Style
Aim for a professional tone that conveys your message to the reader succinctly - remember it's not an essay or dissertation! Write in clear, concise English – take care not to drown the reader with your detail and avoid jargon they may not understand. The Plain English Campaign has some good guidance on improving your writing style.
Content
Layout
Structure it like a business letter, brevity adds power and aim for no longer than 1 side of A4 in length. However, if the organisation gives you very specific instructions about the structure. length and content, follow their guidance.
Introduction
Introduce yourself and explain why you are writing. If you are responding to an advertisement, state where you saw it. This tells the recruiter why they are reading the letter, and it gives them feedback on which of their advertising sources are working. You need to think about how you would like to introduce yourself; it could be that you mention the course you are studying and when you plan to finish it along with your place of study.
Why this job?
Explain why you are interested in the job and the organisation. Tailor the letter to the organisation and job description to make it clear that you haven't sent out multiple copies of the same letter to different employers.
Draw on your research, especially what you have learnt from speaking with their staff (e.g. while meeting them at a fair or event, or during work shadowing/experience) as this will demonstrate an awareness and understanding of them that goes beyond the corporate website. Be specific about why the position is particularly attractive for you, and back this up with evidence from your past, or by linking this to your overall career plans, and what you find exciting about this sector, don’t just repeat the text from their publicity material.
Why you?
Explain why you are well-suited to the position. Refer to the most relevant skills (c.3-5), experience and knowledge you have and match what you say to the requirements outlined in the job description. Tell your story and highlight key evidence so that you are building on your CV, but not using exactly the same phrases. Make sure you read our guidance on demonstrating you fit the job criteria for more advice.
As your aim is to convince the recruiter that you are a suitable candidate for the job, focus on your accomplishments and the transferable skills that are relevant to the role. State explicitly how you match the job criteria – don’t expect the person reading your letter to infer your skills or experiences for themselves.
Support your claims by referring to examples that are already detailed in your CV. You can make a stronger, more credible case by linking different experiences that highlight similar skills or competences. For example:
- You first demonstrated your organisational skills by creating (an event) at school, and you have developed them further by raising (£xx) at last year’s fundraiser and, most recently, by leading (another event) for your society attended by (number) of people.
- The role (applied for) would allow you to further explore your interest in mental health well-being which has driven your success as college welfare officer and the personal sense of achievement gained from working as a peer counsellor.
Conclusion
Reiterate your desire to join the organisation and end on a ‘look forward to hearing from you’ statement, followed by ‘Yours sincerely’ if writing to a named individual and ‘Yours faithfully’ if you have not been able to find a named contact.
Top tips
- Write to a named person if you can
- If you have not been able to find a named contact, you could use ‘Dear Recruitment Manager’ or ‘Dear Recruiter’.
- Check your spelling and get someone else to read it over.
- Check that it says clearly what you want it to say. Are there any sections that are hard to read, overly long sentences? If yes, try to simplify the language, avoid jargon, use shorter sentences or take out that section completely.
- Make the letter different each time. If you insert another company name, does the letter still read the same? If so, tailor it more specifically to the firm - you may need to do further research
- Don’t start every sentence with “I”.
- Give evidence for all your claims.
- Be enthusiastic and interested.
- Don’t repeat your whole CV.
- It’s normal to find cover letters tricky to write. Give yourself plenty of time before the application deadline to redraft.
- A careers adviser at the Careers Service can give you feedback on the content and structure of your cover letter and CV, and advise you on how best to target particular sectors – write one first, book an appointment on CareerConnect and ask a careers adviser for feedback.
