In a time when jobs are hard to come by, it’s become more important than ever to know the rules of the game. But for students who have never had a full-time job, it can be hard to know exactly what employers are looking for, especially when it comes to applying.

When applying to most jobs, a cover letter and resume are required components of the application, said Hongling Sun, graduate student at the Career Center.

“In a cover letter, you want to say something more specific about yourself compared to the resume,” Sun said. “Use it to expand the explanation of your experiences and provide more details as well as a brief review of your qualifications.”

The goal is to establish a one-on-one individual relationship with the recruiter and directly address an individual of an organization, Sun said.

Brandon Bouwkamp, graduate assistant for employer relations and career assistance, said that the first thing one should do when starting a cover letter is to identify the job that he or she is applying for.

“Anything you need to write [in] a good cover letter is really in the job description,” Bouwkamp said. “Identify what skills it is that the employer is looking for and your experiences, and then basically turn that into a literary letter. It demonstrates exactly what it is that you are going to bring to the job.”

The Career Center, located on Wright Street, offers many services to students when composing their cover letters and resumes. Such services include resume and cover letter workshops and one-on-one critiques, said Bouwkamp.

On Mondays through Fridays from 2 to 4:30 p.m., the Career Center has their outreach team available for students to help with cover letter critiques.

The outreach team is comprised of undergraduate students who are highly trained to help develop a proper cover letter and resume, Bouwkamp said. In addition to picking up handouts about how to write a cover letter, students can also make 15-minute appointments with graduate students, or even a longer 45-minute session with full-time counselors to discuss more major topics like the choice of lifetime careers.

There are many students that take advantage of the opportunities for improvement that the Career Center provides, such as John McAndrew, senior in LAS.

“When I started writing my cover letter, I went online and tried to guide myself the best that I could, and then I realized that wasn’t sufficient, so I decided to come in,” McAndrew said. “I would recommend coming to the resume workshops because it is a good starting point for beginning your own.”

With all of the services it offers, the Career Center aims to be a place of reference when writing a cover letter or resume.

“The most important thing to do when writing a cover letter is when you think you have a good handle on it, come to the Career Center and have someone critique it,” Bouwkamp said. “We will make sure that you get the correct formatting, and that you are getting your foot in the door.”