Writing a cover letter is an essential part of the job application process.

A cover letter is designed to show the employer your personality and to give them an idea of why you want to work for them and why you would be good for the role.

Sending a cover letter alongside your resume template is vital and can help you to secure a job interview. But there are some mistakes that can be made and so we’ve listed them below to help you avoid them!

• Don’t write too much. This is a common mistake made by a lot of applicants. It might be tempting to write lots about your experience and why you want the job but the employer simply won’t have time to look through this. Keep it as brief as possible but get to the point – the employer should want to know more about you from reading your cover letter and resume so don’t include everything.
• Don’t be vague – relate it to the employer. Don’t just write information about you – ensure you relate it to the job role. Perhaps you have done some previous work experience or volunteering that suits the position?
• Don’t exclude your skills. It is crucial that you highlight key skills. Of course you should also do this in your personal statement on your resume so don’t repeat yourself, but ensure you extract the relevant skills they will be looking for. Before you apply think about the kind of knowledge or experience you would need to succeed in the position and focus on this when writing your cover letter.
• Don’t lack knowledge of the company you are applying to. You stand a better chance of securing a job interview if you can demonstrate your knowledge of their business, what their goals are and what their history is.

When preparing for any job application you will need a well written cover letter. Writing a cover letter enables you to target your application, express your skills and highlight why you want to work for a particular organisation. But before writing a cover letter you should identify the different types to ensure you are sending the most appropriate one.

Industry Specific

If you have created your resume template and designed it to appeal to a specific industry then it would be beneficial to write a cover letter to match. It could be that you have studied at College for a job in the industry or you might just want to send a speculative cover letter to a specific employer. Either way, you need to highlight your skills and attributes and demonstrate why you would be a great candidate for the industry. You also need to outline why you want to work in this industry and what you have done to get where you are today.

Enquiry/General Cover Letter

There will certainly be times throughout your job search that you will want to send out multiple applications to a variety of different companies. Creating a general cover letter and keeping it quite generic and simple is fine for this. Outline your key skills, highlight any career achievements and briefly explain why you are looking for a new challenge.

Thank You Letter

If you have attended a job interview or met a company at a career fair you may want to create a thank you cover letter. This only needs to be brief but you can send it with or without your resume to thank the employer for their time. For more information on this read our article on writing a thank you note.

Response to a Job Advert

If you have seen a job advert on the internet or in the local paper and want to send your application it is crucial that you make your cover letter very specific and personal. Mention the employer’s name so they know you have taken the time to write a dedicated letter. Mention aspirations you have for the company and why you want to work there and ensure you tie your skills in with the job specification.

It doesn’t happen to everyone, but every now and then you may be wondering if you are working in the right industry. It’s never too late to change your employer and you may find yourself wanting to explore different industries and different career paths for a variety of reasons.

Your cover letter is crucial when sending out either speculative or specific emails to recruiters.

Selling Yourself

If you fall into the ‘wanting to change my career’ category then you may find it slightly difficult at first. After all, your resume is full of experience in (what you believe to be) the wrong industry. With little or no experience in the relevant field, you are limited to where you can apply. That is why highlighting your relevant skills on your cover letter is so crucial in persuading an employer that you are right for the job.

Why Change Careers?

There isn’t a correct answer. Perhaps you are bored. You could simply be wanting to add another string to your bow or you may have actually fallen out of love with your current profession and be looking for a new challenge. Either way, changing careers can be less complicated than you think and is definitely worth doing if you have any doubts about the career path you are following.

What to Include

Ensure you include the following on your cover letter and attach this to your professional resume:

• Highlight key achievements in your field to date
• Highlight any experience you have in the industry for which you are applying
• Write down responsibilities in your current role that could translate into the prospective role
• Explain what you know of the prospective employer’s company and why you want to work for them
• Explain why you are looking to work in a new industry
• Tell them what experience and skills you can bring to the company
• Offer to do work experience (this should come if you have received a rejection letter. It could be a positive way of improving your resume)
• Expand on your hopes for the future within the company and demonstrate you want longevity in the role

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Your cover letter is one of your best sales tools. If written well and sent alongside a well presented resume, your chances of being offered a job role should be significantly increased. Remember – this is your chance to promote yourself!

In most cases you can use a cover letter template as a base – but if you are applying directly to a company it is very useful to tailor the cover letter to their advertisement or requirements. This will help you stand out against the other applicants.

If you are interested in applying for a specific job role, you should have already conducted your own research on the company, the position and what they are looking for. It’s important to remember that when companies advertise for vacancies, it’s because they have a problem they need to solve. Ensure you outline how you can help them to solve their problem in your cover letter.

Stand Out

In some cases employers could see hundreds of applications a day so it is vital you make your application stand out. We don’t mean littering it with bright colours or pictures. We mean ensuring that you fill it with rich and interesting content. Most importantly ensure the content is relevant. Why not start the cover letter with specific facts about the industry or company to convey your knowledge of the job role? By mentioning facts it demonstrates you are knowledgeable and interested about the work they do.

Highlight You Know What They Want

If you are tailoring your cover letter to a specific job vacancy you should be aware of what the company is looking for. Throughout the cover letter ensure you make references to the job role and how you think the lack of a person in the role is impacting their business.

Talk About Yourself

Half way through the cover letter you should start offering a solution to their recruitment problem. What skills do you have that can help fill this role? What knowledge do you have that could fit well into the organisation? What ideas can you bring into the company? What makes you different from the other candidates? These are all questions you should be answering on the cover letter. Although it’s important to answer all of this try to keep it concise and to the point.

Be Polite

End the cover letter on a polite note as this will be the lasting impression you leave the employer with before they decide who is selected for interview. Depending on the job role and the company, it can sometimes be effective to be more forward. Why not end the letter by saying you will call them to introduce yourself once they have received the letter? This can reinforce your interest in the job and could help you beat your competitors to the role.

If you’d like help creating a new professional resume how about using our online resume service? It takes you through creating a resume step-by-step and you can choose from a wide range of eye-catching graphic designs. What are you waiting for? Get started today!

There are lots of different types of cover letters but, generally speaking, each one should include the following points to enhance your chances of employment:

• Keep it short! It needs to be concise and the person reading it needs to find all the relevant information in the first few paragraphs (much like when you’re writing a resume)

• Include references to the employer where possible – heading the cover letter with the employers title, address and business name

• Date the letter

• Include a brief self introduction, why you are interested in the position, education and skills that fit the criteria, why you are right for the role and all your contact details

 

As well as the usual cover letter, you can also use a referral – a very powerful tool if used correctly!
 

The Referral
 

Widely known as letters of recommendation and often a mixture of a cover letter and a reference, the referral is quite different from other types of cover letters as not only are they complimentary to a resume, but they’re also good business networking tools.
 

Referrals provide information to prospective employers about a person or another business. Usually they include a personal reference about the candidate in question and any relevant information that supports the application.

When writing a resume or cover letter, if you have a good relationship with a previous employer it is a good idea to ask them for a referral to use alongside your own as it will add weight to your application. 
 

There are no standard rules to how they should be written – it of course depends on the individual. Generally, it should be headed as a business letter. There is some scope for personal comments, but as the letter may be kept on file, it’s important it is written correctly.

When asking for a referral, ensure that it includes the following information:

• The name of the person being referred

• The relationship between the person and the referral

• Specific recommendations

• Explanation as to why they think the person is right for the job

• Achievements they have noted

Now that you’ve got some more information on cover letters and referrals you’ll need to create a resume and cover letter, why not start with our resume builder tool today?

A general or all purpose cover letter is a basic adaptable letter that you can use to accompany your resume when applying for job positions or tentatively sending your resume to companies in order for them to consider you for any upcoming positions. These letters are great when used as a base to apply for specific job roles where you can re-visit the letter and personalise it to show how you are an ideal candidate for the position. This will help you save time when applying for several jobs in quick succession. A general cover letter template is also very useful when sending your resume into companies that are not currently advertising for staff where you can ask that your resume be considered when a future position becomes available.

General Cover Letter Writing Tips and Advice
General or all purpose cover letters are great to use when applying for a new job however they need to be used in the right circumstances and their content purposefully selected.

• Use our cover letter builder as part of our resume creation tool to help you structure an effective, attractive and relevant cover letter.
• Keep a standard format which can be personalised depending on the job you are applying for. This will save time and help you ensure you include key factors about you as a candidate.
• In your general cover letter template you should leave space for additional text that you may want to add when applying for a specific job position.
• Remember you should tailor your cover letter to suit the company you are sending it to each time you send it out. A relevant cover letter will make sure you get noticed by the company and will ensure that you gain early respect as it shows you have researched the business before applying.
• When tailoring your cover letter for a job application you should think of it as an extension of your resume and therefore you should be looking to attract the employer’s attention within the first few sentences and demonstrate why you are the right candidate for this position. Our article on resume tips should help you get an idea of what prospective employers are looking for.
• Keep your cover letter as concise and purposeful as possible, employers do not want to read pages upon pages of text before they even get to your resume!

Creating Your Cover Letter
Here are some basic steps to creating your generic all purpose cover letter:

• When using a word processing programme to write your cover letter (this is advised) select a business like, easy to read corporate font. A prospective employer will not appreciate an arty or modern font if it’s hard to read and/or appears unprofessional.
• Make space for your addressees details (this is generally in the top left hand corner of the page) perhaps fill the space with ‘X’s as this will remind you to personalise each letter version. Also incorporate a space for your own contact details (usually in the top right hand corner).
• Use a standard salutation to start the letter, if you do not know the name of the addressee begin with To Whom It May Concern. If you do know the name of the person you should address them as Mr/Mrs/Miss followed by their surname.
• Use the first passage to signal your intent to apply for employment and detail the exact position you are applying for.
• Your next passage of text will need to illustrate why you are applying for the position and show that you could fulfil the employer’s requirements in this role and become a valuable asset to the company. Try to achieve this in a fairly concise paragraph – bear in mind your resume cover letter should be no longer than one A4 page.
• Use a closing paragraph asking the prospective employer to review your resume and state that you will look forward to hearing from them with regard to the job position.
• End the letter with a closing phrase such as ‘Kind Regards’ and type your name including salutation (Mr/Mrs/Miss) ensuring you leave space between the closing phrase and your typed name to add your signature (you should sign all your cover letters by hand before sending them out).
• Ensure you include the days date on your letter (should be placed around the top right of the page beneath your contact details). You should write the date in the following format preferably DD Month (by name) YYYY – eg. 15th June 2010.

Final checks to carry out:

• Double check the spellings of recipients names and titles
• Ensure you include the correct address and zip-code for the recipient
• Ensure your own contact details are not misspelt
• Conduct an overall final spelling and grammar check

This advice should help you to create the perfect general or all purpose cover letter which can easily and quickly be adapted to help you apply for that new job as quickly as possible. To go with your great new cover letter you will need an exceptional resume to ensure you get that job interview so get stated for free with our resume builder.

• Avoid writing a letter which is more than one page long. The letter should be a succinct introduction of your application.
• Any references to the employer must be included in bold type above the letter body. These include recipient, their job role etc.
• Remember to date your letter. This helps the employer to reference you and also for you to keep a log of your applications.
• The first paragraph should be a brief introduction of yourself and your career objective. You also need to relate this to the specific role in question.
• The second paragraph should be a brief overview or your education and relevant work history. Try to make statements which relate your qualifications directly to the demands of the job in question.
• The third and final paragraph should be a closing statement and include all of your contact details i.e. a choice of telephone numbers, email address and fax (if available).

A cover letter is a document designed to accompany a resume when presented to an employer. The purpose of a cover letter is to give an opportunity for an applicant to introduce themselves and their credentials.

Most job seekers decide to send their resume without the benefit of a strong resume cover letter, which is a costly mistake. It shows a distinct lack of effort to send a resume bare and will put you at an immediate disadvantage when applying for a job. Employers like to see that you have taken time to analyse the position and formulate some ideas on why you’re the perfect candidate.

Cover letters express your personality and enthusiasm for the position, and provide support for your candidacy that is not covered by your resume. Writing a cover letter can be a challenging and time-consuming task, especially when you must customize it towards each organization.