Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

R E A D : The Purpose In today’s age, a cover letter is not necessarily an actual letter itself, but rather your introductory email. You can also think of it as your “elevator speech,” named for the concept of communicating who you are, what you’re looking for, and why you’d be a good fit for the organization….all wrapped up in the 30 seconds it takes to ride multiple floors in an elevator. Inmost areas of life, you knowwhoyour competition is, and you can analyze the competition’s strengths, capitalize on their weaknesses, and prepare accordingly to give yourself the best chance to win. However, when applying for a position, you don’t knowwho you are competing against. Themorecompetitivethe jobis, themorecandidates you’ll be competing with for a single position within an organization. It’s difficult to gauge whether you are the first or one-hundredth candidate to apply for the position. Often, when applying to positions from job boards, email campaigns, journal ads, and personal recommendations, you will not likely have all the details to determine if the position is a viable option for you. Until you have enough facts to make a sound decision (whether the job is one you’ll consider), you always need to approach each job as your dream job to give yourself the very best chance to pursue, if desired. The key is to connect with the employer. Of course, connecting with an employer you haven’t met or spoken to will be a challenge, but not impossible. SECTION II: T MINUS TWO YEARS CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 200