We
will have two speakers speak on two different strategies related to writing a
great cover letter:
The Situation, Task, Activity, and Results (STAR) method takes a curriculum
vitae (CV) that lists relevant bullets and makes it into a narrative giving the
big picture of a candidate’s competencies. This method of CV and interview
preparation is an effective way to tell your story and demonstrate your impact.
Presenter Manda Sexton will showcase the STAR method with a librarian-focused
mindset. We will work on our verbs to describe the situation, and we will
organize our CV bullets to tell the candidate's story.
Search committees spend hours digging through cover letters and CVs to see if
experience matches qualifications because applicants have long been told that
the cover letter should be a narrative document that explains their
qualifications. This makes the power imbalance that already exists between a
search committee and a candidate even greater because of the perceived effort
of the committee to do the investigative "work" of determining how
qualified a candidate might be. Presenter Kristina Clement has developed a
technique that helps give back some power to the applicant while also
alleviating committee stress - the qualifications chart. Kristina will detail
the purpose and benefits of providing a qualifications chart with your cover
letter to make your application stand out.
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to write an excellent cover letter.
