Exactly two minutes ago I submitted my internship application to a nonprofit focused on supporting individuals who may be facing domestic violence in Asian and Pacific Islander communities. I’d have to say, to my utter surprise, the entire process was relatively smooth sailing despite the fact that this is the first cover letter I’ve ever written and that my resume has been gathering dust in the neglected “other” folder for the last 6 months.

I found out about the organization through the non-profit fair at Pitzer which I attended on a whim. (Note to self and anyone else who may benefit: read up on CP&R’s networking section before going to networking events. Seriously. I had a oh-my-gah this would’ve been so useful an hour ago moment. But anyways I know better now.)

On the same day, I went to CP&R to pull my resume together which involved producing massive chunks of text about the things I’ve done. I came out with a juicy Chipotle-sized burrito resume which I was then instructed to polish and format. There are three things that I really loved about the burrito resume:

1. the sheer size of it was like a nod of acknowledgment to the fact that I did do things with my life. Very validating.

2. it provides more than enough material for constructing a polished resume.

3. filling out applications to other programs that ask for a more detailed account of your experiences? Open up the burrito resume, copy appropriate material, paste on to new document, edit as need, stick a fork in it and you’re done. Boom. Real talk: how much easier could it get?

I had a much harder time with the cover letter partly because I’m not familiar with it and partly because I felt justified in putting it off due to the ever rising number of essays I have to do but haven’t started.

Also, this was tempting.

But thankfully, the marvelous Lesley Bonds from CP&R set me on the right path by  guiding me oh-so-patiently with how to write a cover letter. It was particularly helpful for me, as a philosophy major, to think of the cover letter as  an argument with a set of premises that lead the employer to the obvious conclusion that I am the best candidate. This is the distilled version of what I did.

Begin by giving some context to the argument; aka how I learned about the position.

The first paragraph = premise 1: Your organization works toward ____, values_____, needs_____.

The second paragraph = premise 2: Given my passions, experiences, and abilities, I can help advance your mission, uphold your values, and provide what you need and what you might have not have known you needed.

Given premise 1 & 2, the logical conclusion: I am obviously a great candidate, I can do the job and do it well, and therefore it would be rational for you to hire me.The implicit assumption is that you are going to hire the most capable candidate with the most relevant experiences whose values align with those of your organization.

The whoosh of outgoing mail was the sound of finality and carried away with it my application and hopes that I will land the position.

Now comes the thumb-twiddling period of waiting for a reply from my number one choice of internship over the summer. But hey, I have successfully reached the milestone of the first cover letter on the road of career building and doing so has helped to reduce some of my anxiety that shrouds thoughts about future careers.