It’s normal for some applicants to think that a cover letter is not needed for a part-time job. While a cover letter may not be required for some part-time jobs, the truth is that a well-written cover letter could be the major attraction in your application for any job.
Frankly, a well-written cover letter can not only create a strong impression about you, but also give hiring managers the conviction that you’re determined to land the job you’re applying for. Except your prospective employer clearly indicates that you shouldn’t add it, a cover letter is an essential requirement for your job application, irrespective of whether the job is full-time or part-time.
In this cover letter writing guide, you’ll find out the clever tips for writing an excellent cover letter for a part-time job. Reading through the guide, you’ll also find a well-written template that explains what your cover letter for a part-time job should contain.
Clever Tips for Writing an Excellent Cover Letter for a Part-Time Job
For every form of cover letter you’re writing, there are specific tips with which you should arm yourself. While the general tips for cover letter writing may work for somebody writing a cover letter for a part-time job, you still need to be well aware of the tips that let you craft a mind-blowing part-time cover letter.
If you’re able to bear these tips in mind for your part-time cover letter, odds are that the hiring manager for the part-time job would develop interest in you.
Finally, here are the clever tips for writing an excellent cover letter for a part-time job:
Relate Your Cover Letter to the Part-Time Job Title
A well-written cover letter (for a part-time position) should relate to the position in one way or the other. It’s pretty simple to relate your cover letter to the part-time job for which you’re writing the letter. Simply identify the keywords in the part-time job ad, and then incorporate those keywords into your cover letter.
Frankly, relating your part-time cover letter to the part-time job gives you an advantage over loads of other persons applying for the job. It, on the one hand, gives recruiters the impression that you have a clear idea of what you’re applying for, and on the other hand, it could convince recruiters that you’re worth being selected for the job interview.
If you’re applying for a part-time accounting position, for instance, you should ensure a part of your cover letter relates the letter to the position. You can do this by incorporating some keywords (found in the part-time job ad) into your letter. In the case of an accounting position, these keywords should essentially describe the part-time accounting position.
Mention Your Referral (If There’s Any)
This might actually count as one of the reasons why the recruiters for a part-time job would want to shortlist you for an interview. If you hope to use a referral to draw the attention of recruiters to your cover letter, endeavor to include the name of your referral in the first paragraph of the letter.
Research has shown that recruiters often favor the cover letters of applicants who seem to have been referred by company executives, staff, etc. If your referral for a part-time job seems to be a top employee or executive in the company you’re applying to, you could leverage such a referral for winning over the interest of the company’s recruiters. This is why you should include the name of your referral in the cover letter.
There’s a high likelihood that recruiters will want to prioritize your cover letter if it contains the name of a referral who happens to be a top employee or executive in the recruiters’ company.
Include Your Relevant Accomplishments
There’s no denying that recruiters want to know some of the excellent things you have done or attained. As a part-time job seeker, you could be an individual with an amazing work profile or a college graduate with a remarkable academic record. You may also showcase skills which are readily what you need to excel in the part-time position sought.
It’s very important to include your accomplishments in your cover letter. But when doing this, you must be careful not to include all the accomplishments. You should instead zoom in on the accomplishments that are relevant for the part-time job.
Where you seem not to possess any prior work experience, you should mention whatever relevant skills you possess with respect to the part-time job. Such skills could include social media management, digital marketing, Microsoft Office skills, and so on. A young school graduate without any previous work experience should leverage their academic achievements, especially if these achievements seem relevant for the part-time job sought.
Keep Your Writing Professional
Whether it’s for a part-time position or the full-time position, your cover letter should feel professional in terms of style, tone, and wording. It’s very important to keep your cover letter professional, irrespective of what position you seek to achieve with the letter.
When writing a cover letter for a part-time job, you should spell out what you’re up to (i.e. your ability or accomplishments) and probably why you believe you’re a great fit for the job. But you shouldn’t take advantage of this to narrate stories of how you attained certain accomplishments.
A cover letter is considered professional if it presents all the relevant details in a formal style. If you start telling irrelevant stories about yourself or your accomplishments, you might end up with a lengthy cover letter that most, if not all, recruiters will consider cumbersome.
Though a cover letter is expected to spell out the ability of an applicant in one way or the other, the letter shouldn’t present such ability (or accomplishments) through irrelevant stories. Recruiters sometimes have to review the cover letters of many applicants, so they barely have time to read through irrelevant elements.
If your cover letter feels professional all through, chances are that recruiters will want to read it from the top to the bottom. While verifying the professional feel of your cover letter, it’s advisable that you not only assess the letter by yourself but also get somebody to do that for you.
Format and Present Your Part-Time Cover Letter Appropriately
There’s an appropriate way to format a cover letter. If you’re oblivious of this, endeavor to check the format of various professional cover letters. In terms of font, margins, spacing, etc., your cover letter should look professional. The font should be legible and the amount of spacing employed should allow for readability.
Whether it’s to be printed out or sent online as a document, your cover letter for a part-time job shouldn’t appear unnecessarily long. Some experts recommend a maximum of one page for the cover letter.
Part-Time Cover Letter Template
Based on our research, here is a template you’ll find effective for writing a cover letter for a part-time job:
NAME (In full)
Residential address
Phone number
Email address
Social media profile link
Name of hiring manager
Name of hiring company
Phone no. of hiring company
Email address of hiring company
Dear (Mr./Mrs./Ms.) (Surname of hiring manager)
Intro: Your intro (or introduction) is your opening paragraph. And because this is likely the most important part of your part-time cover letter, you should devote a lot of attention to it. It is in this paragraph that you’ll introduce yourself. While this opening paragraph must be clearly written, it should introduce you as well as reveal your years of experience (if any) with respect to the part-time position you’re seeking. If you’ve spent five years working in a relevant position, you may state this while revealing your years of experience. After that, proceed to revealing how you came across the part-time job ad. You should be able to state whether you found it online or somebody referred you to the job. Do well to mention the name of your referral especially if they are a top executive or employee in the company you’re applying to for the job. Briefly state why you’re applying for the part-time job, along with a precise description of the job.
Body: The body of your cover letter is almost as important as the intro of the letter. It is in the body of the letter that you’ll list out your (relevant) accomplishments, present your (relevant) skills or mention your ability in a way that should convince the hiring manager(s) that you’re the right fit for the part-time job. Endeavor to relate your accomplishments, ability, skills or work experience to the part-time job description. As a college graduate who’s yet to acquire any work experience, ensure you include relevant achievements such as your Grade Point Average (GPA), and engagements such as volunteer activities and internships. If you have prior work experience in a relevant position, ensure you mention it and relate how such experience would make you excel in the part-time position you’re seeking. The body of your cover letter should also relate the letter to the part-time job. To do this, you’ll have to find out the keywords in the part-time job ad as well as equip yourself with background knowledge of what the company does. You’ll then incorporate such keywords in the body of your cover letter, and briefly state how you can contribute to the growth of the company with respect to what the company does.
Closing: The closing –or concluding paragraph –of your part-time cover letter is where you should re-affirm that you’re interested in the part-time job. You can weave this re-affirmation of interest into a sort of call to action by stating, for example, that “I hope that after reviewing my resume (or this cover letter), you now consider me the right candidate for the position of a software engineer in your organization. While I’m deeply interested in working with your organization, I’d be glad to receive your call for an interview. Please reach me on phone (your phone number) or by email (your email address).” As seen in the latter example, it’s good to re-affirm your interest as well as add a sort of call to action to the closing of your part-time cover letter.
Sincerely,
(Your full name)
FAQs
Why Should I Write a Cover Letter for a Part-Time Job?
According to findings, inclusion of cover letters in resumes does have the power of attracting recruiters to the resumes. Research shows that more than 50% of hiring managers will likely pick resumes with cover letters above the ones without cover letters.
Except you were told (by your prospective employer) not to add a cover letter to your resume, nothing should stop you from writing a cover letter for both part-time and full-time jobs. While a cover letter introduces you to a prospective employer in a professional manner, such a letter, if well-written, could be the major attraction in your job application.
Why Should I Include a Referral in My Cover Letter?
You might think it’s not necessary to include a referral in your cover letter, even when it’s clear that you were referred by somebody working in the company you’re applying to. But the truth is that such a referral might be the actual reason why the recruiters for a part-time job want to shortlist you for an interview.
Research has shown that recruiters often favor the cover letters of applicants who seem to have been referred by company executives, staff, etc. If your referral for a part-time job seems to be a top employee or executive in the company you’re applying to, you could leverage such a referral for winning over the interest of the company’s recruiters. This is why you should include the name of your referral in the cover letter. And if you hope to use a referral to draw the attention of recruiters to your cover letter, endeavor to include the name of your referral in the first paragraph of the letter.
There’s a high likelihood that recruiters will want to prioritize your cover letter if it contains the name of a referral who happens to be a top employee or executive in the recruiters’ company.
What Are the Important Things to Note While Writing a Cover Letter for a Part-Time Job?
When writing a cover letter for a part-time position, you need to bear several important things in mind. Earlier in this cover letter writing guide, we spelt out these important things as the clever tips for writing an excellent cover letter for a part-time job. These tips are as follows:
- Relate your cover letter to the part-time job title
- Mention your referral (if there’s any)
- Include your relevant accomplishments
- Keep your writing professional
- Format and present your cover letter appropriately
Conclusion
There’s no denying that a cover letter is one of the job application requirements that project seriousness about a job seeker. Whether it’s a full-time or part-time job you’re applying for, endeavor to attach a well-written cover letter to your application. The only instance where we think there’s no need for a cover letter is if your prospective employer clearly indicates that you shouldn’t include it in your part-time (or full-time) job application.
Reference:
https://resumegenius.com/blog/cover-letter-help/cover-letter-for-part-time-job