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NWR: Cover Letter Length

lilacck28lilacck28 member
First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
edited February 2015 in Chit Chat
There was a recent conversation about resume length... and I'm writing cover letters right now, and wanted to know what you all thought! Are there (almost) absolutes for cover letters in the same way there are for resumes? 

Usually my cover letters are less than one page, single spaced.... but I am applying to be a middle school art teacher for a private school, and right now my cover letter is a dense almost two pages single spaced, 11 point font, .75 left and right margins (though the first third of the first page is taken up with the addresses). I know with college teaching positions, and even high school level at private schools, it is important to mention your own work as an artist, and how that relates to teaching for you. But I can't really get a sense if that is important for this position. That could be a paragraph I cut out. I also mention things like committees I was on and clubs that I was the head of to show that I am interested in being an active faculty member of the school (like "see?! I can teach debate! I can help with the literary magazine! I'm USED to and LOVE (educational policy or something else) committees that most people think are boring!"). That's a big dense paragraph I could get rid of. Other than those things, I mention my teaching experience and what I focus on as a teacher. So, basically my current cover letter is a combination cover letter and education philosophy which has made it LONG.  

ALSO, if the job asked for a letter of application, resume, and references... is it bad to give them more than that? I have a separate teaching philosophy statement... (if I knew they would read it, I'd probably cut down the cover letter even further) and I could give them some images of prior student work. 

Anyway, I KNOW I could edit my cover letter down... but do I need to? Or is 2 pages ever okay? 

Re: NWR: Cover Letter Length

  • For me, CL's are always only 1 page.  But I get where you're coming from with teaching philosophy's/etc.  For education, my board has a very specific format they want for applications which generally include 2 page CV and max 3 page statement of teaching philosophy.  What is this job asking for??  I would never give them more cos they're not asking for it.  It could show that you can't follow basic instructions and they probably don't want to read it.  Being cons ice also shows that you can write well without a lot of extra words.  

  • I would say 1 page tops for a cover letter. I have been on the hiring committee for my middle school and we enjoyed reading cover letters that included the applicant's background and info in the 1st paragraph, their knowledge of standards/teaching methods and materials for the content area in the 2nd paragraph and then some extra info and wrap it up in the 3rd paragraph.

    Also, do you know anyone that works in the district? I would definitely try to network with a teacher to see what they know about the hiring process for that school. 
  • I have no real advice. I guess I should make cover letters too. I have a lot of writing in my near future (yay grad school appilcations). I hope you get the job!
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  • Thanks guys! Time to chop down that cover letter! 

    @500days I don't know anyone who teaches at that school, but I do know people who teach at the school where I currently have a part time (saturday and summers) teaching gig.  They're both private schools in the same state/ similar region, so maybe they'll have some helpful advice. 

    @buttercup1958 good luck with your applications! what type of programs are you applying for?  I am a good, and usually quite concise, writer... I find the most difficult things to write are cover letters, personal statements, etc. Writing about yourself is awful! Its funny how that works. One page cover letter? Torture. Paper for grad school? Breeze. So, yeah, basically... good luck! 
  • @500days

    Would it be super weird to email the young looking art teacher at the school that went to a similar college as me? Or is that way too stalkery? I tend to think it would be stalkery... but I'm not great at networking, so I usually think something is too over the top that other people may not. And, you definitely seem to know more than I do about this! 
  • lilacck28lilacck28 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    edited February 2015
    OH! Further question.... 

    So, a third of my first page is taken up by my name, address, phone number, email, the date, and the address of the school. Is that outdated? Can I get rid of it to have a bit more space? Or is that still something that is definitely necesary? 
  • @lilacck28 You can leave the name, address, etc. up there. Do you know the young art teacher as an acquaintance? If so, I would email her and just say that you are applying and want to know more about the school and district. I would not be put-off by an acquaintance emailing me for some info. It's not like you are saying "hook me up with the job!" or anything. There's nothing wrong with researching and using your resources, IMO.
  • lilacck28lilacck28 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    edited February 2015
    @500days Nope... don't know him at all. Found him on the school's directory. That's why I think it would probably be weird... but you mentioned networking and I thought... maybe that's what other people do?  And I'm too timid? 
  • lilacck28 I feel the exact way! I'm applying for museum studies programs. I already have my choices picked out and will be applying next fall semester. I'm able to write 25 page papers above caves and all the different types ( formations, types of minerals found in them, animals species, ect) but cover letters and personal statements have me stumped. I'm not very good at being a "fluffy" writer if that makes any sense. I actually had to look up common "skills" that I have to put on a resume ha. Thanks for the luck! Break a leg with yours!
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  • @buttercup1958 I thought about museum studies programs (and law school), before ultimately going with getting an MFA!  Ahh! I am jealous that you have school to look forward to! School is my happy safe place. I think you will probably love whatever program you end up in! 

    If I can't find a good job in the next year... back to school I will probably go! Maybe a masters in higher ed... maybe art administration or museum studies... maybe I'll just get my public teaching certification, though that looks to be a two year process as well! My family has a history of just racking up the degrees. My mom has four! (though the last two she received were more "practical" then anything I seem to be interested in right now. MBA and JD.) 

    PS- I'm actually pretty good at editing OTHER people's work. If you want, please feel free to send your statements, etc. to me and I'd be happy to look them over!
  • lilacck28  V and I feel the same way. We both love learning, V has talked about if he could, he would stay in school forever. Through his GI Bill, Pell Grants, and scholarships he actually makes money going to school ha. If you decide to do museum studies, I can give you my list! I spent many weeks going through a lot of grad schools before settling on my top 4! 

    My family doesn't really understand that some people want to learn for learnings sake. So I think its cool that your family has that outlook. I think all those options sound really cool. I'm not much of an artist but I loved art history. Frank Lloyd Wright is my favorite icon in the art/architecture world. So all those choices are interesting to me. And I may actually take you up on that offer when I have them! Thanks!         

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