Oh no
misspelled word
use spell check or any other digital or human help
asks for an interview
consider rephrasing passive language (looking forward to hearing from you vs. I would appreciate an opportunity to interview or I would love to meet in person for an interview)
to whom it may concern
find out who it concerns
love
1 love = okay, 2+ loves...expand vocabulary to other descriptive words
The name of the most significant font in your brand
Does your font represent your brand well? Have you taken advantage of fonts.adobe.com? Sometimes a fresh font can make all the difference!
indented paragraph
use block formatting (everything aligns left)
the job title = exactly as written in job posting
don't make them guess what you are applying for
your contact info at top and bottom of page
only need it in one place
!
maybe...how formal is the audience?
!! = consider using words rather than punctuation to show your enthusiasm
A custom, personalized logo you designed
great, use it if you put a lot of thought into it and it matches your design skill, if it was done quickly or not as refined as you like, wait to use it until it is showing your best design skills
a proper noun that needs capitalized
all words in major (except "and"), software programs (Adobe Illustrator), Oregon State University, etc.
your major, your school
if its relevant, it should be in the introduction
Your name is not the same across professional items (different spellings, middle name vs. initial, different last name, formal vs. informal, etc.)
match
text that is not black
is there enough contrast for the message? Is it left over from a template? Is there a good reason it isn't black?
The technical numbers for a brand color you are using (CMYK, RGB, Hex or Pantone)
Are you using that technical color everywhere you use that color?
a repeated word within two adjoining sentences (non-basic, not including and, the, I, etc.)
change your word or sentence(s) to not repeat words near each other
story about something specific that happened (like it really happened, this one time...)
stories are more credible than lists of facts or claims
Address for addressee is one line:
street address, city, state, zip, country
Stack it
Street address
City, State, Zip
Country if sending from outside current country
A script font for body text
If it is longer than a paragraph that can be tiring to read, try a serif or sans serif font for body text and use the script for accents and short bits of text
The header for your resume is exactly the same one used for your cover letter
Matching is the easiest way to make your brand look aligned. If you want to be creative, make sure it makes sense!
it looks bad when I printed it out!
proofing on paper is useful in case someone prints out your professional documents, maybe your text is too big, your image is too dark, or you didn't notice a mistake on screen.
industry key word (word(s) directly from the job post)
practice empathizing with your audience, speak their language when relevant
Class Double
Find the street address or person to address the letter to that doesn't have it yet.
a sentence that is too long
+ write it to be shorter and say the same thing
streamlining
Draw a thumbnail of a design idea for your brand
Thumbnails are quick ways to see an idea in context without spending too much time committing to the idea! You can do lots in a short amount of time.