Write a short cover letter or email

Job Bank says applying involves three steps: research the company or job, create a resume, and prepare a cover letter. A cover letter is your introduction. It should be concise, well written, and tailored to that company and job. You may need a different letter for each job. It should give the employer an idea of who you are and highlight the skills you offer.

Job Bank also says a cover letter is not always required. When it is, taking time to write a good one can make a real difference. Always read the posting: our Sampletown sample asks for a resume and a short cover note by email.

Alis says a cover letter introduces you and your resume or application form. Your goal is to get the employer’s attention by showing how your skills and accomplishments make you a good fit. Study the posting and put matching skills in the letter. Research the organization’s goals or activities — if you mention one truly, you show interest. Think about how you would benefit the organization and why the work appeals to you. The letter should make the employer want to read the resume. It should not simply repeat every line already on that resume.

Longer lessons on tone, paragraph craft, and rewriting sentences belong in *Workplace Writing*. How to send a polished workplace email belongs in *Outlook and Workplace Email Habits*. A job-application cover note is this course’s task; a deeper employer package still sits here, not in Word Basics (which only helps you type and save the file).

Job Bank’s “stand out” page (opened 10 November 2026) suggests this shape:

• a short opening that shows interest in the job or the organization
• your top skills that match the posting, with one or two clear examples
• a closing that repeats your interest or thanks the reader

That is enough for a basic email. Name the job title in the first lines so a busy reader knows which posting you mean. If you know the person’s name from the posting, use it and spell it correctly (alis reminds people to do that on a master list). If you do not know a name, a simple “Hello” plus the team or “Hiring team” is safer than inventing “Dear Sir.”

Keep the note to about three short paragraphs, or a tight screen of email. Use the same keywords you used on the resume, and support them with one real example: “I greeted visitors at a volunteer skate sale” is stronger than “I am great with people.” Do not apologize for missing an optional asset unless the employer asked about it. Do not include a SIN, a photo, or a joke about being desperate for any job.

If you send the note as an email, use a clear subject such as Weekend Attendant application — Your Name. Say that your resume is attached, and attach the file you named in Lesson 5. If you type the note as a one-page letter instead, alis says to send it the way the posting asks, along with the resume.

Write the Sampletown note for that one sample job. If you later apply to a different posting, change the title, the examples, and any organization detail you mention. Sending the same copied paragraph to every employer, including ones you did not read about, is what official pages warn against.

Read the note out loud, the same way you proofread the resume. Check that you spelled Sampletown and the job title as they appear on the posting. Check that you attached the correct file, not last year’s letter to a different place. Alis says clear file names prevent that mistake.

This note is practice. It is not a real application and not a promise anyone will reply. Do not send it to a real town office.

If writing English sentences is the hard part, ask a tutor to help you say your example out loud first, then write what you said. Workplace Writing can help with tone later. The official test of this letter is simple: would a busy reader see which job you want, why you are a reasonable match, and how to open your resume? If the answer is no, shorten the note rather than adding praise that you cannot support. One true example is worth more than a long paragraph of vague enthusiasm. Save the file or draft with a name that includes the employer and the date, the same way alis tells you to label cover letters, so you do not send last month’s wording to a new posting by mistake.

1. Write a short cover email for the Sampletown posting (To, subject, three parts, attachment mentioned).
2. Use one real example that matches a duty or skill in the posting.
3. Proofread and check the file name of the resume you would attach.
4. Do not send the email to a real address.

Which example from your master list would you put in a cover email, and which would you leave on the resume only?