Internships have been the rising trend in this decade, and it is a boon for the fresh graduates to get a glimpse of what they can be doing on a daily basis to earn a living. It gives you the freedom of choice to switch, should you not like the duties of the current position you are working for. This has also opened the door for the companies to gauge the capabilities of the intern and whether he/she is competent enough for the post.
It takes a lot of effort to build a reputation, but little to no effort to get it ruined. So, it is great career advice that if you give your best as an intern and flaunt your skills, nobody can stop you.
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. – Benjamin Franklin
That being said, you must also know how to land yourself at a place that is beneficial for your career growth. You will get a comprehensive grip on your dos and don’ts when you are searching high and low to know how to write a cover letter for internship.
A cover letter is a brief description of the skills you are good at and inputs a positive impact on business operations. It must be a convincing effort with examples of your accomplishments. The more you can show off your skills without bragging, the better off you are in increasing your chances to bag the spot.
All reliable FAANG interview preparation courses should cover this crucial aspect that can make or break your career.
Essentials to remember when you need to write an application letter of internship
Writing a cover letter is indeed a matter of skill and wordplay. The more spotlights you can manage to put on your achievements, academic brilliance, or maybe an extracurricular where you can outshine more than a few. It should be specific about your qualifications and your stream of graduation, and your specialization, if any. Deliver maximum information in minimum space.
How to write a cover letter for an internship
If you are worried about not knowing how to make a cover letter for internship, you are going to learn in the next couple of minutes. And if you already do, well, practice makes a man perfect!
Use business letter format: It is an official document, and the company is expecting you to put the requisite efforts which it expects from its employees. Using the formal format is your primary step in constructing a convincing cover letter.
First and foremost, introduce yourself: Introducing yourself is an absolute necessity. You must include the tailored skills for the particular internship role. Alter this with every company you apply to, depending on the required qualifications.
Tell the position you’re applying for: Clarify the position you are applying for clearly in your cover letter and back it up with the reasons why you thought this is a good choice to kick-start your professional journey. Leave no stone unturned to make sure you are the right fit for the position.
Express Your Intentions: Do not hold back in expressing your future intentions and how you expect this internship to help you in your career growth. Your cover letter should shed light on what you expect of yourself while being an employee of the company.
Add background detail: Including your background details is essential to add traction to your conviction. It should encircle your educational and qualification details. There must be clarity in your description of what you have been planning to achieve throughout your learning phase.
Show your Research: Do not shy away from providing evidence of your hard-earned achievements and tagging it along with the cover letter. Highlighting what you have done surely adds weightage to your application. Keep this in mind.
Tell your Goal: While you are at it, also include what your future goals are and what you intend to achieve during and post-internship. Giving a concise account of what you have done till now to achieve the goals is another pro-tip for how to make a cover letter for internship.
Add Experience Detail: Adding your previous experiences as an intern or a part-timer can also do the trick for you. Sometimes, employers look for in-office experience, and informing them of your past stints can just get you the letter of appointment.
Use relevant keywords: Using the right keywords is essential to write a good cover letterfor internship. Right words at the right places add a better creed to your cover letter and give you an edge over others. At the end of the day, isn’t it what you are striving for?
You can also hone your interview delivery skills with technical interview preparation tips. You will also get career advice in addition, which will help you to gain clarity on what you want to do.
Put relevant coursework: Include relevant coursework that you have completed in the interim or during your other internships to convince the employer about your proven knowledge in specific sectors.
Add relevant skills: Are you going to hire someone as an intern if you are not even sure of what his/her skills are? No, right? So, keep it in mind to flaunt your skills and highlight them in your cover letter. If you are not going to say what you are good at, who else will?
Tell them why you are an excellent fit: Leave no stone unturned to convince them that you are an excellent fit for the post. The more persuasive you are, the more are your chances to be the difference. Letting your employer know why you are ideal for the job also emits an air of responsibility and confidence to take care of the job. Do not miss out!
You can give yourself better chances when you take some mock interviews online. Interview preparation webinars also do the trick efficiently.
Add extracurricular experiences: Employers are not looking for someone who has little to no knowledge in various aspects of work. And how do you think you can convey what you are good at, apart from you’re your work? List your extracurricular achievements and shoot your chances of glory through the roof!
Always have a closing statement: Like the cherry on a cake, a closing statement is essential to end your impressive cover letter with a better impact. The closing statement can be about what you want to achieve in the company or professional missions and what path would suit the best to achieve the same.
Review your cover letter before sending: Proofreading your cover letter is a process that you need to instill to convert your odds. Employers look for minute details, which play a deciding factor ultimately in the hiring process. Keep it clean, concise, and a cohesive account of your qualification, experience, and skills. Do not overload.
Be willing to be a beginner every single morning. –Meister Eckhart
Writing the best cover letter
To make a cover letter appealing, formatting a cover letter must include showcasing your previous experiences and academic background to achieve the highest saleable value for you to the company. Unless you can convince the recruiter or employer with the cards you bring to the table, no matter the number of punches you pull, it is not going to have any impact.
Thus, a systematic and well-versed cover letter can be achieved by including specific details in the cover letter to enhance the face value of your skills. If you are in search of techniques or tips on how to start a cover letter for an internship and how to continue with it, here is a detailed list of the pointers you need to address in your next cover letter:
Contacting you: Adding your address along with postal code is the initial step while constructing your cover letter. This is to give the company an address to write back to, and the courier to have an address to take it back to, in the case returned. Remember to add the date as well above the address to convey the validity of the information.
Contacting the company: Now, you need to pen the whereabouts of the company to make it visible through the envelope window, and further hassle can be avoided once the envelope is sealed. Being particular while writing the address is a must. Otherwise, it will reach hands that were not exactly the destination you were looking for.
Addressing the boss: Do not step away from referring to the manager by his/her name. It adds a touch of friendly persona and emits an endearing quality which many employers look to have in their employees.
Do not make it a blog: It is important to make a clear distinction in the information provided. This helps you to cover comprehensively all the pointers which you want to take care of. But remember to not drag it too long. An employer will not have the time to go through a 1000 words cover letter, even if it is breathtakingly informative.
Paragraph #1: This is where you get to make maximum impact: It is your priority to grab the reader’s attention within the first few sentences. An achievement fits the bill ideally but including any specific work which you have handled out of your comfort zone also does the trick. Bottom-line, your experience must instigate the employer to know more about you.
Paragraph #2: Put the spotlight on you: Nothing works better than pointing out specifically why and how you are a great fit for the company. Adding your skills and experience is the preliminary step. Point out the coursework which you have completed and your possible input as a member of the team.
Paragraph #3: What makes this company an able fit for you: Would you prefer to hire someone who has no interest in the work your company does? Or, an employee who does not find your company a stepping stone for learning? Remember to make it a compelling account of your interest in working for the company and your passion which you want to achieve with the organization. Do not forget mentioning what makes the company highly sought-after to kick start your career. You need to make the play when the ball is in your court.
Paragraph #4: What next: What is the point of such a meticulous effort? Why indeed did you list your achievements and skills and send it to a company? That is exactly what you will clarify in this section, along with an option to call back for any further details.
Salutation: It is a professional document that a manager or employer is about to read. It is a courtesy call to send your regards in such a situation to convey just the right amount of respect.
Postscript (optional) — what more have you achieved: If you have made any notable accomplishment during your coursework or previous job, it will add enhanced weightage to your cover letter. This section is just to remind the employer that you are more than capable of being fit for the role and be a contributing factor to this company.
Customizing depending on the role: Would it be a very good idea to wear the same outfit every day for any kind of occasion? Similarly, sending the same cover letter to every organization would not do you any good. Cover letters should be job role-specific and company-specific, tailored to meet the needs of an individual company.
Integrate keywords from the internship description throughout: not using the correct keywords shoots down the chances of your cover letter gaining any traction where it matters. Integrating keywords as per the internship description is an absolute necessity.
Scale your skills: It is no secret that services cannot be quantified. However, you can numerically rate your skills to portray a clear picture of your expertise on the subject.
Things to keep in mind when you need to write an Internship cover letter
Use Business Letter Format: Using a business letter format is an absolute must. It is a formal application, and standard protocol is mandatory. Not only that, but a business letter format helps to deliver structured content and gives a compact outlook.
Length: You must remember that the employer does not have all day to read your cover letter. Therefore, you must keep the length of your cover letter application moderate, neither too long nor too curt, just the right length to win over your place at the organization.
Margins: Uniform margins on 4 edges of the application pages are elementary requisites to construct a formal cover letter. It gives an organized view of the information documented. Messing up your opportunity due to lack of margins is not something you would want to associate yourself with.
Font: Using a formal font like Arial, Cambria, Calibri, Times New Roman, or Verdana works well for formal communication or documents. Deviating to other fonts is not the brightest idea as many companies will lose interest immediately.
Font size: Maintaining a font size of 12 is appropriate for your cover letter and is widely accepted. This is to ensure uniformity in the text of the document and not haphazardly formatted text with irregular font size, which makes the document look tardy and unorganized.
Color: Black is the go-to color while you are typing your cover letter for internship. Blue is also accepted depending on the context. Do not try to experiment with your cover letter. Make it formal. Make it meticulously. Make it better than the rest.
Alignment: Text alignment should always be ‘Justify’ to maintain parity in the document. Any other alignment creates a cluttered effect on the face value of the letter. It is all about showcasing your talent and skills and why you are a good fit, and it all goes in vain with an unformatted content alignment.
Edit: Keep in mind to proofread your cover letter as many times as you can to give it the power of Midas touch. At the end of the day, it is all about delivering an eye-catching cover letter that can persuade the employer about your dedication and sincerity. A flawless cover letter is your first chance to make an impression. Make it count.
How to write a cover letter for engineering internship
The first step to landing an important role in a company is having a compelling cover letter to back your resume. The letter should be a precise, compact, and error-free account of your accomplishments in regards to the requirements of the position you want to fill in as an intern. Your achievements must relate to the specific job role and must establish that you are a perfect fit for the designated work.
Conclude by expressing your sincere gratefulness for sparing the time to consider your application and how important a stepping stone this opportunity is to enter the fray.
In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different. –Coco Chanel
How to write a cover letter for the FAANG Company Internship?
The driving force, which makes you strive for excellence is what makes the deciding factor in cracking the top job at FAANG companies. While your skills and expertise play a big part, but in order to bring them in the game, you must first pen an impressive cover letter that highlights your accomplishments and gives a clear description of the qualities you bring to the table which can benefit the company. Ensure naming your file such that it is easily distinguishable among the plethora of documents hovering in the company cloud data. For instance, naming the document like “Cover-Letter-Abidal-Sarah-2020” is an efficacious path.
If you have any doubts regarding how to write a letter for internship request, scroll below to have a look:
Cover Letter Samples:
Example 1:
Your name
Your full address
Your city, State zip code
Your phone number
Your email
Date
Manager’s name
Designation
Company name
Full address
City, State zip code
Dear Sir/Ma’am (name of the person),
I am writing for the summer internship program for the Android Developer position at your company. With my prolonged knowledge acquiring perseverance, and exposure to multiple projects, I sincerely believe I am an apt fit for the role.
I have spent 4 years for my undergrads at XYZ University, during the course of which I have learned Android Architecture, OpenGL, and working with XML/JSON. It has made me adept in the android app building process and can also further add value to your application wire-framing team.
I have been involved with a start-up which is working to develop an application (name the app) which can help you track a lost mobile phone with just its IMEI. The initiative has seen immense success and is today used by local and global authorities to locate mobile phones of criminals or other offenders of the law.
My one year stint with the company has not only been instrumental in understanding the various stages of app development but also to handle multiple responsibilities simultaneously while adhering to the job requisites along with leadership. I have developed an in-depth knowledge of the market trend of applications and can add value to the developing team.
Your organization is an ideal opportunity to hone my skills and become a vital cog in your team and achieve new heights.
I’m looking forward to your response.
Sincerely
Your name
Example 2:
Your name
Your full address
Your city, State zip code
Your phone number
Your email
Date
Manager’s name
Designation
Company name
Full address
City, State zip code
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
I am writing this letter in lieu of an internship opportunity in your organization as a cyber-security intern. The position is ideal for me to not only get necessary exposure but also so much more. Working with professionals in my field will give me the opportunity to grow as a cyber-security expert.
I have completed my computer science engineering from ABC College with a GPA of 3.7/4.0 and my post-graduation on cyber security from XYZ University with 3.1/4.0 GPA, which bears testament to my keen interest and proficiency in my work.
Your company has been providing cyber security services with dedication and sincerity for nearly a decade now, and as a buddying cyber-security specialist, the authenticity of your efforts has always been a motivational factor to me, to keep improving myself.
In the past, I have worked for an android application developing start-up and worked as a cyber-security expert and in fact, caught the glitch which was causing major data leak from one of the servers. It did raise quite a few eyebrows a couple of months back.
I want to take this opportunity to let you know that my experience and knack of attaining perfection can sometimes be a lengthy affair, but I am more than capable of delivering work on time without fail. This stint will be essential for my future endeavors with all the professionals around me to learn from, will be an immense boost for my personal growth, in regards to professional skills.
It will be amazing if we can schedule a meet to discuss what my role can be and what the scopes are.
Sincerely
Your name
Example 3:
Your name
Your full address
Your city, State zip code
Your phone number
Your email
Date
Manager’s name
Designation
Company name
Full address
City, State zip code
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
I am interested in applying for the post of backend engineering intern in your organization. This is apt for someone who has specialized in computer science and server optimization.
I have completed my undergrads from MNO College, and further specialized in frontend development. My past experience in an MNC as an intern has given me the tools to deal with deadlines and strict adherence to client requirements is my top priority.
Moreover, at my previous company, I have contributed immensely in Mr. Jon Snow’s famous initiative of ‘digitalizing home’, and it is he who referred me to your organization because of your wonderful team which is a boost in skill development.
I hope you will consider my application and would let me be an impetus of your business growth with my innovative and out-of-box thinking and would be an able helping hand to your team.
Your company has all the necessary scope to help develop a buddying frontend engineer, and I want to be a contributor in the ventures of the company. With my keen observational skills and quick problem-solving and decision-making ability, I am confident of bringing a positive impact on team performance.
I hope to hear from you soon so that we can set up a meeting and discuss how I can contribute to your esteemed organization.
Sincerely
Your name
TRIVIA
5 pro-tips to sharpen those grammar cells
a) Read more.
b) Listen to others intently.
c) Proofread aloud.
d) Writing in leisure is a great remedy.
e) Practice “Word of the Day.”
Example 4:
It is a common query among the fresher engineers as, to how to write a cover letter for an internship with no experience. It is addressed below:
Your name
Your full address
Your city, State zip code
Your phone number
Your email
Date
Manager’s name
Designation
Company name
Full address
City, State zip code
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
I am interested in applying for the Data Science internship program in your company as I am looking for exposure in the field to diversify my professional skills and experience.
I have completed my undergrads with computer science as my major and then did a coursework on Machine Learning for enhanced traction. My educational qualification meets the criteria posted for the post, and on top of that, I believe my skills can add value to your company.
Although I do not have previous internship experience, I have worked with my friend to help develop an application for senior citizen help, which has only been growing since.
I sincerely hope you would consider the position for me with my tenacity and yearning to deliver the best possible solution in the lowest possible time. And I figured, I could showcase my skills no better anywhere but your company.
I would be obliged if you can set up a meeting where we can discuss the inputs that I can provide to the team and help you make an informed decision.
Sincerely
Your name
How not to write a cover letter for internship
In case you are wondering how not to write a cover letter for internship, here is an instance of a weak effort at framing a cover letter for internship:
Date
Manager’s name
Designation
Company name
Full address
City, State zip code
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
I want to apply for the position of a systems development intern in your organization as my qualifications are a perfect fit for the role. I have extensive experience in developing and pushing applications in backend systems in my past internship.
With my proficient skills, I can positively contribute to the business operations and can imbibe valuable traits from my peers to enhance my own skillset. I believe this opportunity can be of immense potential for my career growth and no place better to start off than your company.
I am hoping I have been able to rouse your interest and consider me as an able person for the role. I am looking forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely
Your name
How should I send a cover letter?
Attach your cover letter to the email: You can wonder how to write a letter of interest for an internship when an employer asks you to attach it to the mail is your right course of action. Ensuring your name is part of the document name of the letter is an absolute must.
Paste your cover letter in the body of the email: It may so happen that the employer asks to send the cover letter in the body of the mail. In that case, copy and paste the cover letter in the mail body and the name of the person you are addressing in the cover letter.
Email Cover Letter Example:
Subject: Applying for Front-end Engineering Intern position – Tanya Shanks
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
I am applying for the position of a frontend engineer in your company. I am graduating from ABC University, specializing in software and development. I believe the coursework is immensely beneficial for me to be competent for the role. Your company’s active interest in elevating society and lifestyle is what has inspired me to work for you.
Further, I worked as a front-end engineer at a local start-up which is working on cloud-based application development. It has given me vital exposure to the ins and outs of the industry. Moreover, my team and I developed an AI-based digital marketing app which is widely popular in many parts of the USA, Canada, et cetera. I played an integral role and in the frontend development, which has equipped me with the requisites to be a valuable addition to your company.
Currently, I am in the final semester of my course with an over 3.8/4.0 GPA, which meets the required criteria for the advertised position. I am skilled at SQL, Android Software Development Kit and XML as well.
I believe I would make an excellent addition to your front-end team, and I can get valuable exposure which will help me in my quest of success as well.
I have attached my resume along with this email. I am hoping to hear back from you.
Sincerely,
Your name
An internship allows you to hone your skills and get ready for the final showdown at work. So, knowing how to write a cover letter is an absolute must in this smart era. It is all about knowing the intricacies of your industry to make a difference in the organization you are working for.
It is a world where everybody is striving to reach the top spot.
The question is, can you go the extra mile to be that difference?
Author
Vartika Rai
Product Manager at Interview Kickstart | Ex-Microsoft | IIIT Hyderabad | ML/Data Science Enthusiast. Working with industry experts to help working professionals successfully prepare and ace interviews at FAANG+ and top tech companies
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