marketing Department at [university] with much enthusiasm, as I believe I possess the skills and experience necessary to be an asset to the department and university.
I'd change "much enthusiasm" to "great interest."
quote:My varied writing, editing, and computing experience gives me the expertise needed to bring informative, creative, and well-edited content to the university website. My experience as an English teacher, along with rigorous liberal arts graduate courses, has provided me with exemplary expository writing skills as well as sharp analytical, problem-solving, and research skills. I am currently expanding my creative writing ability by writing a novella to finish my master’s thesis.
This paragraph is a little wordy and you might want to break up some of the sentences. Some nitpicks: I would delete the word "varied" in the first sentence and I would change the word "expanding" to "developing" in the last.
quote:I learn new computer programs quickly, as I demonstrated by learning Microsoft Access early on in my current position, creating an efficient database of our serials records. I often write my own web pages using HTML code, and have some experience using graphical editors. I am proficient in Microsoft Access, Excel, Word, Adobe Acrobat, and several other programs.
The first sentence is awkward and abrupt. Also, you don't state what your current position is. And why are you leaving it in the first place? I would change it to something like, "I enjoy learning new programs and do so quickly. I had the opportunity to learn MS Access in my position as ______________. I used it to create a database of our serials records. Additionally, I write my own web pages using HTML and have experience using graphical [are you sure this is the correct word?] editors." You can use the term "MS Office suite" rather than write them all out.
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
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