What to Include in a Cover Letter for a Tutoring Job

By Ian Acosta on August 21, 2017

Cover letters are an essential part of any job application. In addition to your resume, your cover letter is meant to be your own personalized message to whomever you are sending out your application. It is your chance to fill in the gaps of whatever your resume cannot say by itself. There are some elements that are essential to an effective cover letter and there are some you can afford to leave out.

Here are some things you should include in your cover letter to land that tutoring job.

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Personalized greeting

This should be standard fare to whomever you address any letter. Do NOT use “To whom it may concern.” If you choose to use that phrase, you might as well throw your own application in the trash. Find out the hiring director’s name if at all possible, or someone in the recruiting department related to the tutoring head.

If you happened to meet someone from the firm you are applying to recently at a career fair or general event, do your best to send your resume and cover letter directly to them. It will come off more professional that you took the time to research where you would like your application to go.

Your passion

Anyone can say they want a job, more specifically a tutoring job. State why you enjoy tutoring. Explain to the recruiter or hiring manager why tutoring means so much to you as a job for the present or even in the future. Make sure your passion shines through in not only your resume but also your words to whom you are addressing as well.

In your cover letter, you are your own biggest advocate. Make sure you prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that tutoring is a passion of yours and explain how it came to be one. Explain why, and you have already won half the battle.

Your experience

Your experience is how you tie in your passion. Your experiences in previous tutoring jobs or related activities will help cement and push your passion to the forefront. If you do not have much experience tutoring or teaching, that is no problem.

However, what you can do is explain how this position for which you are applying can help further your passion for tutoring and give you the experience you need to pursue other opportunities in the future. If possible, include specific instances in your experiences in the past that led you to pursue this tutoring position. Hiring managers and recruiters love nothing more than hearing the “why” behind any explanation.

Short but sweet

Cover letters are meant to be short and sweet. Do not ramble on and on about how much research you have done on the position, how much you would love to have this position, how you have heard such great things about working for XYZ firm etc.

Keep it to a page maximum. Keep it succinct. Save the flashy stories and remarks for the in-person interview or phone screening when you can say it from your own mouth. Nobody wants to read a novel of a cover letter so get your main point across and save the rest for later.

Strong opening

Bear in mind this includes the personalized greeting but encompasses a little bit more than just the greeting. Your opening to your cover letter is your chance to set the tone for how the rest of the letter will go.­ Just like your overall letter, keep your opening short, yet sweet. Get your main point across which is explaining who you are, why you want this position, and what you will bring to the table.

Well-rounded closing

Much like a strong, emphatic opening, a succinct, organized conclusion to your cover letter will ensure you wrap up your letter with style. Recap in a few phrases or sentences why you are applying, what made you pursue this unique tutoring position, and what you hope to gain from the experience.

Now, when writing this summary, do not start it with “in conclusion,” or “to summarize.” Those phrases are completely useless and redundant and will only take away from your overall message. End strong with a starter like “Here’s why I want to work for you,” or “Let me say again why I am considering this position.” I especially like the latter opening because it puts the onus on the recruiter to get back to you. Strutt your stuff and remember to use your letter to say what your resume can’t.

The ask

This is it. This is why you wrote the letter in the first place. What are you hoping to achieve with this application and letter? Simple: an interview, or, at the very least, consideration. Put it in plain English what it is you want. There should be no confusion on either end why you are sending this application in, and asking for what you want negates any possibility of that happening.

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