Writing a Covering Letter
The covering letter is the first impression you give to an employer. It personalises your CV and
provides you the opportunity to express your enthusiasm and suitability for a specific job. The
quality of your covering letter can determine whether an employer will even read your CV!
Every job application that you make should include a covering letter, even if it is not explicitly
asked for by the advert. Some employers assume that when they ask for candidates to send a
CV, it is also implicit that you will send a covering letter.
Covering letters are still important when you apply by e-mail. Employers have commented that
candidates often become “lazy” when they apply by e-mail and don’t take the time to send a
covering e-mail. When applying by e-mail you can include a covering letter either as part of the
text of your e-mail, or as a separate Word attachment. Make sure any attachments you send are
clearly named and refer to them in the text of your e-mail.
The covering letter is an essential part of your application technique as many employers place
as much emphasis on the covering letter as they do to the CV or Application Form. A covering
letter is a means by which you can introduce yourself and stimulate interest. The main purpose of
writing a covering letter is to encourage a recruiter to read your CV. The letter gives you the
chance to demonstrate that you understand the nature of the job being advertised, and allows
you to explain why you want to work in that area and show how your skills and abilities fit the
vacancy.
While your CV tells the employer about you, the letter should concentrate on the position and the
company. Remember to fully research the firm, perhaps by visiting its web site, and use this
information to help draft your letter.
Your CV should rarely leave your desktop unless accompanied by a covering letter as they can
be a major determinant of an applicant’s success. Demonstrating your career interests and
highlighting your most relevant strengths and experiences, a professionally set out letter can say
a lot about your motivation and your attention to detail.
Well-written covering letters are also particularly effective for speculative applications outside of a
recruitment cycle and for explaining any personal circumstances or anomalies in your application.
Content
The following format provides a useful overview for a letter:
Briefly introduce yourself, state what position you are applying for and where you saw it
advertised. For a speculative letter, include the type of work you are seeking.
Explain why you are interested in this type of work, demonstrating an understanding of what it is
likely to involve.
Explain why you are interested in working for this particular organisation. Demonstrate
enthusiasm and evidence of research into such aspects as their successes, involvements, values
or clients.
Highlight how you are suitable for this position. Provide evidence of your key strengths by
referring to experiences on your CV. Aim for your key strengths to reflect the requirements of the
employer and position.
Take the opportunity, if necessary, to explain any anomalies in your experiences such as a gap
or anywhere you do not match the selection criteria. Perhaps explain how any hurdles have
developed you in a positive way.
Indicate availability for interview.
Style
A professional business layout is important, addressed to a named individual wherever possible.
Ring the organisation’s switchboard to request a name if necessary. Aim for one side of A4 with
the same quality paper and font style as your CV. A printed letter is the norm these days,
although some recruiters may still specify a handwritten one to check out your handwriting. The
same rules about checking for spelling, grammar or typos still apply and probably more so on
your letter. Your writing style should be formal but try not to use words that are only really found
in a thesaurus.
Target your correspondence:
Each letter you send should be written for the specific role that you are applying for. By
customising your application you give an employer the impression that you really want to work for
their company.
Avoid the temptation to recycle the same basic covering letter for multiple organisations. Such
letters make a bad impression. If your covering letter simply looks like a generic letter with their
name added into it, employers will reason that you can’t be bothered to take half an hour to write
a specific letter for them, so therefore you aren’t genuinely enthusiastic about the job on offer.
Find a name:
Always try to address your letter to a specific person. If you are unable to find the name of a
contact person, address the letter as “Dear Sir/Madam”. If you address your letter in this manner
you should close it with a “Yours faithfully”, if your letter is addressed to a specific person then
you should close it “Yours sincerely”.
Get their attention:
While you need to inform the reader as to the purpose of the letter, try to do so in an interesting
and appropriately creative way. If the employer is receiving a large number of applicants it helps if
your opening paragraph immediately gains their interest.
One way to do this might be to add a line above your salutation that details the position you are
applying for. This frees up your opening paragraph to immediately start to highlight the best parts
of your application or to write something that is attention grabbing.
Overall, your letter should make you sound like a person that the employer would benefit from
considering from the position and would enjoy meeting in an interview setting.
Address the selection criteria:
In the main body of your letter you should address the criteria identified by the employer in the
job advertisement, focus on the benefits that you would bring to the employer, and convince them
of your ability to do the specific tasks that they are recruiting for.
Highlight the most relevant parts of your CV without duplicating the entire content - as a rule of
thumb a covering letter should not be longer than one A4 page using single line spacing.
No mistakes!
Proof read, proof read, proof read! Don’t rely only on your spell checker as it won’t always pick up
on errors such as correctly spelt words used in an incorrect context. Also ask a friend or a
flatmate to check your letter for you.
Spelling and grammatical mistakes indicate a lack of attention to detail to your prospective
employer, and gives them grounds to immediately dismiss your application - they are looking for
any excuse to do this, especially if you are one of a large pile of covering letters and CV’s!
Do :
- Include a personalised covering letter with every CV you send out.
- Keep it short and factual - don't exceed one side of A4 paper.
- Tell the recruiter where you saw the job advertised and include any reference numbers.
- Refer to the CV you have attached - it might go missing and they'll think you haven't sent one.
- Tailor it to each specific application - outline how your experience matches the requirements of
each role.
- Explain why you want the job.
- Concentrate on telling employers why you would be good for the job, rather than why the job
would be good for you.
- If the job is in a different sector from those which you have previously worked, draw links between
the two.
- Demonstrate that you have done some research into the organisation already - for example
mention that you have read the latest annual report or visited their web site. Let totaljobs.com
help you with your research.
- Include any dates when you might be unavailable for interview. If you are able to take calls during
the day, then provide a contact number.
- Check that you have addressed your letter to the right person, that you have used the correct job
title and spelt his or her name correctly.
- You may wish to state your current salary and your salary expectations for the job. Use totaljobs'
salary checker for help.
- Simply send out standard covering letters to different employers for different positions.
- Underestimate the value of the covering letter - you can use it to increase the impact of your CV if
your experience is lacking, by drawing attention to your strengths and achievements.
- Speculative letters
- If you are not replying to an advertised position, it might be worth writing a speculative letter to a
company that you would like to work for. In this instance, begin by outlining the type work you are
seeking, explain why you want to work for this particular company and ask for your CV to be held
on file for any vacancies that may come up in future.
General rules for writing your covering letter
- Your covering letter should be a professional layout and you should refer to the contact as Sir or
Madam if you do not know the name of the contact in the organisation.
- Your covering letter should be no more than one page long (it’s a covering letter not an essay –
you don’t want to bore the person who is about to red your CV!).
- It should be easy to read – use small paragraphs to break up the text.
- It should have all your contact details on it, along with the date it was sent out.
- It should not repeat what is said in your CV. Use the covering letter to elaborate on details that
are only briefly covered in your CV.
- When elaborating on your skills, you should both reflect on your own experience and relate them
to the skills asked for in the job advert.
- When closing the letter, finish with “Yours Sincerely” or “Kind Regards”.
Speculative Letters
Speculative covering letters are another type of letter that you may write from time to time. It is
often estimated that between 65% - 85% of job vacancies are never advertised, so speculative
applications are an important part of a productive job search which involves sending a CV and
covering letter directly to a company!
For a speculative covering letter you should follow the same format outlined for a cover letter, but
remember the following important points:
- Identify the key decision maker. This may require a telephone call to the organisation.
- Personalise the letter.
- Focus on the skills and abilities that you have to offer to the company – not just what’s in it for
you.
- Show you have done your research on the company. Employers are more likely to respond
positively if they see that you are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their specific company.
- Use the words “openings” or “opportunities” when referring to employment at the company.
- Be enthusiastic and promote a positive self image.
- Ask for a meeting or telephone discussion.
A potential layout for a Covering Letter:
Your Address
Date
Company's Address
Sub : Application for position of ................................
Dear Sir
The first paragraph should state the purpose of the letter. Do this in a way that does not only
state the position that you are applying for, and in a way that will gain the interest of the reader.
In following paragraphs you should outline the relevant skills and experience which you have for
the position. Address the criteria identified in the job advertisement, establishing links between
your skills and experience, and the specific needs of the company. Focus on what is in it for
them! Show excitement and passion.
You could also demonstrate that you have researched the activities of the organisation that you
are applying to. Link this information to your skills and abilities and to how you could benefit the
company in this area. Relevant research could include their service/product range, future plans,
current customer/client base, their historical role, or market positioning.
Be positive in your closing paragraph. Refer to further attachments such as your CV or Academic
transcript. Be assertive and positive, but avoid being too pushy! Include a thank you and any
further information needed to contact you.
Yours sincerely,
Your signature
Typed Name
- Find out the NAME and TITLE of the person you need to write to.
- Analyse the job advert, job description & person specification.
- Write a rough draft - outlining how you meet the specific & hidden requirements of the job.
- Layout
- - organise your draft into concise paragraphs:
- - present key points in logical order.
- - emphasise what you have to offer employer.
- Presentation - word process or hand-written?
- Use good quality A4 paper - preferably white (avoid strong colours)
- Style - make it interesting & easy to read.
- Avoid overusing 'I'... appeal to the '5 second reader'
- Check spelling.
- Remember to keep a copy!
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