What is a cover letter?
The purpose of a cover letter is to introduce yourself and your skills to a recruiter or employer. This introduction should get them engaged enough to want to read on and explore your resume and skills further. A cover letter also gives the reader an indication of who you are as a person. This can be through your writing style and the personality that comes through.
Cover letters are important to get right. Whilst they are not always necessary; it does depend upon the application requirements as sometimes they are listed as mandatory. It is important to make sure what you are sending out is a positive reflection on your writing and career skills.
We have put together a plan to help guide you when putting together a cover letter.
- Start by introducing yourself, keep it professional but make sure you show your personality
- Refer to the role you are applying for or seeking
- Highlight the relevant skills and experience you have that could transfer well into the position that you are applying for
- Finish the letter with a hook that encourages the reader to invite you for an interview
- Proofread, do this multiple times and make sure you get a second set of eyes to review it too
- Keep the letter to one page, keep it short and concise as you don’t need to be duplicating your resume
If you are applying for multiple roles, it’s ok to use the same cover letter, just double check that what you have written correctly addresses the right person and not the previous person you sent the letter too. You should also check what skills you are highlighting and make sure they are the most relevant to the role you are applying for. A cover letter may require some tweaks for every position you apply for but should never need to be written from scratch every time.
