How to write a Cover Letter for an internship

A Cover Letter, also known as a Motivational Letter, provides a host company with further details about an intern’s motivation and expectations of an internship. It should be well written as it is one of the few things that a host company will base their decision on whether to consider you further for a placement or not.

DO:
* Address it correctly: Use the company name / supervisors name if you know it, if not keep it neutral.
* Write a structured letter: use paragraphs for new points and make it fluent and clear.
* Explain why you want to do an internship, which field you chose and why.
* Explain why you chose the company and what attracted you to them.
* Highlight what you can offer the company and point out your strengths and interests.
* Use professional and friendly language.
* Finish your letter with a brief mention that you would be happy to hear from the company (“I look forward to hearing from you”).
* Check your spelling.
* Mention your internship goals and your career goals.
* Show the link between your studies and the internship.
* Detail your availability and the duration of your internship.

DON’T:
* Write too much. One A4 page of 3 or 4 paragraphs should be enough.
* Use complicated sentence structures.
* Use too many “I’s” and “me”s.
* Talk about irrelevant topics (e.g. family, hometown, etc).
* State unrealistic expectations (e.g. “I want to be the manager”).