Writing a cover letter

Use of the board

Compare and contrast the characteristics of formal and informal writing with your students and try to elicit examples of each point.

The professional

Students review the function and purpose of a resume cover letter before writing one for themselves.

For the first part of this activity, elicit the different parts of a resume, the kind of information contained in each and add it to the board. In the end, your board may look like the following:

• Personal profile
• education
• work experience
• skills, interests
• references

Next, discuss the type of information contained in each section. For adult classes, draw on the students' experiences and talk about the expectations and structure of a resume as it relates to their culture. For less experienced groups, discuss what they think each section contains.

Moving on from that, confirm that the students understand the purpose of a cover letter. Try to arrive at the following two objectives:

1. To secure a job interview.
2. To convince the employer to read your resume.

Tell your students that for their next activity, they will be writing a cover letter. Try to elicit as much as possible of the following structure and add it to the board for your students to copy.

Dear [Mr./Mrs./Ms. ___ ] or [Sir/Madam] when we don't know who we are addressing.

Introduction

• Who you are and what you are currently doing.
• Why you are writing.

Skills and motivation

• Why you are perfect for this job.
• Why you want it.

Closing

• Thank the reader. Call to action: Request an interview or follow-up phone call.

[Sincerely/regards]Signature/name

The perfect opportunity

Students will work in groups to create cover letters for some unusual positions.

Start by discussing the following genuine job titles and the required skills and experience needed for each. After that, assign each one to a group and have them write the perfect cover letter.

• Dog surfing instructor: People you pay to teach you and your dog to surf.
• Professional cuddlers: Can charge up to $80 an hour to snuggle with strangers.
• Dog food taster: Hired by pet food companies to test the quality of their products. They usually spit out the food once they taste it.
• Fortune cookie writer: Fortune cookie manufacturers usually hire freelancers or in-house writers to come up with inspiring or witty fortunes. These people typically make around $40k a year.

Suggested homework: Topical reading

Students have to summarise an article related to a peculiar occupation.

Students must find an article profiling someone who has an unusual job. They should write a summary of the article and prepare to answer questions on it during the next lesson.

Pictionary: Work and career

Players have to represent concepts related to the current theme on the board while their teammates guess.

Start by dividing the class into two teams. On each turn, give the student in play an abstract concept related to work and career. That student must then represent it on the board using only images. Their teammates earn a point when they guess it correctly.

To make it more competitive, split the board into three parts, set a stopwatch for two minutes and give the student with the marker three concepts to represent. The team with the best time wins.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Overpaid/underpaid
2. Part-time job
3. Maternity leave
4. Salary
5. Qualifications
6. Job interview