COVER&LETTERS&
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Each&time&you&submit&your&re sume,&yo u&should&enclose&a&cover&letter.&&This&letter&s hould&be&a&concis e&
expression&of&yo ur&intentions&and&should&also&complement&your &curr iculum&vitae.&&There&may&be&
pertinent&in formatio n&about&you&which&is¬&included&in&your&C V,&particularly&with&relatio n&to& spec ific&
qualifications&or&skills.&&You&may&want&to&mention&t hese&in&your&cover&letter.&
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Here&are&some&recommendations&for&your&letter:&
• It&shoul d&highlight&your&q ualifications&for&the&position&you&desire.&
• It&shoul d&refer&to&a&specif ic&residency&progr am&and&how&you&learned&about&it.&
• It&shoul d&be&addressed&to&a&particular&individual.&&H owever,&when&the&advertisement&
does¬&give&a&name,&the&letter&should&be& addressed&to &eith er&Residency&Program&
Director&or&To&Whom&It&May&Concern.&
• It&should&be&nea tly&typed&and&printed&on&formal&resume &paper.&
• It&shoul d&address&your&short‐term&and&long‐term&career&goals.&
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In&general,&a&cover&letter&should&represent&your&personal&style&while&maintaini ng&a&busi ness‐like&format.&
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GENERAL&RULES&FOR&WRITING&COVER&LETTERS&
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Always&type,&using&a&business‐letter&format.&
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No&spelling&errors,&no&correcti ons;&be&caref ul&and&be&neat.&
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Use&white&of&off‐white&hi gh&qualit y&paper&that&i s&no&larger&than&8&½&x&11.&&Do¬&use&onionskin .&
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Pre para tion:&
• Look&at&advertisements&carefully&and&i nclude&the&in formatio n&that&is&requ ested.&
• List&information&about&yourself&that&meets &the&job&requirements.&
• Use&action&words&to&highlight&your&qualifications.&
• Write&a&rough&dr aft&a nd&correct&it&before&writing&a&final©.&
• Carefully&proofread&your&final©&an d&have&others&double‐check&what&y ou&wrote.&
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HO W&TO&WRITE&A&COVER&LETTER&
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Your&name&(opti onal )&
Your&addres s&
City,&State&&ZIP&
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Date&
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Addressee&
Title&
Company/Organizati on&
Address&
City,&State&&ZIP&
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Dear&Person:&(us e&the&name&of&the&interviewer&or&residency&program&director)&
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First¶graph.&&&State&how&you&learned&of&the&company&or&position&which&yo u&are&applying.&&Be&sur e&to&
clearly&state&the&reason&for&which& you&are&writing&th e&letter.&&Include&your&short‐term&and&long‐term&
career&goals ,&particul arly&why& you&have&decided &to&p ursue&a&residency&position&over&oth er&career&
opportunities.&&&
&
Second¶graph.&&&Indicate&why&you& are&interested&in&the&company,&organization,&or&position.& &If&the&job&
announcement&or&advert isement&specifies&any& required&qualifications,&indicate&the&ways&in&which&you&
me et&these&requirements .&&This&is&the&place&to&include&information&that&is¬& in&your&C V&or &to&
ree mphasize&special& qual ifications&already&in&your&CV.&&If&you&learned &specific&deta ils&about&the&position&
during&a&preliminary&discussion&at&ASHP&Midyear&(residency& showcase)&or&by&email&or&phon e&discuss ion,&
include &the&deta ils&of&what&drew&y ou&to&this&program&or&what&made&you&apply& spec ifically&for&this&
position&in&this¶graph.&&In&addition,&this&is&the&chance&to&specify&exactly&what&strengths&you& have&that&
would&make&this&the&opti mal&prog ram& for&y ou&(highlight&accompl ishments&both&in&your &CV&and&i n&
addition&to&what&is&in&your&CV).&
&
Thi rd¶graph.&&&Close&the&letter &with&an&indicatio n&of& your &willingness&to&come&on&for&an&interview&at&
the&interviewer’s&convenience.&&Offer&encouragement&in &terms&of &your&ability&t o&be&an&effective&addition&
to&the&c ompany/organiza tion&and&indicate&that&you&look&forward &to&h earing&from&them&in&t he&near&
future.& &
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Sin cerely,&
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Your&name&
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COVER& LETTER&–&GOOD&EXAMPLE&
IMA&PHARMACY&ST UDENT& & & & 250&Coulter&Rd,&Apt4&
& & & & & & & & Amarillo,&TX&&79106&
& & & & & & & & (214)&372 ‐5300&
& & & & & & & & Ima.student@ttuhsc.edu& &
& & & & & & & & ASHP&Match⻅&
21&December&2009&
&
Roger&Director,&Pharm.D.&
Department&of &Clinical&Ph armacy&
Room&C‐152,&B ox&0622&
University&Medical&Center &
Lubbock,&TX&&55002‐0622&
&
Dea r&Dr.&Director:&
&
I&am&applying&for&a&pharmacy&practice&residency&position&a t&University &Medical&Center&with&anticipation&that&it&will&
be&a&challenging&and&progressive&program&that&will&assist&me&in&achieving&my&immediate&and&long&term&career&
goals.&&My&short&term&goal&following& a&pharmacy&practice&residency&is&to&be come &a&specialized&oncology&clinician&
through&completion &of&an&oncology&specialty&re sidency.&&Following&specialty&training,&I&wish &to&pursue&a&two‐year&
fellowship&to&further&develop&my&clinical&r esearch&skills.&&My&ulti mate& professional&goal&is&to&become&a&future&
clinical&leader&in&my&specialty&field&of&interest&w ith&ac tive&involvement&in&health&care&research.&
&
My&primary&expectation&of&a&pharmacy&practice &residency&is&one&of&opportunity. &&It&is&my&desire&to&participate&in&a&
program&that&promotes&pharmacists& as&integral&members&of&the& health&care&team&and&that&provides&opportunities&
for&residents&to&go&a bove& and&beyond&traditional&pharmacy&training.&&In&pa rticular,&I&am&see king&a&program&that&
offers&an&inten se&year&of&rigorous&lea rning&experiences&and&practice&within& a&diverse&environment.&&In&s peaking&
with&your¤t&residents,&I&feel&that&they&are&active ly&involved&in&making&recommendations&to&the&medical&
teams.&&D uring&my&residency&experience&I&wish&to&build&upon&my&strengths&and&interes ts&while&als o&addressing&
areas&of&weakness.&&The&immediate&g oals&I&have&for&participating &in&a&pharmacy&practice&residency&are&to&develop&
my&skills&in&leadership,&pr oject& organization&and&presentation,&decision‐making,& teach ing,&and&research.&
&
Enclosed&is&my &curriculum&vitae&and& application&documents&which&provide&a&complete&overview&of&my&academic&
and &professional&experiences.&& My&academic&preparation&includ es&clinical&r otations&in&Adva nced&Hospital,&Organ&
Transplantation,&Geriatrics,&Am bulatory&Care,&Oncolo gy,&and&Pediatric s.&&By&the&end&of&the&academic&year,&I&will&
have&completed&rotations&in&the&areas&of&Cardiology,&Nephrolog y,&Drug&Information,&a nd&Internal&medicine.&&The&
primary&specialty&fields&that&int erest&me&at &this&t ime&are&Oncology&and&Infectious&Diseases.&&Since&your&progr am&
offers&PGY2&programs&in&both&Infectious&Diseases&and&Oncology,&I&fee l&this&strength&would&compl emen t&my&goals&
and &interests&n icely.&
&
As&requested,&I &have&arranged&to&have&reference&letters&and&transcripts&sent &direc tly&to&your&institution. &&I&have&
included&the&names&and&addresses&of&the&four&references&who&have&a greed&to&provide &you&with&letters&of&
recomme ndation.&&A fter&explori ng&the&avai lable&literature&on&your&program& and&my&dis cussions&with&the¤t&
residents&and&preceptors&at&the&ASHP&Midyear&Meeting,&I&am&certain&y our&institution&offers&an&excellent&learning&
opportunity&that&can&be&tailored&to&my&interests.&&I&look&forward&to&meeting&with &you&and&discussing&this&
opportunity&fu rther.&&If&you&have&any&questions,&please&do¬&hesitate&to&c all&me&at&(214)&372‐5300.&
&
Sincerely,&
&
&
Ima&P.&Student ,&Pharm.D.&Candidate&
COVER& LETTER&–&BAD&EXAMPL E&
&
March&2009 &
&
Amie&Taggart&Blaszczyk,&Pharm.D.,&CGP,&BCPS,&FASCP&
Ass istant&Professor&Pharmacy& Practice‐&Geriatrics&
Texas&Tech&University&Health&Sciences&Center&
School&of&Pharmacy‐ Dallas/Fort&Worth&
4500&S.&Lancaster&Rd &
Building&7‐R#119A&
Dallas,&TX&75216 214‐372‐5300&x&241&
am ie.bl aszczyk@ttuhsc.edu&
&
Dear&Dr.&Blaszczyk:&
&
I&am&applying&for&your&PGY‐2&geriatrics&residency&position&from&July&2 009&through&June&2010.&
[these&dates&are& not&necessary]&&I&became&interested&in&geriatrics&care &during&my&one‐year&long&geriatrics&
course&at&the&Un iversity&of&Hope&College&of&Pharmacy.&&My&sense&of&compassion&and&re spec t&for&the&
eld erly&patients.&[ENGLISH?&And&it&is&repeated&again&below]&I&sen sed&the&need&and&gain ed&insights&in to&
caring&for&the&elderly.&&My&favorite&rotations&during&as&a&student& were&my&rotations&in&psychiatry&and&
geriatrics&adult&medi cine.&&I&participated&in &a&number&of&activities,&including&cl inical&rounds,&bro wn&bag&
discussions, &and&pati ent&coun seling,&all&of&which&solidified&my&desire& to&work&with&elderly&patients&during&
my&career.&
Sin ce&st arting&my&PGY‐1&residency&at&U niversity&Medical&Center,&my&2& favorite&rotat ions&are&adult&
me dicine&and&family&practice.&&My &sense&of&compassion&and&respect&for&the&elderly &pati ents.&&&Behind&the&
sce nes&of&researching&drug&information&questions,&making&pharmacotherapy&recommendations ,&and&
conducting&therapeutic&serum&drug&monitoring&wer e&very&meaningful&and&significant&[again,&grammar&
problems].&&&I&am&still&on&the&j ourney&to&develop&my&skill&set&in&condu cting&research,&drug&utilization&
reviews ,&applying&ger iatrics&pharm acothera py,&c ritical&cri tiquing&medical&li terature,&medical&writing&and&
present ations.&&In&the&next&5&y ears,&I&plan&to&be&a&board&c ertified&pharmacotherapy& spec ialist&and&
certified&geriatric&pharmacist&practicing&in& acute&inpatie nt,&long‐term,&and&ambulatory& care&settings.&&&
&
After&reviewing&your& prog ram& and&speaking&with&you&(tal king&with&your¤t &residents&[of&
note—she&didn’t&have&any¤t&residents&at& the&time,&so&this&was&a&bad&use &of&a&tem plate]),&I&am&
convinced&that&your&practice&site&will&be&an&ideal&se tting&for&me&to&pu rsue&my&career&interes ts.&&At&the&
same&time,&I&am&confident&that&I&can&contribute&to&your&organization’s&performanc e&improv ement&goals.&&
This&tra ining&will&sha rpen&and&fine&tune&my&skill&set&[talks&about&tools&one&too&many×]& and&in&re turn&
ma ke&a& direct&impact&in&improving&the&quality&of&life&of&our&patients&[grammar&issues&and&they&are¬&
this&candidate’s& patients&yet].&&Together,&we&can&bring&a&fresh&and&enthusiastic&perspec tive&to&our&
org anization.&[again,&it&is& not&this&candidate’s&organization&yet—avoid&the&use &of&‘our’&i n&a&cover&letter&
referrin g&to&the&instit ution&being&a pplied&to]&
&
I’ve&attached&my&CV.&&I&look&forward&to &meeting&with&you&and&your&staff&about&securing&[securin g&
sounds&like&secu ring&the&tools &refe rred&to&throughout&thi s&letter—choose&a&word&like&‘obtaining’]&the&
geriatrics&residency&position.&
&
Sin cerely,&
&
Ima&G.&Student,&Phar m.D.&Candidate&
&
&
