Any CV, even a strong one, should be complemented by an equally strong cover letter or email. While a CV should be a formal record of your skills and achievements, the cover letter offers a means of personalising each application to the specific role and company. It should also be used to highlight and elaborate on the key points in your CV, which are of particular relevance to the employer and will hopefully encourage further investigation.
The letter is also an ideal opportunity to demonstrate your enthusiasm and suitability for a role as you can show how much research you have done into the job and the company itself. Since employers are experts at spotting “multi-purpose” letters written to cover a range of applications, every letter needs to be uniquely relevant to each role you apply for.
Another reason for companies requesting a cover letter is that it gives them a direct means of assessing your verbal written skills, so it is essential to pay close attention to your writing style, as well as avoiding any spelling or grammatical errors. Use strong “action” verbs, try to vary your vocabulary and don't stress a point too much. Keep it simple, adopting a formal yet friendly tone as if you were speaking to the person reading the letter.
Structure
There is a tendency for covering letters to become long-winded and lose their focus. Remember that, as with your CV, a recruiter will probably have a pile of applications to read through, so you need to make sure your letter is succinct and interesting to read. As a guide, you should aim to keep any letter to no more than three to four paragraphs of short and simple sentences, and certainly to only one page.
Paragraph 1: Attention-grabbing introduction
The golden rule when starting a letter is always, if possible, to address it to a particular person and so avoid using “Dear Sir/Madam” etc. They will either be the contact name in the advert or the person with whom you wish to have an interview. If you are unsure, it is best to ring up and find out the correct title and spelling of their name and how they prefer to be addressed (i.e. formally or by their first name).
The rest of the introduction should be brief and to the point, explaining which job you are applying for (including reference number if applicable), where you found out about the position/company (e.g. Careers Service, Milkround website etc) and why you have decided to apply. Aim to be as specific as possible and try to avoid using stock phrases, as this will help to set you apart from the other applications.
If your application is a speculative one - i.e. not for a specifically advertised vacancy – be sure to state clearly the type of role you are seeking and your reasons for applying, which will need to be convincing to generate enough interest to read on.
Paragraph 2: Why the company and what requirements?
This is the first of the two main paragraphs and needs to focus on the needs of the company and requirements of the role. The aim is to explain your reasons for applying to the company and to tell the reader the three requirements that you have identified as being key to the role. Not only will this demonstrate that you have done your research, but also (hopefully!) that you have understood the requirements of the position applied for.
It is vital that you research the role and company to ensure your application can be tailored to be as directly relevant as possible. Make good use of your careers service, look at recent news articles and, perhaps most important of all, read through the job advertisement and company website to identify the key selection criteria and obtain pertinent information about the company and the role. Although some experts recommend actually replicating the language of the recruitment literature in your own application, you must be careful to avoid giving the impression that you are just lifting the company’s own words!
Paragraph 3: Why are you right for the job?
Having just stated what you believe are the selection criteria, it is important that you now match these with up to three reasons justifying your application and explaining why you are right for the job. These need to be as relevant as possible, highlighting and elaborating upon achievements in your CV, rather than just simply regurgitating information already mentioned.
Stay positive and try to turn a negative around showing that you can bring something extra to the table. Write with a bias to the future and not the past and always end on a positive note. Be confident and don’t be afraid to reign in modesty, though not so much as to be arrogant. Include information which is not on the CV but is particularly relevant to the role.
Paragraph 4: Strong conclusion
This final paragraph’s main function is to ensure the letter concludes strongly and ends on a positive note, reaffirming both your suitability and enthusiasm for the position. If applicable, now is the time to state clearly any dates when you will be unable to attend an interview. Finally, close the letter along the lines of “I very much look forward to hearing from you in the near future” etc. and sign off, using either “Yours sincerely”, if to a named addressee, or “Yours faithfully”, if “Dear Sir/Madam” was used earlier. Never use “To whom it may concern” or similar as it suggests a disinterest in your potential future employers. Perhaps obvious, but you should never forget to sign your letter and print your name beneath.
Final Checklist
Once completed, read through the letter several times for any spelling or grammatical errors and get a friend to proof-read it for you. Double check that the information conveyed is correct (i.e. addressed to the correct company!), consistent with your CV and that you have not repeated phrases in both.
As with any formal business letter, you should align your address to the right margin and the company’s to the left and justify all paragraphs to ensure neat margins either side of the text. The font ought to be the same as that used in the CV and, if you are sending a hard copy of the letter, be sure to use the same stationery as with the CV and a matching A4 size envelope to avoid having to fold the letter.