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In this post, you learned how to highlight your recent internship experience in a resume. But what about the cover letter? Here are some tips for making your internship stand out.

Cover letters explain why you are qualified for a job. They don’t repeat the resume but expand on it. As a recent graduate, your internships may be the only experience you have related to the work you’re interested in pursuing.

The two most important things about internships are what you did and what you learned.  As an intern at ABC company, my responsibilities included XYZ.

That part is pretty straightforward. Determining the skills you gained from the internship may take a little more thought. It’s definitely worth it as it shows how you can use those qualities at a future job.

For example, if you had an accounting internship, you could say it taught you attention to details.

If you had an engineering internship, you could say it taught you to solve problems.

If you had a journalism internship, you could say you learned to meet deadlines.

For an internship in the psychology or social services fields, you could say you learned to interact with different types of people.

Even if you are trying to break into a new field, you can highlight transferable skills from your internship. In the examples above–detail-orientation, problem solving, time-management, and cooperation–are qualities that many employers look for in new hires.

Your internship provided you with the skills you need to land your first job. The cover letter is the tool to tell hiring managers about those skills. Put in the effort to make your cover letter stand out. When you get that first job offer, you’ll be happy you did.

Here is an example of a cover letter for an entry-level job.

123 Market Street
Any town, US 1111

March 11, 2010

Ellen Editor
Large Publishing Company
123 Main Street
Big City, US 00000

Dear Ms. Editor,

I’m writing to express my interest in the Editorial Assistant job at Large Publishing Company.

I recently graduated with an English degree from Large University.  I served as an editor on the weekly school newspaper and tutored at-risk children from a local elementary school. Last summer, I interned at Any town newspaper.  There I assisted editors with research, wrote headlines and photo captions, and helped to manage social media. These tasks taught me to think critically, juggle multiple projects and deadlines, and work well on teams.  My past experiences make me a strong candidate for the Editorial Assistant job.

I have enclosed my resume and I would appreciate the chance to meet with you to discuss my qualifications. I will call you next week to verify you received this information. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Julie Job Applicant

Your internship provided you with the skills you need to land your first job. The cover letter is the tool to tell hiring managers about those skills. Put in the effort to make your cover letter stand out. When you get that first job offer, you’ll be happy you did.

By Danielle Bullen. Danielle is a writer and a resident of the Philadelphia area. Danielle can be reached at Daniellebullen@comcast.net.