Opinions on internship cover letter

Hi all,
I am writing a cover letter to apply for an internship at a big design agency in northern europe and I thought it would be great if people with more experience than me would give a feedback on it. At the same time (as everybody I guess), my goal is to have a standard cover letter that I can adjust without spending too much time in order to fit the studio/agency I’m applying for. Therefore every comment on structure, content, grammar etc. is more than welcome.

p.s.: I already know that it is better to write to a specific person and not to use Dear Sir/Madame, but, as a big agency, there’s no real contact person indicated and the application is to be made through their website.

Hey Posa

Gave your cover letter a quick look, I think it’s ok, probably a little on a long side. I don’t think there any glaring issues or it’s worth word smithing it to death. Is the place you’re applying to only looking for cover letter or are you sending portfolio along with it?

Unless it’s a unique situation I wouldn’t stress cover letters too much, as long as it’s professional, well written and spell checked I’d put more effort into really dialing up your portfolio.

I think your content is good. The next step would be to attempt to edit it down to be about half as long. Make every word count for something.

When I hire I usually get everything in a big pile, quickly flip through the portfolios and sort them into a No pile and a Maybe pile. Then I flip through the maybe pile and sort out the top 10. Then I actually look at resume’s and cover letters of those 10 and get it down to 5 for HR to call to see if they are sane people. That usually cuts it down to 3 for me to meet with.

For interns this process is usually a bit more truncated, as it is a lower risk situation. I usually will flip through portfolios, get it down to about 5, check the resumes and cover letters, pick a couple to Skype with and make a decision.

I’ve only ever once hired someone who was not a student as an intern, and only because that was the only way I could get him in the door, knowing I would figure out a way to convert him to full time during the intern period.

My only .02 is to lead with what you are going to do for the company.

wiifm - What’s in it for me. You have two paragraphs of your wiifms before you get to the company wiifm.

You don’t need to tell me (the company) what I can provide to you. I know that. What I don’t know is what you can provide me. Tell me that first.





Do that a couple of times and you can go fly fishing. :wink:

Sorry. I’m a fan of A River Runs Through It.

Thanks a lot everyone for the advices. Trying to make it shorter will be a hard task I guess! Is there any specific part of the letter that you believe is less “important” and might be cut?

@choto: The place I’m appling for is obviously also requiring a portfolio. I had the same feeling about cover letters in the design world, i.e. that they are important but not as much as portfolios.

Btw, do you think the same cover letter, with a few changes and a more tailored part on the employer, would be valid for a junior designer position as well?

Could this work out for example?