The dreaded career fair. Love them or hate them, it’s where big firms recruit most of their students. The fact is that people DO get internships at career fairs, your goal is to make sure you are one of them.

When tasked with writing a cover letter, most everyone goes to google and searches for a cover letter template. Trust me, I have been there. The thing is every cover letter template sucks. No matter how good the template, a copied template sucks. It’s like trying to make a movie by replicating Star Wars. The problem is that it lacks genuineness and narrative.

Right now, take 5 minutes and write a cover letter to your dream company. One caveat, don’t look up a single template or glance at an old cover letter you’ve written. Ready. Set. Go.

So what did you come up with? Odds are it’s pretty usable, let’s go ahead and make some improvements.

Acquire Your Target:

One of the quickest ways to set yourself apart from other candidates is showing that you’ve done your homework. It’s easy to write “Dear recruiter,” but it’s a lot more impressive to address it to a specific individual.

If you’ve networked with someone in person, that’s a start. If not, consider using LinkedIn and figure out who you are likely emailing.

Do Your Research:

Prove that you are not simply copy pasting the same cover letter to every job listing you see. Talk about something that you know the company does that interests you. It does not have to be hard. When I met a recruiter at Toyota, I talked about the new redesigned Camry, a freaking Camry (one of the most vanilla vehicles in the world of automobiles). While I might have lost a few jalopy points for knowing so much about the Camry, it showed the recruiter that I had been keeping up with the company.

Tell a Story (in tweet form):

Tell a short story about who you are and why you are applying. It does not need to be vivid with details, but a cute intro will do. If you don’t believe that you can tell a story in that span, remember Hemmingway wrote a story in 6 words (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn” – Ernest Hemingway).

Compare two options.

I would love to intern for Toyota this summer. I believe my experience in finance and design, along with my experience from being part of the business council qualify me for this internship. It would be a dream come true to work for Toyota.

This is a pretty typical introduction for an email. Following most advice, it does the job, it’s clear, concise, and has a definite ask for the company. But it fails to stand out from just about every other cover letter. Let’s try a more unique introduction.

Going to the dealership as a kid was like going to Disneyland. Growing up my friends were fascinated with sports cars, but I was intrigued by how cars were built and designed. Maybe it’s because my family always drove practical cars like Toyota’s. Now that I have some finance and design knowledge, I would love to help the team that makes these fascinating cars.

It will not win a Pulitzer, but at least it stands out from 80% of cover letters.

Offer Value:

We’ve already talked about this. But it’s important to re-iterate that your cover letter should focus on how you can offer value.

When I worked at Kammok and was going through the general email account, I would see dozens of emails that were all the same. They all started with introducing themselves and how they would love to work for the company or how it was their dream to work in the industry. Rarely did we see emails where someone included tangible reasons for how they would benefit the company.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s wonderful that you see a specific company as your gateway to fulfilling your dreams. But, it is not compelling for an employer to dwell on what they can do for you.

As a stranger, especially one trying to grow a business, employers care much more about how you can help grow their business than about how they can fulfill your dreams. If you can prove your value to someone else’s operation, you are already ahead of 80% of candidates. Here’s the thing, once you do land the opportunity, you will have plenty of chances to grow and learn. Again, it’s about framing the relationship.

Edit Away:

I have made the mistake of misspelling a company’s name in a cover letter and still managed to get the job, but for all intents and purposes your cover letter is a) a pitch on why you would add value to the company b)a signal of how vested in the company you are c) an indicator of the work that you do.

If you expect someone to take an hour to interview you, they expect that you take ten minutes to edit your letter. The simple reason you need to make sure your letter is meticulous is that everyone else’s will be meticulous. And if you do not put in effort into your cover letter, why would an employer expect you to do better work once they hire you.

Not to beat a dead horse, but edit your cover letters.

They Don’t Have Their Act Together: 

You might be excited to start your internship, but odds are it’s just another day in the office for everyone you’re working with. You may have known your start date for months, but your manager probably just found out that you were joining their team yesterday. So don’t be surprised when you aren’t assigned a project on day one. It might take a week or two.

It might take a while for them to set you up with a laptop or company badge (I’ve heard stories of interns not getting a badge to go to the bathroom until 5 weeks in). Every internship I’ve been has had me sitting around the first week or two. Don’t take it personally. Just sit tight and use the time to network.

It’s Exhausting

In college you probably spend 60+ hours a week between class, homework, studying and extracurriculars. But you get plenty of naps and breaks in between.

The first week you start working a 9-5 job, where you stare at a screen all day, you’ll find yourself exhausted. Add in commuting and getting ready for work (you can’t show up in sweatpants anymore) and you’ll find that the first week is going to feel long.

I forget this every year when I start interning. After a few days, you’ll find ways of breaking up the monotony.

More importantly, remember not to make judgments about working there right off the bat. Every job is going to feel slow at first, but remember it’s your responsibility to keep yourself energized.

You Have a Golden Telephone

You can talk to anyone.

No, I’m not trying to motivate you like your mom did in first grade. But here’s the secret. If you want to talk to your manager, they’ll make time. Want to talk to your manager’s manager, just send an email. Want to talk to the VP, just ask. Even if his or her calendar is chock full, they’ll find the time. After all, they only have 10 weeks to sell you on the dream of working there.

I’ve been able to talk to CEO’s and partners of companies I’ve worked at simply by asking. Once you’re full time you might not get that access, but as an intern, nobody is off limits.

Those connections don’t die once you join the firm. Take the time now to build those relationships, because those open doors slowly close off once you’re a full-time employee.