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Covering the Student Cover Letter (Part II)

1/17/2015

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Attention students: Also check out "10 Reasons Your Cover Letter Sucks," by Heather Huhman at Glassdoor Blog

The most popular among of my 135 blog posts so far on this website is from 2012: "Covering the Student Cover Letter." Scores of students who have sat in my office or classroom have followed its advice. So, too, have many students from around the nation who come across it during my presentations about digital branding or by social media or even word of mouth.

#loweclass is assigned this weekend to create or update various means of telling their story. They must each present a resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and digital portfolio, all according to my specifications and with a desired spring or summer internship in mind. (They all updated their Twitter account #twesume after the first class this week.)

My goal here is to update that prior blog post about crafting cover letters with a few more tips. Word to the wise: The fundamentals for this exercise are in the blog post referenced and hyperlinked above. This is Part II. Read Part I first. Don't get it twisted.
  1. The first paragraph should have three sentences. The third one states why you want the position. "I desire a journalism career that is rooted in athletics, but applies to society at large – and the internship would be vital in expanding my training and opportunities" or "This opportunity would help me to pursue my long-term goal of becoming an investigative journalist focusing on education." The first paragraph will thus make it clear 1) who and where you are, 2) what you want and when do you want it, and 3) why do you want it (that assumes, of course, you actually have a career in mind, and are not just doing homework.)
  2. Consistent letterhead and proper file naming. The cover letter letterhead prescribed in Part I's third paragraph should match what is atop your resume. Both documents should look like they came from the same person. Ensure they are named smartly: lastname_coverletter.pdf, lastname_resume.pdf. Remember that most recruiters typically get many applications. You want yours to be found easily if searched for electronically.
  3. Make great use of transition (or topic) sentences. Good, effective writing is a sure way to getting the position. Begin each paragraph strong and with clarity about what's coming next. Avoid using dependent clauses (especially to begin a paragraph, but also otherwise). Limit your transition sentences to one line on the page; do your best to keep all sentences in the letter from being more than two lines long. Write tightly.
  4. Remember why you need a cover letter. I once heard recruiting guru Joe Grimm tell a group of journalism students that a resume is for sharing the who, what, where and when with respect to your experience. The cover letter, he said, is for the why and how. In other words, why did you go after that amazing story? What challenges did you overcome? What did you learn from the experience? Show that you're acting and thinking like a journalist.
  5. Leave judgments to the recruiters. Avoid sentences that proclaim you as the best thing ever or don't separate you from competitors: "I believe I am the best candidate for this position because ..." or "I have always been a self-motivated student who strives to meet and exceed my goals and works well with others." Don't all college students believe in themselves or work hard? These sentences appear in letters from inexperienced applicants or those unable to better express what experience they do have.
  6. Write from the heart and with clarity and authority. Want a position for which you don't have much experience? Then demonstrate that you understand what you're getting into. Check out this cover letter paragraph from one of my former students who is seeking a marketing internship with a foundation that supports a major league sports franchise:
Having grown up with the opportunity to attend multiple Brewers game per season, once even being a season ticket holder, I understand how the organization has garnered its success. The atmosphere of Miller Park is one to be reckoned with. Baseball games bring strangers together. They bond over the team, the culture and everything else that makes them proud to be there. You don’t go to a Brewers game with just your friends. You go with every fan surrounding you. As a journalism major, I love to interact with those in the community by sharing the feel-good stories that bring people together. Now, I want to give Brewers fans the same opportunities I so graciously encountered.
Not only is it well written – I love the short sentences – it screams she gets it. Of course, her resume needs to be just as good. But it wouldn't surprise me if this paragraph alone helps her to get the interview. That's the goal, isn't it? Getting an interview? My hope is that my two blog posts on student cover letters – Part I before and Part II here – help you get yours. Good luck.
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Helping Students to Shine on LinkedIn

1/15/2015

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My LinkedIn profile began taking shape after I left my job at a foundation in Washington early 2009 to live with my wife in Chicago. It was shocking to learn that the top keywords back then on the social media platform and my resume seemingly had little to do with journalism.

#loweclass started creating LinkedIn profiles as assignments beginning my first semester teaching. Some students took to the task seriously; others not so much. Those among them who have landed jobs or internships along the way are likely the ones maximizing its potential. Indeed, the first time that Mrs. Lowe showed off at the Diederich College of Communication she urged my students to not only have a LinkedIn profile, but to check it every day.


Among this weekend's class assignments is creating or updating one's profile. Pleased that there's plenty of assistance online for students aiming to present themselves to the world:
  • Linked In Higher Education: Student Jobs 101
  • LinkedIn for Students (With Videos and Quick Tip Sheets)
  • LinkedIn Profile Checklist
  • 7 Ways College Students Can Benefit From LinkedIn
  • 14 Mistakes You're Making on LinkedIn (.pdf)
  • What Every College Student Should Post on LinkedIn
  • Here's What to Say In Your LinkedIn 'Summary' Statement
  • How to Attract More Recruiters to Your LinkedIn Profile

My LinkedIn profile is by no means perfect. Even so, I generally do not "connect" with students or anyone else who hasn't taken the time to reasonably develop their profile. I wish more people would avoid some of those mistakes that Kim Brown of Syracuse University included in the before-mentioned PDF. My students, in particular, will not get away with typos (or AP Style concerns), inadequate photos or summaries or a LinkedIn URL that isn't unique. Here's another webpage from LinkedIn, updated last month, explaining how to customize the URL.


I look forward to reviewing my students' profiles with them soon. I'm sure they will be great.

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Thankful to Have Witnessed Stuart Scott

1/5/2015

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ESPN legend Stuart Scott's passing yesterday reminded me of the days when we lost icons Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. No, there wasn't wall-to-wall coverage on CNN. But I couldn't even remember what I had planned to do before watching the NFL playoffs. What mattered was following the resounding outpouring for Scott on social media and elsewhere.

The network's video tribute to Scott was simply amazing. I thought of the many Sunday nights in the 1990s spent watching him on "SportsCenter" as he dispensed his distinctive catchphrases and adorned those trendy suits and ties as an anchor. I thought of greeting him at the annual National Association of Black Journalists conventions, always happy that someone of his professional stature would mingle with students as easily as he did sports superstars.

Of course, I thought of my own students at Marquette University. Forgive the over-simplification, but it often seems that most of them want to head straight from student media to write for Vanity Fair or anchor on "SportsCenter." I absolutely love and support high aspirations. But I remind them that everybody they see on ESPN likely started in the trenches of local television or as a newspaper beat reporter covering a small college team, if not, high school sports. So it was great to hear or read many times how much Scott focused on getting facts right as much as punctuating his reports with signatures such as "Boo-Yah" and "Can I get a witness?"

These days students are excited to meet ESPN personalities such as Jemele Hill, Adam Schefter, Chris Broussard, Michael Scott, etc. I remember the days of Stuart Scott, Rich Eisen, Keith Olberman, Dan Patrick, et al., on "SportsCenter," long before shows like "First Take" and "Pardon the Interruption." Back then, Scott and Robin Roberts were the noted African Americans on the network. Seeing him function so skillfully and yet also so confidently – as a black man dominating the sports broadcast landscape – meant a lot to me and so many others.


Two among the countless social media tributes yesterday particularly struck me: 1) A Facebook post from Mister Mann Frisby, a journalism educator at Temple University, recounting how Scott "saved my job and my reputation" at a NBA Finals game between the 76ers and Lakers in 2001, and 2) Jamal Andress, who tweeted about how Scott inspired him to become both a journalist and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. (Scott and I also pledged Alpha while in college.)


I remember being impressed when Scott delivered the commencement address, a few days before that same NBA Finals game, at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina. I like to have my students use well-known speeches for writing assignments. Early on, I used Jimmy Valvano's classic inspiration from the 1993 ESPY Awards. I imagine that future students may write about Scott's reflection of what it is like to live with cancer, at the same venue in July.

Here's to Stuart Scott for, yes, being as cool as the other side of the pillow.

So saddened by Stuart Scott’s passing. He was in my “I wanna be an Alpha” & my “I wanna be a journalist” essays. Inspired so many people.

— Jamal Andress (@JamalAndress) January 4, 2015

The only interview that mattered was the Stuart Scott interview on the last day of the NBA season #RIPStuartScott pic.twitter.com/5ZdDoKz3HG

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 4, 2015
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    My journalism DNA remains strong as I learn and teach new ways to tell and present stories, especially via digital and social media. This blog is where I share what happens in my classroom and my life and, from time to time, offer my views on current events. I appreciate your feedback – either as comments herein or in an email to herbert.lowe [at] marquette [dot] edu.

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