Get off the Pile: Cover Letters

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This week on Get off the Pile, we consulted our favorite HR expert, Andrew Flewelling. Andrew has a graduate degree from UVM and he is the Senior Director of Human Resources here at the UVM Foundation. (2015-ers, you might remember Andrew from last year). Today, Andrew is talking about how to write stand-out cover letters.

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Cover Letter Basics

When it comes to cover letters, the most common mistake I see is that the applicant merely restates what their resume says. I CAN read, so there is no need to make a sentence out of a bullet that is listed on the next page.

Instead, a good cover letter is one that does my work for me. It clearly articulates why the position is of interest; and illuminates the skills and abilities that make the applicant special.

It’s great to talk about a few (2-3 max) examples of success. Bonus points if the applicant can quantify the success (% increase, overall sales, maximized efficiency by x measure, etc…).

What Makes a Cover Letter Stand Out?

The letters that really stand out are the ones in which the applicant takes their experiences, skills, and successes, and synthesizes them for me, highlighting their direct and/or transferable nature for the position they seek. The best letters demonstrate that the writer knows enough about the position to be able to overlay their own skills on what we are looking for.

Tips for Writing a Stand-out Cover Letter

1. Keep it to one page. And be aware of the formatting — dense, long paragraphs in eight point type is not the way to go.

2. State the important. In the opening paragraph mention the position applied for and where the listing was posted. In the rest of the letter discuss what the position requires (skills, characteristics, temperament, values, etc.) and demonstrate/prove that you possess those requirements.

3. Mix it up. Use a good mixture of short declarative statements and longer, multi clause sentences to make sure the letter flows.

4. Be Yourself. Don’t be afraid to inject a bit of personal passion. Depending on the position, it may be appropriate to articulate your understanding of the importance of the position to the company, industry, society overall. You should also be able to articulate why the position is important to you.

5. Read it out loud. Hearing what you’ve written aloud and having others hear too will help you catch mistakes or missed references.

6. Proofread to perfection. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are non-negotiable deal breakers.

Move-In Day: Class of 2020 Edition

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For us, one of the weirdest things about graduating was not returning to school that next Fall. Many of you may be feeling that same mix of nostalgia and weirdness.

The cure? Be a part of Move-In Day at UVM. Today (Friday) the Class to 2020 will arrive on campus and we hope you’ll help us welcome them.

Follow the UVM Facebook page or #moveuvm on Twitter or Instagram to catch all of the fun and excitement. We even have some great Move-In Day filters on Snapchat.

So go crazy and we’ll keep an eye out for your posts, tweets and snaps.

Lastly, for the third year in a row, we welcomed UVM’s newest class with a 48-hour fundraising challenge (don’t worry, it’s over – plus, we’re not asking you to donate – just keeping you in the loop!).

This year’s focus was funding new internship opportunities. Donors gave nearly $40,000 to create new internship opportunities at UVM — pretty amazing!

You can check out the results here and watch our silly video below (you may even recognize two of your favorite alumni bloggers).

#MoveUVM: 2020 Edition from Afterword on Vimeo.

 

Whoops. Introduction to the Class of 2016, Part 2

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Hi Class of 2016!

So…you are all receiving emails from us at the UVM Foundation and Alumni Association with links to original, fun and informative blog content every week right?

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We JUST realized that only half of your class has been receiving emails about our posts each week. Don’t ask why — it’s really dumb, so let’s never speak of it again.

To make up for our mistake, here are some important links to everything you have missed so far.

We know this isn’t the best introduction, but we hope you will find this blog useful and will return when you actually receive our weekly emails.

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Sam Jedrey

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Join us each week for new and helpful content to guide you through the often confusing first year out of school. As recent alums, we know that the struggle is real!

Hang in there and see you next week!

Ryan & Derrick

 

Afterword at the Olympics

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You thought we went to Rio? Not a chance!

We are perfectly content watching the games from our couches eating as much junk food as possible and putting off the gym until tomorrow…

However, the achievements of these amazing athletes really have stirred up some emotions and inspired us to go out and try a few events like Gymnastics, Track, Swimming and more.

We’ll leave it to pros like Simone Biles, Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky to handle the real events, but for now, we’re going to have some fun.

Enjoy the video!

UVM Olympics from Afterword on Vimeo.

With some hard work, maybe we can qualify for Tokyo 2020. Let the training begin!

Ryan & Derrick

Class of 2016 Survey Results

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Before we report out the results of the Class of 2016 Check In Survey, we have sad news to share. As some of you may already know, your classmate Mary Wilk passed away on July 30 from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident. You can read her obituary here. Our thoughts are with Mary’s family and friends, and with all of you who knew her. If there’s anything we can do to support you, please let us know. 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the Class of 2016 Check In Survey. Today, we have the results to share with you.

But first, we should announce our giveaway winners — Rheannon Burris, Tyler Molleur, and Rachel Seigel. Congrats! T-shirts are on their way to you.

1. What are you up to this summer?

A little bit of everything! More than half of the respondents are doing internships, working part-time, or traveling and the other half are working full-time or going to graduate school.

Class of 2016 Check In Survey - this summer

2. What kinds of posts would you like to see on Afterword?

Career advice and alumni profiles are the leading favorites. We’ll make sure to keep those coming and sprinkle in a good mix of My First Year Out, campus updates, and silly stuff as well.

Class of 2016 Check In Survey - kind of posts

3. What kind of event are you likely to attend?

So you like happy hours? Good, so do we. Derrick will keep you informed about when and where happy hours are taking place. And you’ll be the first to know when there’s a big ol’ party planned.

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4. What are you most connected to at UVM?

More than half of you answered that you’re most connected with your UVM friends. Burlington and student clubs and athletics teams were the next most common answers.

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Our takeaways

Surveys like this help us tailor content to your class. Knowing what we know now, we’ll keep the Get off the Pile posts coming and mix up the rest of the content around alumni profiles, graduate school, campus updates and other fun stuff. We’ll also work on getting some happy hours on the books and finding ways to keep you connected to your UVM friends, clubs and teams. That said, we try to make sure there’s always something for everyone. So if you are interested in a dinner and want to hear about faculty members, we’ll have posts for you too.