The perfect covering letter

There are two main reasons for having a covering letter. The first is to introduce yourself and to give your potential employer key details such as your contact details and which role you are applying for. The second is to encourage them to look at your CV or application form. Put it like this; if your CV is the equivalent of a feature film, then you should see the covering letter is its trailer. Fail to impress with it and the recruiter may never even make it to your CV or application form. And like all good trailers, it will draw attention to your best bits.

 

1. Keep it relevant

The main thing, says Andrew Gordon, director of www.jobs.ac.uk, is to make sure that your covering letter is relevant to the job you’re applying for. “Pick out the top three or five qualities the employer is seeking. These should be things that you refer to briefly in your covering letter, providing concrete examples wherever you can. For example, after you’ve introduced yourself in your letter you could include lines such as: ‘You will see from my enclosed CV that I match your requirements precisely. I have worked in the web industry for more than 10 years and have led a number of development teams that have ranged in size from five to 20 people.’”

 

2. Keep it businesslike

It may seem clever at the time to get your zany personality across in your covering letter, but unless the company you are applying for is particularly wacky then using glitter pens and stickers probably won’t help to get across that you are a mature and responsible candidate. “Generally there is no need for coloured paper, photos and gimmicks. A well-written covering letter should stand out through content alone,” says Marc Lintern, head of learning development and guidance at the University of Plymouth.

 

3. Keep to the point

If you have been asked to provide specific information then make sure you do so. Some jobs ads might ask you to include three ways in which the company could expand its business in your covering letter. This is testing whether you can follow instructions, do research and sell yourself. Being able to follow instructions like these is as important as the ideas you come up with — if you don’t do as asked then you are unlikely to get through to the next stage.

 

4. Keep it punchy

Your covering letter should draw attention to key parts of your experience but shouldn’t be too repetitive, so there’s no need to highlight everything on your CV. Recruiters will have a lot of applications to read so they don’t have time to work their way through a lot of waffle. On the other hand, too short can also be off putting. “Dear Sir/Madam, Please find enclosed my CV” looks like you can’t be bothered, and doesn’t allow your personality to shine through.

 

5. Keep it accurate

Get the simple things right and make sure you spell names correctly, including your own. This may not make you stand out in itself, but get it wrong and you will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Paul Laurie, Operations Manager at the recruitment consultancy Manpower agrees: “A covering letter is read before a CV, so make sure that it grabs the reader’s attention. Sloppy spelling and punctuation, copying a generic email to rival firms, forgetting to include your contact details and omitting a job reference are all common, fall-at-the-first-hurdle mistakes.”