Social service workers help vulnerable people overcome problems like family issues, absenteeism from school, mental health conditions, disabilities, homelessness, or substance abuse. A social service worker’s primary responsibilities also include managing social programs, interviewing clients, writing assessments, directing clients to the best services, attending multidisciplinary meetings, and testifying in court.
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Why you need a cover letter
Social workers are experts at personally interfering in other people’s lives to assist them in resolving their issues. Consequently, having a personal conversation with a hiring manager shouldn’t be too uncomfortable for you. Do you introduce yourself when you first meet a new client? Hopefully you do. Any interaction between two people should logically begin with an introduction.
A cover letter serves as a formal introduction and a handshake from a distance. It’s an effort to get to know someone personally who might be able to offer you a job. But by submitting a job application with just a resume, millions of job seekers foolishly skip this step. It’s a serious error, and according to surveys of hiring managers, the absence of a cover letter is one of the leading causes of resume rejection.
In a way that a resume cannot, a cover letter enables you to demonstrate your personality, passion, and likeability. Your cover letter is one way to show that you have the interpersonal skills necessary for the field of social work, which necessitates direct contact with strangers. You should always include a cover letter with a resume unless you’re specifically asked not to, even though some employers prefer to receive only resumes.
You don’t want a hiring manager to ask themselves why a cover letter wasn’t included in your application. All of these could be indications that you might not make a very good social worker, including being too lazy to write one, lacking writing skills, and not wanting to get close to people.
Best format for a social worker cover letter example
Like a well-designed structure, a strong cover letter is built on a solid foundation. Your cover letter should only be one page long and no longer than 400 words. It should be organized as follows:
- The cover letter header
- The greeting / salutation
- The cover letter intro
- The middle paragraphs (body of the letter)
- The ending paragraph of your cover letter (conclusion and call-to-action)
The comprehensive cover letter guide provides more general guidance on how to put together cover letters, but the tips below offer more specific guidance on how to make the most of each individual paragraph and section. Adaptable cover letter sample.
The most memorable experience of my nine years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) was a community reintegration project that served as the basis for a federal program. I also have experience in social care, residential counseling, and family services.
After earning my doctorate in clinical psychology, I worked with people who had a variety of psychological disorders as well as emotional, behavioral, and developmental difficulties. Building cross-functional alliances with the local government, NGOs, and service providers has been necessary to create treatment pathways. As soon as everyone is on the same page, the best psychosocial community care can begin.
I am aware that one of my responsibilities is to supervise your round-the-clock crisis intervention service. I managed a helpline for AccuC for two years that provided similar responses. I created a training program for (professionally qualified) call handlers to correctly establish needs and find the right interventions, increasing volumes by 35% and patient satisfaction by 15%
My passion continues to be assisting adults with psychiatric diagnoses leave long-term hospitals and reintegrate into society. This is a subject close to my heart because my mother had mild schizophrenia her entire life. I would love to walk you through how my nine-step program helped to influence governmental policy.
I graduated from Northwestern University with a MSW and plan to begin my DSW program in the upcoming year. I’ve received training in both Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Managing and Adapting Therapy (MAP). Though I enjoy reading about the most recent developments in clinical theory, there is nothing like learning from actual experiences.
I would adore the chance to interview with your organization to learn how I might contribute to its incredible impact on social care in the city.
Your social worker cover letter must begin with a professionally designed header that includes your name, occupation, address, phone number, and email. This is crucial because, obviously, the employer needs to know how to reach you.
But the page’s header is also a crucial component of the design because it offers the opportunity for subtle color use, distinctive typography, and imaginative layout variations.
Since the majority of your letter will be solid body text, the header represents your best chance to improve the page’s aesthetic appeal.
Review some of the headers on the free cover letter templates provided by resume.com for a moment. io will show you all the options available to you. Choose a header that has already been created for you as it is by far the simplest and fastest way to do so.
Get your contact information out there in a cover letter header without taking attention away from the letter’s body. Add some design flair to make yourself stand out from the competition. Expert tip.
Keep in mind that your cover letter and resume should read as one cohesive document. Because of this, you should use the same fonts, font sizes, and formatting techniques in both, and your header should be extremely similar to, if not the same as, the body copy.
The two important pieces of paper’s alignment demonstrates that you gave this job application some thought. It demonstrates your focus on detail and establishes your “visual brand” ”.
However, if the fonts and formatting in these two documents are completely different, it may appear that you have just created a new cover letter and then grabbed an outdated resume off the racks. It looks sloppy, unprofessional and disorganized.
If you were submitting a social worker application to Andrew Moneysmith, you might start with, “Dear Mr. Moneysmith,” would be the traditional greeting — no first names. The advent of email has somewhat loosened the rules; “Dear Andrew,” for instance, is sometimes accepted as a first name.
Even the revered “Dear” may be considered a bit out of date and should be replaced with a more casual “Greetings” or even “Hello,” followed by the addressee’s name. But watch out for being too informal, and research your target to find out how formally it addresses its audience in other communications or on its website.
“Dear” still has a place, as you can see from the cover letter example above, especially if you are concerned about sounding too casual.
The purpose of the letter greeting is to convey to your future employer that you are aware of the appropriate level of formality for your prospective workplace by beginning with the appropriate tone for the position you seek. Expert tip.
Write to a specific individual
Address your letter to the person in charge of hiring whenever possible. When applying for a job that doesn’t specify names, do some research. Investigate the business’s website, look it up on LinkedIn, or, if necessary, call and simply ask.
If the hiring manager at the company you are applying to prefers anonymity, you will need to find a way to write a more general salutation, such as “Dear [Company] Hiring Manager.” ”.
However, it’s usually best to do some research to learn the name of the person you need to address. It demonstrates your initiative and professionalism and proves you aren’t submitting the same cover letter to 50 different employers.
Your opportunity to make a good first impression in your social worker cover letter is in the first paragraph, and you won’t get another chance to do that. Here, you must state the job’s purpose and give a compelling overview of your qualifications.
Additionally, your message must be written in an exuberant, provocative, and intriguing manner that entices the reader to keep reading.
The purpose of the cover letter introduction is to catch the hiring manager’s attention by highlighting a noteworthy accomplishment or anecdote that relates to the position you are seeking. Adaptable cover letter introduction example.
The most memorable experience of my nine years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) was a community reintegration project that served as the basis for a federal program. I also have experience in social care, residential counseling, and family services. Copied!.
Cover letter middle part (body)
Your social worker cover letter’s opening two or three paragraphs must persuade the reader that you are uniquely qualified for the position you are seeking. Ideally, your years of professional experience will show that you are qualified for this position.
Your academic success, internships, and volunteer work—even if you’re just out of college—can also show that you’re dedicated to this field. Use anecdotes to illustrate how you overcame obstacles related to your job in the past. When describing your accomplishments from previous positions, be specific and use facts and figures whenever possible. Your education, any certifications you hold, and any unique abilities you possess that would make you a fantastic social worker can all be mentioned in the body of your letter.
If you’d like, you can end the body of your letter by outlining your understanding of the employer’s requirements and difficulties and how your contribution could help address those issues. Always keep in mind that you are writing about how you can help this employer, not how they can help you.
The purpose of your cover letter’s body is to: Give potential employers a chance to learn about your social work philosophy and how you interact with clients. Adaptable cover letter middle part example.
After earning my doctorate in clinical psychology, I worked with people who had a variety of psychological disorders as well as emotional, behavioral, and developmental difficulties. Building cross-functional alliances with the local government, NGOs, and service providers has been necessary to create treatment pathways. As soon as everyone is on the same page, the best psychosocial community care can begin.
I am aware that one of my responsibilities is to supervise your round-the-clock crisis intervention service. I managed a helpline for AccuC for two years that provided similar responses. I created a training program for (professionally qualified) call handlers to correctly establish needs and find the right interventions, increasing volumes by 35% and patient satisfaction by 15%
My passion continues to be assisting adults with psychiatric diagnoses leave long-term hospitals and reintegrate into society. This is a subject close to my heart because my mother had mild schizophrenia her entire life. I would love to walk you through how my nine-step program helped to influence governmental policy.
I graduated from Northwestern University with a MSW and plan to begin my DSW program in the upcoming year. I’ve received training in both Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Managing and Adapting Therapy (MAP). Though I enjoy reading about the most recent developments in clinical theory, there is nothing like learning from actual experiences. Copied!.
How to close a social worker cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)
Thank your reader for their time and express your eagerness to hear back to end your letter on a positive note. Add a call to action and perhaps even suggest calling in a week or so to see if an interview can be scheduled.
Don’t be pushy, but make it clear to your reader that you are committed to the position and eager to continue.
Add a space, type your name, and end with “Sincerely” or another suitable phrase. Though it is not necessary in electronic correspondence, you can also choose to include your actual scanned signature.
Finish by explaining to your potential employer why they should hire you and providing justification for your request for an interview. Adaptable cover letter conclusion and sign-off example.
I would adore the chance to interview with your organization to learn how I might contribute to its incredible impact on social care in the city.
How to format your cover letter
Follow these rules for appropriate formatting and design because your letter should look as good as it reads:
- Use a contemporary, well-known, legible font that doesn’t draw attention to itself.
- Use a font size of no less than 10 points and no more than 12 points. Trim your text before attempting to reduce the font size if you are having trouble fitting your letter onto one page. Avoid making your reader strain to read your text.
- Left-aligned text should be justified rather than justified from margin to margin.
- Keep paragraphs brief, separate them with a space, and avoid using indenting.
- Use a 1-inch margin at the top, bottom, left, and right of your document.
- Leave space on your page for judicious use of white space that is completely empty. The right amount of white space will make your letter easier to read and give it a pleasing appearance at first glance.
- Always save your final cover letter as a PDF, unless the potential employer specifically requests another format. On your computer, some file types may appear completely different, but on your correspondent’s, the text may jump around and become garbled. The benefit of using a PDF is that it maintains your formatting so that your letter will appear uniformly on any computer.
The psychology of persuasive writing
Some writing is meant to amuse, while others are meant to inform or persuade. Ideally, your cover letter should do all three.
You want to convince your reader to take action, ideally by getting in touch with you to set up an interview. You want to highlight for your reader all of your impressive qualifications for the position you’re applying for. You also want your letter to be interesting, approachable, and friendly even though it might not be endlessly entertaining.
Put yourself in the position of the recipient of your letter. Keep in mind that you only have a short window of time to leave a good impression on this person. Write the letter you want that person to receive, not just the letter you want to write. According to psychologists, the human brain reacts to stimuli with a combination of emotional and logical reactions. While rational responses take longer and require more thought, emotional reactions happen quickly and automatically.
In a perfect world, you want to trigger both. For example, you might use “emotional language” like the following:
I naturally gravitate toward those in need because I am a “people person,” and there is nothing I enjoy more as a social worker than witnessing my clients’ lives improve as a result of my intervention.
Here, you are speaking more from the heart than from the mind, demonstrating your compassion for the people you serve and your sense of fulfillment from your work. Any employer in need of social workers ought to be moved by this language.
However, you also need “rational language,” which appeals to the intellect rather than the heart:
After obtaining my B. A. I worked for the San Francisco Human Services Agency for eight years as a social worker after receiving a psychology degree from the University of Santa Clara. During that time, I assisted thousands of clients in obtaining food, housing, health insurance, child care, and other necessities.
Your reader should “rationally” conclude that you are qualified for the position and should be given further consideration after reading specific information about your qualifications, such as your education and employment history.
Some social worker cover letter mistakes to avoid
The following are a few of the most typical errors people make when writing a cover letter:
- Typos and other writing errors: The most frequent grounds for rejecting cover letters and resumes are misspelled words, poor grammar, and other linguistic errors. Find a competent editor to proofread and edit your letter if English is not your first language.
- Generic copy-and-paste cover letters: A cover letter is not a template that you can send to 50 different employers. Each cover letter needs to be tailored to the employer in question, ideally outlining how your experience will help meet any particular needs.
- Avoid using cliches, wordiness, and fluff in your cover letter, such as saying that you are a “self-starter” or a “team player.” Trim the fat from your text and retain only what is necessary to avoid “word bloat.” Avoid using “fluff,” which is fancy language that says nothing.
- Bad formatting can ruin your letter’s chances before anyone even reads the first word. Exotic fonts, tiny text, undersized margins, the wrong file type, and other formatting mistakes can do this.
- The job outlook for social workers is excellent, with projected growth of 9% through 2031 However, you’ll need a strong job application package, which includes an outstanding cover letter and resume, to land the position that’s right for you.
- Because it gives you the chance to introduce yourself personally to an employer and demonstrate your personality, passion, and drive, a cover letter is an essential component of a resume.
- If you follow the rules for properly structuring and formatting your cover letter, you’ll end up with a finished product that has all the necessary information in a visually appealing design.
- Use a professionally created cover letter template that is pre-formatted with an appealing header, good use of typography, and the right amount of white space to avoid the biggest potential pitfalls.
Review the free cover letter templates at resume to get started. io, pick a design you like, and add your own content using our builder tool. You’ll be constructing on a foundation that has been shown to produce results.
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