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It can be hard to know where to start with a cover letter.
Some people go overboard and write lengthy essays of self-praise, while others can barely think of enough to fill a paragraph.
Whatever the job you’re going for, following these simple steps will make penning that killer cover letter easy:
How to write a cover letter
- Start with the personal touch – Letters which begin ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ have nowhere near the clout that addressing an individual will have. Find out the name of the hiring manager and address it directly to them. Common sense, perhaps, but don’t start with ‘Dear John’ – go for the more formal ‘Dear Mr. Smith’.
- Open with a bang – Recruiters have short attention spans. Don’t waffle in your opening paragraph but cut straight to the chase. Move quickly on from the ‘I’m writing to you today’ spiel to telling them why you want the job and what you can offer – ‘I believe I’m the ideal candidate for this role because…’ And make sure your opening gambit is one which will hit them between the eyes.
- Let them know why they need you – Don’t use the main body of your letter to just repeat what your CV says. They don’t care about what dates you worked where, they want to hear about your skills. Use the ValueMyCV tool to find out how much your skillset is worth then really go to town on emphasising your most valuable assets. Remember to avoid corporate drone speak though; nobody really likes a ‘blue sky thinker’.
- Shout about your success – Once you’ve told them about your skills, hit them with your experiences of past success. If you were the top salesperson in the team last month, shout about it. Been promoted? They need to know. Use the second half of your letter to really highlight just what a big player you’ve been in your last job.
- End on a high – Use the last paragraph to tell them how much you’re looking forward to meeting them at an interview. It’s not pushy, it’s proactive. Asking for an interview and letting them know how soon you could start shows you’re enthusiastic and really want the position.
- Sign off correctly – It might be old fashioned, but you might just be addressing your letter to someone who cares. Yours sincerely’ if you found a name to address the letter to and ‘Yours faithfully’ if you had to resort to ‘Sir/Madam’. Emails, of course, are a little less formal, so something along the lines of ‘I look forward to hearing from you’ would probably do.
One side of A4 max is the golden rule in almost every case – long enough to cover the main points, short enough not to put them off reading. Finally, always, always read it back at least once. (And then read it again). A badly written letter can do more harm than good. Now go and put pen to paper and sell yourself!