Cover Letter Advice

A cover letter is the most important part of any application, whereas a CV should include easily accessible information which can be read at a glance (because that is all it will get) a covering letter is read properly and given a little more time – this is the first contact you are likely to have with the potential employer, and, as they say, first impressions count.

From the Top

You need to address your reader correctly. If you know their name (for example, “Henry Interviewer”) use “Dear Mr. Interviewer” rather than “Dear Henry.” Being over-familiar at this stage can seem unprofessional. You should also place all of your contact details on the page as well as any other information required for contact.

Be Clear

In your first sentence it is important to inform the reader what position you are applying for, where you had seen it and any reference numbers included. This makes it easier for interviewers (who may be looking at several positions at once) to sort your application.

It isn’t a Memoir!

Although you may think that all of your experiences have gone into creating the person you are today, the recruiter need not know that!  Explain how your skills will be useful for the job and how you can meet the needs of the business. It is important to make sure you do not come across as self-important or self-obsessed, a hard task considering you are trying to sell yourself. Simply make sure you back up any claims with some evidence – if there is no evidence then the claim will have less weight behind it.

Length is Important

Two reasonably short paragraphs should be enough to sell yourself if you are being clear and concise. An over-long statement will make it much less likely to be read, equally, making sure you are clear means your meaning will not be lost.  It might be worth pointing a recruiter to a certain area of your CV which you are proud of.

No Mistakes Please!

If you are applying to several positions which are all similar in some way, possibly to the extent that you are using the same covering letter, it is important to make sure you change headers and address information. If Mr. Interviewer receives a letter for Mrs. Recruiter the chances of the letter surviving more than ten or twenty seconds is very slim indeed.