How to Write a Cover Letter for an Internship (Samples & Tips)

The difference between a typical cover letter and an internship cover letter is that, in the internship cover letter, you must work harder and put in more effort when it comes to selling your skills and abilities. This is because you have no ‘real’ experience yet.

The thought of writing one can be stressful. How do you stand out from fellow applicants? Everyone in your class just graduated, and the chances are that you are not the only one eyeing the position. However, to stand out using your cover letter is quite simple. You need to put in more work than the other applicants. Do some more research and hook your potential employer from the introduction paragraph.

Tips on how to write an exceptional internship cover letter

Use the business letter template. Provide salutations, your contact information, the employers contact information, the date, a name, and signature at the end. Keep your letter brief and to the point. Don’t use too much information to convey one point. Ensure you edit your cover letter before printing or hitting send on your email. It should not have any grammatical errors, spelling errors or structural errors. All names in your letter should be spelled right. Also, use legible font and size. Fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, or Cambria, in a 12-font size, are ideal.
Tailor the cover letter to the specific position. Having a generic letter to forward to every job application will not work. Find out from the job description what this particular employer wants. What do they consider successful? What are their requirements?
Connect your achievements and qualifications to these requirements. Highlight abilities and skills that relate to this job. You must ensure that the employer on reading your internship letter, finds you an asset to his/ her company.
Individualize a cover letter by using keywords mentioned in the job description. For example, if they need a candidate with ‘leadership skills,’ mention an example when you demonstrated leadership skills. ‘I was the executive board member and lead editor at The Campus Whistle, the NYU College Magazine.’
Provide specific examples relating to your abilities and skills. This can be taken from your extracurricular activities, your academic work, or a previous internship/ work position.
If you have no skills yet, use examples of when you demonstrated your skills during classwork. For example, if the job description requires one who can work as part of a team, show how you led your Physics project team into winning the school competition, or how, as, captain of the hockey team, you led your team into winning the game for 5 consecutive seasons.
Other extracurricular activities to include could be volunteer work. Volunteering at an NGO to feed the hungry during a summer vacation could show interpersonal skills. It also shows that you are a driven person once you set your mind to something.
Show that you have a passion for the position by visiting their website and learning a thing or two about the company. Things to look out for on the company website include their history, their achievements, whether they have been in the news lately, significant projects they are involved in, company mission and values. State how this would be great for you and why you are interested in working for them. Mention a future project the company has planned on working on and how you would love to be involved.

Internship Cover Letter Format

Make sure the letter uses a professional tone.

1. Start with contact information and salutations
Start with your contact information on the upper left side of your application, follow that with the date and the employer’s contact information. Get the organization’s name and address right. Most job descriptions will tell you whom to address the letter to and what to include in the subject line. This makes it easier for them since they receive numerous applications for their various positions.

As for the salutations, get the name and position right if supplied. If not, then you can use ‘Dear sir/ madam.’

2. First Paragraph
The first paragraph should introduce you to the employer. Who are you? How did you hear about the job? Did someone tell you about it? Name them. Did you read about it on the company website or from a specific job board? Mention the job title and your interest in working for the company. Explain briefly how the position is in line with your passion or career path.

Introductions will include your name, what you have majored in at school, education level, and your interests.

3. Second paragraph
Mention how your abilities and skills are related to the position. Analyze your background and explain how these make you the ideal fit for the position. Show what you will bring to the table. Use the job description and requirements to show what you can do for the company.

Provide examples (one or two) to demonstrate these skills. Make sure not to repeat what’s already on the resume. The cover letter takes care of the skills and qualifications that could not fit on your resume. Expound on the specific skills, knowledge, interests, qualities, and achievements that relate to the opening.

If you claim to have excellent customer care skills, show how you used this. For example, ‘I worked as a Customer care representative at Good Mall during the summer holiday. I provided directions and resourceful information to customers seeking out various services at the Mall. This experience enhanced my customer care skills.’

You can demonstrate this too using your achievements or projects you led in school as mentioned above.

4. Closing paragraph
Thank the employer for taking the time to review your application and conclude including a call to action such as “I look forward to hearing from them or speaking to you again.” Thanking the employer is a polite and an excellent way to complete the application. If the job description does not bar you from contacting the organization or canvassing, conclude by saying that you will call or email them to find out if you are a good match and to schedule an interview.

Sample Internship Cover Letter

[Your name]
[your address]
[phone number]
[email address]

[today’s Date]
[Name, title [first and last name] if provided,
[Company Name]
[City, state, zip]

Dear Dr., / Mr./ Mrs. / Hiring Manager,

I am writing to apply for the editing internship position that recently opened at the Heartstrings Magazine. I learned of the opportunity from Tim Murdoch, the Assistant Editor at the magazine. I am a student at Elite University studying a degree in Communication and Journalism. I am passionate about the editing internship position, and I am sure my skills and experiences are an excellent match for your organization.

As the Editor in chief for the Weekly Campus Whistle at Elite University, I oversee the writing, editing, and publishing at the magazine. I decide on a theme for each week and work with a team of students and faculty to ensure the magazine is published by the end of the week. These themes are diverse and require one to be creative, resourceful and energized.

My experience as a writer at the Chronicles, during my summer vacation, prepared me adequately for this internship. I had to be outgoing and zealous in my search for intriguing feature articles for their Weekly Magazine. I was expected to be organized, creative and on time. I thrived in this demanding and fast-paced environment and exceeded their expectations every time. My editor at the time, Mr. Edmond Wilber, can attest to this.

My leadership experience at the Weekly Campus Whistle and the internship at the Chronicles have prepared me for the Editorial role at your organization. I have also enclosed a resume detailing my coursework and understanding of the position. Thank you for considering my application and taking the time to review it.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
[Your signature]
[Your full name]

Things to avoid on your internship cover letter

Lying about your skills or work experience. The employer may ask for letters of recommendations from places or people mentioned in the cover letter. When they discover the truth, you will have no chances of working at the organization.
Avoid using negativity in your cover letter. For example, “Although I do not have experience as a marketer, I am a fast learner and will catch up with the rest eventually.” With this kind of negativity, you are telling the hiring manager that you have no experience and that they will have to spend their time and resources training you. Will they pick you or pick the self-starter who looked for skills and experiences that relate to marketing? Your letter should only mention skills you have, not those you don’t have.
Don’t overshare. No personal information should be included. Remember, you are limited to one page, therefore stick to relevant information that will land you the internship position.
Avoid overusing adverbs and adjectives. For example, mentioning a string of skills. ‘I am a hard worker, organized, time conscious and adaptable.’ Instead, try and be objective by showing how you demonstrate these capabilities.
Do not summarize what’s in the resume. Generally, your resume should illustrate facts concerning your qualifications. However, a cover letter should show your personality-an introduction of the candidate to the hiring manager.

Note:
When writing an email cover letter, start from the salutation part, [Dear, Hiring Manager].
Add your contact information after the concluding paragraph, then sign off. For example:
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Your email address]
[telephone number]