Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

R E A D : Customizing Your Cover Letter Once you write your cover letter, you’ll be able to repurpose the letter when applying for other positions. However, you want to ensure to customize the letter for each employer and position. Depending on the position, youmaywant to reorder the flow, emphasize certain parts of the letter, and remove irrelevant content. Here are three simpleways to customize your cover letter: 1. Find out who to address your cover letter to. Remember, your cover letter should be written to the specific position, addressed to the specific person, and written as if it’s the only job to which you’re applying. Try not to address your letter ‘To whom it may concern’. Find out the name of the person who will readyourapplication. Thismight takea littleeffort, but it’s worth it. Each year dozens of search committees chuckle when they read a cover letter addressed to apply to another competitive search in the field. Also avoid what we call the “Dead-End Dears…” like Dear Sir, Madame, Friends, Future Colleagues; we’ve even seen Dear Gentlepeople? What are Gentlepeople anyway? Toss! And so we don’t forget, salutations are followed by a colon (:) not a comma (,). If you absolutely don’t have the name of the individual or if the advertisement directs you to write to a department or even a job number, use the simplified style of a business letter which omits both the salutation and complimentary closing. Most job postings and advertisements will have the contact’s name and email. If there is no contact information, call or email the employer and ask for the search committee chair in charge of physician SECTION II: T MINUS TWO YEARS CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 202