What do I write in My Covering

Letter for a Job Application?

A lot of people get this wrong – they just rehash all the information that is already in the CV. This is a waste of time – and a wasted opportunity. For a start, why would anyone want to read the same stuff twice? And since employers only spend about 10 seconds on your CV the first time, it will immediately look repetitive and therefore boring.

The Introduction

This is exactly what it says it is – your introduction to the company. Keep it brief, say why you are writing – to apply for position X, advertized in Y on the date of the ad. Now, that might sound boring to you, but it helps the readers, starting with the secretary who opens it. Immediately she knows what to do with the letter and who should be reading it. So you know your CV will end up in the right department.

Why bother with the date and the placement of the ad? Surely that wastes space?

Employers like to know how well their advertising works. If 20 people reply to an ad on Monday and no one repsonds to the same ad in the same paper on Tuesday, they can save a lot of money by focusing their ads for certain jobs on a Monday.

are replying to a job advertisement or when you are contacting a company on spec to enquire about possible unadvertised vacancies.

Every time you send out a résumé or CV it should be accompanied by a cover letter. A letter introduces yourself and your reason for writing, essential when writing cold but not to be overlooked when responding to an ad.

The Body of the Covering Letter For a Job Application

This is the place you get a chance to shine and to show yourself as someone who is exceptionally well qualified for the job. You can use this space to comment on how your experience fits in well with their new project, or how your skills could enable them to branch out in a new direction or whatever is appropriate.

Be careful – don’t make ridiculous claims which indicate you think you can save the company from the brink of disaster or that your ideas are superior to those of the managers. If that were the case, they would be headhunting you!

Think carefully about how you can add value to this organization. Spend time researching what they are already doing and any plans they have for expansion or new projects. A couple of sentences showing how you can contribute to an existing project or perhaps develop a new one, if you are experienced enough to do so, could make a big impression.

Think about success you have had in existing jobs – it doesn’t need to be something earth-shattering. Perhaps you came up with a few improvements to the data base or found a way to increase sales or cut waiting time or improve staff efficiency in a particular area. All companies want to save time and money, and commercial companies want to make money. So anything you have done in the past which has contributed to one of these areas will make an employer sit up and take notice.

Just be sure you can back up your claims with examples and that your references will reflect your abilities.

Your letter shouldn’t be more than one page long. So the body should be two or three short paragraphs.

Then you need to write a polite conclusion. If you are applying for a specific job, you can just thank them for their time and say you look forward to hearing from them. If you are applying on spec (cold), you can suggest a meeting to discuss your ideas further and give an indication of your availability.

Quick Checklist

• You should always send your covering letter for a job application to a named person.
• Make sure you spell his or her name correctly and that you get the address right.
• Type the letter on good quality, white or off white paper. (unless specifically asked for a handwritten letter)
• Keep the letter to one side of standard letter sized paper (A4 in the UK)
• Attach with a paperclip to your CV or résumé if posting, and use a large envelope so that you don’t have to fold your CV