I decided to write a cover letter template so that I can cover letters as efficiently as possible. Please tell me what you think:
[Company Name]
[Position You Are Applying For]
Hello, my name is [my-name]. I’m currently living in Langhorne, just outside Philadelphia, though I’m open to expanding my horizons and relocating elsewhere. I am currently working part-time at Redner’s (a grocery store) while I make my break into web development. I saw your advertisement on [website] and from what I have read, it seems to be a role I would be interested in.
Although I graduated from college 3 years ago, I’ve had difficulty finding suitable employment, so I got involved in learning how to code. I originally delved into online courses on Udacity and Coursera, but I eventually got involved with FCC, which had a clear curriculum that was affordable to me. I’ve worked on several projects, that can be found on my Codepen and GitHub, including a Weather App and a viewer that uses Wikipedia’s API. I’m also currently working on a browser-based War card game. These projects have helped me to hone my HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills. I have also began delving into Sass.
I’ve come to realize that development is something I’m incredibly passionate about. If I could do it everyday as a career, it would be a great boon to my life. Working in grocery is not a sustainable career for me, as well, and I feel that development more better meets my needs both financially and with overall life satisfaction.
[Further details on what I can offer the company]
Thank you for your time reading this. I look forward to hearing from you.
Don’t use contracted form in formal letters; “I’ve”.
I’d steer away from mentioning anything negative “I’ve had difficulty finding suitable employment,”.
Instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the positive. Don’t call it “retail”. Call it “customer service”. Also, working at the same place for three years show you are loyal and you don’t run when things get tough. You know how to get along with others. You can handle stress (physical and emotional). Your schedule changes from week to week, so you must stay organized. You are dependable. One doesn’t end up working for the same retail establishment for three years without either already having these traits or developing them.
Also, focus less on what the company can do for you and more on what you have to offer them. Remember, they are the customer, you are the product. If your supervisor wanted you to convince customers to buy a certain product, you wouldn’t talk about how them buying it would help the store. Rather, you would talk about how the product would benefit them. Play up the traits mentioned in the first paragraph, what’s known as “soft skills.”
And as far as your degree goes, don’t put the year you graduated or you major unless you just graduated. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.
I was planning on doing that. It’s just that this is a template and I would cater the rest of it depending on what the individual company I’m applying for is looking for.
To me, it sounds apologetic and you’re unsure of yourself. Remove the negatives, accentuate the positive.
Also, I dont know if cover letters are still being read today, I thought they all have bots just scanning the resume for keywords.
I’m currently living in Langhorne, just outside Philadelphia, though I’m open to expanding my horizons and relocating elsewhere. I am currently working part-time at Redner’s (a grocery store) while I make my break into web development.
I’d remove all of this ^^^.
Although I graduated from college 3 years ago, I’ve had difficulty finding suitable employment,
No need to mention this.
I got involved in learning how to code. I originally delved into online courses on Udacity and Coursera, but I eventually got involved with FCC, which had a clear curriculum that was affordable to me.
Just say after graduating from college, you got interested in web development work and coding. You’ve enrolled and taken online courses since then on HTML, CSS, Javascript programming and have created portfolio projects hosted in Github to showcase your work and experience. You’re continually learning new technology and skills related to web development with the goal of transitioning to a new career in web development.
You saw the job posting ad and you’re very interested in the position as an entry level front end developer.
I’ve come to realize that development is something I’m incredibly passionate about. If I could do it everyday as a career, it would be a great boon to my life. Working in grocery is not a sustainable career for me, as well, and I feel that development more better meets my needs both financially and with overall life satisfaction.