Cover Letters

When applying for a job, your CV should always be accompanied with a covering letter. It's main purpose is to encourage recruiters to read your CV.

While your CV tells the employer about you and your skills, your covering letter should demonstrate your understandings about the employing organisation, the nature of the advertised job and show how your skills fit the requirements.

The structure of the cover letter, like any other letter, should follow the usual letter format:

• header - cover letters use standard business letter style, with the sender's address and recipient's contact details. Following this is the optional reference section (e.g. "RE: Job application for Sales Manager at Retail Corporation"). The final part is the salutation (e.g. "Dear..." ). You should try to address the letter using the person's name of whoever deals with the recruitment.
• introduction - this section should be used to briefly introduce yourself and the position you are after.
• main body - the body is used to highlight your skills in your CV, show your desire for the position and explain why you would be a value to the employer.
• closing remarks - finish off your cover letter by stating when you are available for interviews or the earliest that you can begin work. You should also welcome the prospective employer to contact you if the need any additional information.

Keep it short and factual!

Here are some points to remember:

• Address your letter to a named person. If you do not know the person's name, for example if you were going to send out a speculative application, you should call or visit the company's website to find out who deals with recruitment. This will ensure that your CV reaches the right person.
• Never send out the same standard cover letter to different companies for different positions.
• Personalise your cover letter by giving a brief introduction of yourself.
• Clearly state what position you are applying for and where you saw the job advertised. For speculative work, outline what position or type of work you are looking for.
• Demonstrate your knowledge that you have of the organisation.
• Explain why you want to work for the organisation and why the job would be good for you.
• Highlight what you could bring to the role and organisation.
• Include dates of when you will be available for interviews.
• Don't mention about salaries at this stage. That should be saved for the interview.
• Use your cover letter to explain any irregularities, if you have any, in your CV. This could be, for example, to explain big gaps in your employment history.
• Check your spelling and grammar!

If you are sending a speculative letter to a company that you want to work for then:

• Outline the position or type of work that you are looking for.
• Explain why you would like to work for the organisation.
• List the skills that you have that might be relevant to the type of work you are asking for.
• Ask for your CV to be held on file incase any vacancies come up in the future.