While your CV provides the evidence that you meet the criteria for a role, your cover letter gives you the chance to show a bit of your personality and convince employers that you are the right person for the job. By allowing you to highlight key elements of your experience and aspirations, it can make all the difference when it comes to getting an interview.
A cover letter is typically four paragraphs and is rarely more than one page long. Use the same font as your CV; if you have to adjust the font size slightly, keep it within 10-12 pt. Make sure to follow a standard business letter format.
- Right-align the return address and date.
- Left align the recipient’s address above the greeting. Try to find out the name of the person that you should address the letter to (i.e. the department head or HR manager) rather than using ‘Dear Sir / Madam’ as it makes a big difference to the reader.
- If you include a subject line, such as a job reference number, include it on the line below the salutation, centred and in bold text.
- Single-space the body of the letter.
- Sign it off with ‘Kind regards’ or similar, and if you are posting the letter, leave sufficient space to sign it, below which your name should be typed.
Cover letter structure
It is imperative that you customise your letter to each role you apply for. To do this, it helps to research the organisation and 'tell them about themselves' in your letter (e.g. "As you are the largest publishing company in the North West..."). While the letter needs to be fairly formal, avoid unnecessarily large words and words that you don’t normally use. Keep the letter succinct and ordered.
Now we’ll go through the main elements of a cover letter with best practice tips for each.
1. Introduce yourself
Explain why you are writing, whether it’s in response to an advert or just a ‘speculative application to see whether there any vacancies. If you're replying to an advert, it’s important to state where and when you saw it. If there is a reference number, make sure to quote it because they may be recruiting for several roles.
2. Explain your background
Very briefly, explain your current or most recent job and any qualifications or experience that you think is relevant to the job, and perhaps you could list a key achievement here. “I most recently worked at ABC Corp, where I increased turnover of my department by 30% in my first year.” Take care that you don’t just repeat your CV.
3. Explain why should they employ you
Now you should directly specify how your background makes you the ideal candidate for the role and why you want it. Say why they should employ you and why you would be a good employee. Pick out specific traits or skills mentioned in the job advert and explain how you’ve demonstrated these. Now that you’ve made a case for yourself, it’s time to tell them your planned next steps.
4. Provide an action plan
It’s common to end with a paragraph saying that you look forward to hearing from the employer and will await their response; however, you don't have to leave the ball in their court, and could even suggest a time or date that you will call if you don't hear from them. If you do this, make sure you to call when you said you would.
Other points to keep in mind
If you are sending your cover letter in an email, make sure it’s written in a common font with standard formatting and punctuation as once it's opened on another computer, the whole presentation may change.
If your cover letter is written in the email body (as opposed to an attachment) make sure you apply the same formalities as you would in a hand-written letter, and perform a spell check before sending it. And remember, of course, to attach your CV to the email.
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