Writing a Cover Letter

As with CV writing, there are few firm rules for producing a cover letter, only suggestions and guidelines. Despite a range of different suggestions and advice for composing one, one thing that is agreed upon universally is that without a good quality cover letter as an accompaniment to your CV, the impact of your application can be severely limited.

It is important that you spend a sufficient amount of time writing your cover letter. This will allow you to highlight the most relevant parts of your CV – those that make you most suitable for the role and entice potential employers to read on. Remember that your cover letter should answer the question, “What can this person do for us?” This doesn’t relate only to posted applications; if you are emailing your CV it is still crucial that you compose a cover letter that grasps the attention of its recipient. The style of an emailed covering letter should mirror that of a posted application (avoid the temptation to adopt a casual tone when emailing your CV) this will ensure that you create a professional impression from the outset.

Wherever possible, address your cover letter to a specific person. Even if you are sending your CV out on a speculative basis, you should try to find out the name of the head of department or the HR manager at the company that you are applying to – a simple phone call to the company’s reception should be all that is required to obtain this type of information. Letters addressed to ‘Sir/Madam’ will create a similar level of interest to those you receive that are entitled ‘Occupier’ – highly impersonal and much less likely to engage the reader of your application.

Cover letters should be no longer than a few paragraphs – three or four ideally – as their purpose is to provide a short summary of how you meet the requirements of the role and highlight the most relevant parts of your CV. Limit your cover letter to a side of A4 and, if issuing a hard copy, print it onto the same type of good quality paper as your CV.

In your first sentence, state who you are and why you are writing and, if you are applying for a specific job posting, cite the title of the vacancy plus any reference number provided by the company. If someone else has referred you to the organisation, include this in your opening paragraph too. Be clear about why you are applying for that particular role at that particular company.

Following on from your introduction, take up to three points of particular relevance from your CV and provide further details. Do not simply copy what you have already written in your CV - pick out the main highlights and re-phrase them, expanding where necessary, but try to keep this section to just one or two paragraphs.

In your closing paragraph, reiterate your enthusiasm for discussing how you meet the requirements of the role during an interview and thank the recipient for their time. To finish, you have two options; you can either make a commitment to contacting them at a specified time and date for feedback about your application or you can state that you will await their response. If you do commit to contacting them again, ensure you do so. As with your CV, check (and double check) for spelling and grammatical errors. Your cover letter should be as flawless as your CV.