Since the job search has officially started, I’ve hit my first uh-oh, that being the cover letter. In grad school they had us write one for a sample portfolio, but in all honesty – mine sucked. And now, applying for subbing, I’m kicking myself for not writing something that I can actually use. On the bright side, I have something very practical to write about today!
Looking on the web – there’s not much that’s actually good, but I did find one site from Boston College that gave really great advice for writing a teacher cover letter. To paraphrase from the site and my scattered notes from seminar, cover letters are a great way to differentiate yourself from the crowd, and provide information about yourself that may not fit in a resume.Not only are you presenting yourself in a cover letter, but you’re showing that you can help work towards that specific districts goals. Where I’m applying, there’s a large emphasis placed on technology and helping every child. (aka they love differentiation) So in my cover letter, it’s important for me to show how my experiences can lend to those causes.
Within that context comes bragging time. I had a hard time doing this in my bad one, but here comes the part where you get to write three paragraphs about how great you are. My brother doesn’t believe this is hard for me, but it is so awkward writing this and not feeling a little pompous in my opinion. But it has to be done – and this is supposedly the part that can set you apart. The only thing I’m curious about, is who do you write this to when submitting it to the county? The county I’m applying to is HUGE, and you submit a cover letter to them – not just the individual schools you apply to. In grad school we wrote them to individual principals, so now I’m at a little bit of a loss…I guess the superintendent is the best choice for now? But anywho, hope this helps anyone whose in the same boat as I am! Definitely check out the BC link though, they provide a lot of great examples!