How To Write A Cover Letter For An Internship

Writing a compelling cover is essential as it helps to get you noticed by recruiters and hiring managers, and eventually lands you job interviews. In this article, we would be focussing primarily on writing a cover letter for your coveted internships.

Cover letters are essentially a personal pitch about what motivates you, why companies should hire you, and prove that you have the skills and experience required for a particular internship. The cover letter is your opportunity to showcase more about your strengths, accomplishments and purely more about yourself than merely facts like in the case of a resume.

Format

Format for a cover letter is very similar to that of a formal letter, one difference being that you can leave out the part of writing the address of the company as you will most likely be sending this over the mail.

Header | Just like the resume, the header should include your basic contact information. This includes your name, email id and contact number, should the hiring manager want to schedule an interview with you. You could specifically choose a format that matches with your resume so both of the documents complement each other.

Font | Preferably use Times New Roman and Calibri as they are easy to read and most accepted in the business world.

Date | The date comes on the top left corner.

Subject | This is followed by the date.

For instance, if you are applying for a marketing internship at Spinny, the subject line should read like – Regarding Spinny Summer Marketing Internship

This is to bring the attention of the reader to the position you are applying for.

Greetings | Subject will be followed by greeting and salutation – Dear Name of the person. If you are not sure of the name, write the name of the team/ department. For instance, Dear Marketing Team. The next best thing to do if you are unsure of everything is to write – Dear Name of the company + Team. So, in this case it would mean “Dear Spinny Team”.

If you are still unsure, just write – Dear Hiring Manager. This sounds better than To Whom It May Concern, which feels impersonal and outdated.

Also Read | Nailing Your Internship Interview: FAQs And Tips To Answer

Introductory Paragraph

Paragraph one should entail the following components.

Opening Statement

This should be strong enough to grab the attention. The opening line of the cover letter will be the deciding factor if your resume will be looked at and if the hiring manager will continue to read. The opening line has to be powerful and ensure your resume doesn’t end up in trash. One must avoid general boring intros or opening lines.

Cover letters are essentially a personal pitch about what motivates you, why companies should hire you, and prove that you have the skills and experience required for a particular internship.

To Avoid – Hi, My name is Neha and I am studying Economics at Ram College of delhi. I am really interested to intern in the finance department.

Below are some of the ways you can direct your cover letter so as to grab the attention and show your genuine interest in working with the company.

Also Read | Preparing For The First day of internship

Referencing Blogs/Articles | I recently came across an article in Economic Times about the efforts your company has made towards spreading awareness on menstrual health in the sub-urban areas of Delhi. I would like to be a part of the CSR Team as a student of Political Sciences Honors and contribute to the company’s initiatives.

This shows that you are interested and have been following up with what the organisation has been doing by referencing what the company has been up to and showing appreciation for it at the same time.

Keywords From Job Descriptions | For a bigger organisation it’s easier to find such references as they are active with social media posting. If it’s a small company with not too many blog posts and much social media presence, you may take another approach –

In the last three years of college, being the president of the Editing Club has given me immense experience in writing and editing; while also contributing to my creative growth and that as a leader.

Also Read | Why and How To Document Your Internship

Connections Within The System | You could also mention the people or the connections you have within the company and start the conversation from there, provided they are okay with you using them as a reference. You can check out those who also work within the organisation via LinkedIn and ping them there–

I connected with Mr. Dhruv on LinkedIn and he suggested that I apply at the summer marketing internship program at your prestigious organisation.

Genuine Excitement | You could also just show interest in the job you are applying for. This is an opportunity to showcase genuine excitement for the role–

I have been following your company’s social media to learn the various ways it promotes brands online and builds campaigns for your clients. I was very excited to see that there is an opening for a digital marketing intern at your agency which I look forward to applying to.

About Yourself | Mention who you are, your qualifications, what you are studying and where. Mention the subject if you are doing a Master’s in Business Administration with a specialisation in Marketing, especially if you feel it’d be relevant to the role you’re applying for.

Also Read | Stipend: How It Helps, Types, Range & More

Paragraph 2

In paragraph two, try to use the keywords in the job description and connect with your job experience.

You might feel that you are just a fresher and don’t have the experience for the internship you are applying for, but that’s rarely ever the case. Use the experience from part-time jobs, volunteering, clubs in school and college, sports team, volunteering, etc.

Through this paragraph you should also show that you have done a good amount of research about the company. The goal is to match the tone of the company with the cover letter. Mention an article, blog post that interested you from their social media or LinkedIn or website and highlight your interest in it. This shows your interest is genuine, you have paid attention and done the homework to understand the company’s ethos.

Cover letters are a supplement to your CV so they should give out more information and highlight your most important achievements and motivations.

Example

After reading the job description, I am convinced my research skills o could help understand the needs of your clients and target the right audience. My comprehensive marketing skills gained by working with the Marketing Department of my college to support and collaborate with local businesses would help in identifying the business requirements of the agency’s clients.

Paragraph 3

Paragraph three should highlight your skills, relevant strengths and accomplishments through a quick story.

Give an example of your story. You have to then tie the story back to the company, thus highlighting how you will be an asset for them. Back the story with numbers, data and analytics.

Example

During my third year of graduation, I used my knowledge to design a marketing campaign for a local wholesale business that yielded the highest ROI based on the given budget. The campaign was so well-received that it upped the website traffic by 40% in that quarter.

Paragraph 4

In paragraph four, you should highlight your intention to join the company/team and how you look forward to contributing to the organisation’s goals and mission. It’s not just about the internship, you also want to show that you want to work for this company and will contribute to the bottom line.

Tip: Most companies list their mission statement and value on their website. Draw stories from your own life or examples of your work and highlight it in a way that ties the two together- the values and your experience. If you are able to do this, it will take you a long way as it shows you care.

Call To Action | Conclude the paragraph with a ‘call to action’. Also mention how they should reach out to you in case they need any additional information in the process.

Example

While my attached resume will give you an outline of my abilities, a personal meeting allows me to explain how I can contribute to the company’s mission to give innovative marketing solutions to brands. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss the possibilities to understand clients’ needs and reach out to their targeted audience by designing campaigns that voices the brand’s stories. Please reach me on (Number) to schedule an interview. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Things To Remember

Few points that you should take care of while drafting and sending across a cover letter are:-

• Always remember to read the letter before sending for grammar and spelling errors. Also, check the tone of the letter.
• If you have a trusted person to proofread the cover letter, get them to review it.
• Read the letter at least twice before sending.
• It’s human nature to look for mistakes and having a spelling error on your cover letter would mean that it will most likely be tossed.
• Save the file as PDF. The best way to save the file is – FULL NAME_Cover Letter_Date. This is important so that the format stays intact when you are uploading it into an online application system or sending over email.
• Mention your extra curricular activities and achievements.
• Proactively follow up once you have sent your cover letter and resume.

Just like the resume, keep the cover letter and its content to one page as nobody is likely to read a lengthier letter than that. Cover letters are a supplement to your CV so they should give out more information and highlight your most important achievements and motivations.

Also Read | How To Choose Between Internship Offers: Use These Tips

Cover letters for internships are not really about you but they certainly do bridge the gap between you, the company and the job you are applying for. So, make it a match!

Parisraja Bajpai is an Organisational Psychologist, with extensive hand-on experience in talent acquisition, talent management, employee counselling, employee engagement, training and development. She is currently heading HR department at Nexstgo. The views presented in this article are solely of the author and do not represent the opinions of the organisation/s they are associated with.