Here is a quick list of the top 5 internship cover letter mistakes! Watch out!

Too long

No one wants to read long internship cover letters. The thought process should be – what concrete information can I offer in this internship cover letter? It is about stripping away all the fluff and leaving the core. Across the board, companies are receiving thousands of internship cover letters and internship resumes per internship. Yes, thousands. Short matters and more importantly, well addressed cover letters keeps the reader wanting more.

Me, me, me

It’s not about you. The internship is about building the employer’s business. Companies really don’t care that you were the homecoming king in high school. But, if it is a client facing role, companies do care that you are likable. What I mean by this is instead of telling what you have done, tell about what you will do and why what you have done matters.

Generic

If you are sending out generic internship cover letters, you are dead in the water. I don’t know a single person that got an internship after sending out a generic internship cover letter. This is like going hunting with a Nerf bow and arrow. Dumb.

So what?

You are “first team all conference baseball player “in college. You led a geology group down to South America to study rock formations. You started a finance club that grew to over 25 members. Don’t ever list things for the sake of listing things. Who cares? Instead, take it a step further and a company just might care.

Think about this: how will my experiences help the company increase revenue. What if you said it this way? I know what’s it like to sacrifice for the team and can make 120 sales calls a day because I’ve put in 15 hour days on the baseball field when I led out team to the conference title. I can decrease international client turnover because I know the value of speaking Spanish and connecting with locals from my geology trip to South America. I can use social media to increase online sales because I know what it’s like to grow something from nothing when I started a finance club my freshman year in college.

I’m Looking For Experience

“Hi my name is Charlie. I am a business major and I would love to gain real world experience in marketing.” This makes me want to vomit. Losers whine about getting experience, winners step into companies and help change the way they do business. I don’t run a classroom, I run a business. If you are looking to stand around and watch, get the heck out! I’ll take the person ready to do real stuff.