Frequently I’m asked if it’s really necessary to bother with a cover letter. After all, everything you need to say is covered in your CV, right? I disagree. Cover letters are another opportunity to get your personality across, to highlight how you are the perfect fit for a job and to get your message across about why you are interested in the role/organisation. Done correctly, they are a fantastic addition to your CV and will help improve your chances of getting an interview invite. Done badly, they can prevent an employer even reading your CV.
The next most common qualm I hear about Cover Letters is that people don’t know what to say, so I thought I’d write a few lines to help you get going. As a general guide, your cover letter should include the following and can be broken down into the following sections:
- Address Details – Use formal business letter layout i.e. your home address and the date go on the right hand side, the employers name and address go on the left hand side.
- You then start the letter by addressing the employer by name e.g. Dear Ms. Lynch. The subsequent line should then reference the position and reference number if applicable e.g. “Re: Hotel Manager Vacancy (ref: 123XYZ)”.
- Introductory paragraph – Explain what the letter is about, indicate where you saw the position advertised e.g. I was interested to read about your vacancy for Hotel Manager as advertised on irishjobs.ie.
- Why you are a good candidate paragraph – This is your opportunity to highlight your skills/experience and how it matches the skills/experience that the employer is looking for. Read the job description carefully and try to use the main key words the employer uses in your letter.
- Why you would like the job paragraph – include why you are excited about the role and what attracts you to the organisation. Demonstrate knowledge of their organisation in a complimentary way e.g. “I was impressed to read that you….”
- Concluding paragraph – end with a positive conclusion, mentioning how you are looking forward to receiving a response e.g. Thank you for taking the time to consider my application. I look forward to hearing from you. I am available for interview at any convenient time and can be contacted by myemail@address.com or 087-1234567.
- Signature – if you started by naming the person e.g. Dear Ms. Lynch, then sign off with ‘Yours sincerely’. If you were unable to obtain a contact name for the role, and started the letter with Dear Sir/Madam, then sign off with ‘Yours faithfully’.
Final tips for success:
Proof read! Read it carefully for any typos, misspellings or grammatical errors. Ask a friend/family member to read it also as it’s easy to overlook a mistake when you’ve spent a lot of time looking at it.
Keep it to one side of A4. With clear well laid out paragraphs.
Tailor it to each and every job you apply for. As always, I can’t stress this enough. It’s always better to send a well researched, targeted letter than a generic, unspecific one. Think about it from the readers point of view and try to answer “Why should I interview you?” when selecting content for your paragraphs.