A cover letter or covering letter is the letter that a job applicant writes to accompany a CV and is perhaps one of the most important letters one will ever write. How to write the perfect CV is one thing, but how to write the perfect cover letter is just as important. One of the skills of a successful CV writer is to design a CV cover letter.

A perfect CV is not much use without a brilliant cover letter together with the CV it is the single key document that will put the applicant in front of a prospective employer and get the sought-after job. It is a vital part of the job-hunting campaign. If it is written well, it can make one stand out from all the other applicants; written badly and it can condemn the writer’s CV into the rubbish bin!

Therefore utmost care and knowledge is required, as the cover letter will be a major factor in getting a job-search off the ground. An ill-conceived letter can easily ruin a job campaign before it even begins.

Understanding the true purpose of a covering letter is also essential, and if not done will almost certainly result in poor presentation and make all the effort a waste of time. However, given the knowledge of the purpose of such a letter will result in maximising its impact and effectiveness.

A covering letter is ultimately a business correspondence that accompanies a professional CV to a potential employer. The CV Cover letter is a sales introduction used to sell the applicant to the employer so that the applicant is seen to have valuable and desired skills. In other words it makes the applicant sound interesting and useful to the employer.

Making a Cover Letter

The perfect CV cover letter should be written with a particular employer or job in mind i.e. from the employer’s perspective. It motivates the employer to give the applicant an interview and ultimately the desired job. It is prudent to be able to answer the following questions:-

• How does the employer read the letter?
• What are the key skills that he is looking for?
• What will get the employer’s attention and make him give you an interview?

The most important aspect of a professional cover letter is to address the needs of the reader (hopefully the next employer!) and be employer focused rather than job-seeker focused. The employer in this case is the ‘buyer’ and as any salesman knows it is the buyer’s needs that are the major concern.

Research

Researching the employer is therefore a fundamental part of getting a job and the main task is to find out what the employer is looking for in a successful candidate. A professional CV and cover letter is geared to the employer’s view of life. If a candidate is targeting a dozen or so companies for whom he/she would really like to work, researching those companies is an absolute essential so as to discover what the perfect CV would be for that individual.

The general research should probably include:

• What are the trends and changes being carried out by companies in this industry?
• What skills are needed to effect such change?
• What is the general state of the industry?
• What are the problems for this industry?
• What skills are needed to solve these problems?
• Who are the key shakers and movers in this industry?

 

The applicant needs now to show that his/her skills are relevant to the needs of the employer and should not dwell on other skills too much. The research can be tailored to fit each company within a sector. The best place to start is in industry trade publications and relevant newspapers. The internet is probably the easiest place to begin as most information is available there. Annual reports and financial data is readily available and the company’s website is an absolute must.

The same set of questions can be asked as above but relating to the particular company rather than the industry itself. Other questions to ask may include:

• What is the condition of the company?
• Who are the competition?
• What are the company’s goals?
• Who are the main decision-makers?
• What technical skills would such a company need?
• What changes are going on in the company?
• What skills are needed to achieve the changes?

 

Creative CV

The idea is to obtain as much information as possible about the ‘target’, so that the applicant has the best chance of showing the skills required by that company and demonstrate those competencies in a creative CV. A professional CV writer should always write a CV with the employer in mind. However the covering letter should also be as good and as directed as the CV. Thus a CV creator must not only know his client but also know the target employer.

 

Modern CV Writer

Employers will always go for individuals who can help them solve problems in key areas and who will make strategic goals a reality. The CV creator’s skill is in outlining how an applicant will ‘add value’ to the employer. What a truly modern CV writer can do is design effective cover letters that set this particular applicant apart from the others and considerably improve chances of getting the interview. How to do a great CV is therefor vital.

A cover letter that is sent to a recruitment agency or a personnel department and merely is a précis of the CV will not be given much weight by the personnel managers as they are used to reading thousands of CVs and any cover letter that is not specifically related to the job or employer is hardly glanced at. One easy way to get the readers attention is to show first-hand knowledge of the company. This is one of the many reasons that show it is well worth getting a professional to write a perfect cover letter as well as the CV.

An employment professional or a professional CV writer will not want to correspond with the personnel manager of a target company, but will tailor the cover letter to attract the attention of say the managing director or other executive within the company. It is much better to send the cover letter to a named individual rather than to ‘The Personnel Manager’.

An employment specialist in the personnel department will only know those jobs that are currently available, whereas a line manager may realise on reading a professional CV cover letter and CV that he should create a job for this particular applicant. An executive manager will be interested in solving his present problems not merely looking for specific skills for a specific work role, and should read the cover letter with much more care than the employment professional.

A perfect cover letter needs to directly relate to the way it is to be read, highlight the relevant skills needed for the particular job, and show that the applicant will add value to the organisation. So a law cover letter and CV should be specific to that particular law firm. Thus the ‘best CV’ is one that is geared to the reader not the applicant. There is really no such thing as a model CV and a CV designer when writing a good CV will aim to target it to the reader and make each CV different.

A covering letter is the point of first contact and the introduction of the applicant to the employer. A non professional CV will only give the impression that the applicant is a non-professional and the CV itself may never be read. The quality of the cover letter is a personal statement about the writer, so sloppy letter results in a sloppy impression and minimises chances of employment.

Obviously a well written and reader-oriented letter will have the opposite effect and give the immediate impression that the writer is through or careful. A cover letter should also focus on the main skills that fit the proposed job description. It is, in the right hands, a forceful and effective job-seeking tool. It should encourage the reader to carefully read the attached CV and highlight the reasons why the applicant is a ‘must pick’.

The effectiveness of the CV cover letter as a sales tool is directly related to the quality of the advance research on the real needs of the employer. The advantage of having a well-written cover letter cannot be over-stressed and is a dramatic addition to the job-hunting campaign.

These days word processing is common-place and writing ‘business letters’ could not be more simple. The actual design and physical layout of the cover letter and CV should also be professional and business-like, and therefore the appropriate business format is very important. As previously mentioned the cover letter sets the tone and creates a favourable/non-favourable impression. A business-like and efficient letter will convey the right image of the writer and if done properly will highlight the relevant skills of the applicant.

The professional CV Service would always advocate keeping the formal letter format simple. It is a common mistake to make these letters too complicated. There are only three usual formats and usually (about 50%) of letters use a Full Block (i.e. indents) and it is probably wise not to use more than these three (Full, Block and Modified Block). “The Perfect CV” should not however be too different from the normal. It is very risky to use any unconventional designs or formats as there are many differences of opinion and the applicant never really knows the perception of the employer reading the letter. “One man’s meat is another man’s poison” so it is unwise to assume that one’s own perception is that of the ultimate reader.

It is much safer to stick with proven, time-tested cover letter formats that most readers are familiar with. Again the technical parts of the covering letter for example the return address should also be in traditional format, as the businessman/woman reading the letter is accustomed to a particular order of the address. American cover letter addresses are set out in a different form to an English one. The idea is for the reader not to waste time deciphering regular information and should be focused on the ‘meat’ rather than the ‘dressing’. Similarly the date should be in the format usually used in the country or region.

If possible, the cover letter should be addressed to an individual, by name, in the target company and should be clearly readable on the letter itself (not just on the envelope!) as many letters are opened by a secretary and the reader never sees the envelope it came in. These days it is also unwise to use the term ‘Mr’ or ‘Mrs’ as it is difficult to know the correct status of many female recipients. In England there is a set format for ending the letter and the most common is ‘Sincerely’. As with the Curriculum Vitae layout, the cover letter should also be in similar layout. It should never be forgotten that an interesting covering letter effectively markets the applicant’s qualifications and motivates the employer to invite the applicant to an interview.

The most important elements of a good cover letter are generally:

• It gets the reader interested
• Implies employment interest
• Demonstrates value-adding ability
• Highlights key strengths and abilities
• Summarises relevant education and experience
• Compels the reader to follow-up action
• Has a statement of appreciation

 

One of the best ways to get reader interest is to personalise the cover letter by referring to an individual within the target company and to use specific knowledge about the company. By the same criteria the use of compliments always helps to make the letter personal. These are the usual interest-generating tactics of the professional CV writer. Most CV Services will give this sort of CV advice for creating a CV and cover letter. However, one should be aware that glib or sycophantic complimentary openings may have the opposite effect desired, if it is apparent that no real knowledge of the target company exists. These openings should be sincere and genuine, or at least appear so.

A well written value-selling paragraph is not simply a sterile list of the applicant’s skills and talents. The inference should be that the applicant can add valuable skills that are needed by the company. An existing track record in previous jobs will help show this. Modern interviewers assume that past experience assumes future delivery of skills, and is the bedrock of behaviour-based interviewing techniques. The difficult task is to pick the skills that will be truly value-adding from the employer’s perspective. Most job seekers ignore this vital question and choose those experiences of which they are most proud, with small thought for the needs of the prospective employer.

If the CV writer does this, then a bad mistake is being made and some serious objectivity is required! The first thing to do is to understand an employer’s needs and to understand the problems that the organisation is trying to solve. When answering the question ‘How to write a functional CV or cover letter?’ a recruitment expert would say that their skill is in understanding the needs of the recruiter. Giving examples of CVs or templates for CVs all looks very worthwhile, but the art of CV writing can only be based upon the ability to pinpoint the exact requirements of the employer.

A value-selling paragraph makes the opportunity to market the applicant and to motivate employers to favour the employment candidacy. This is, perhaps, the most important paragraph in a CV and cover letter. It is the bait to catch a job! It should be followed by an action statement that ensures action beyond merely reading the letter. An example of this would be to grant an interview which is, of course, the purpose of a CV.

The good cover letter should also have a statement of appreciation showing courtesy. No matter what sort of person reads the letter, everyone re-acts favourably to a ‘thank you’

A good cover letter should have the following characteristics:

• An interest-grabbing first paragraph.
• A value-selling paragraph focusing on employer’s needs and shows problem solving skills and drive desired change.
• A background summary that highlights relevant experience and skills
• An attention-grabbing statement that ensures follow-up action.
• A statement of appreciation
  

 

Click here to order and receive a full no obligation information pack. 

Click here to Contact Us.

Go To Top of Page

SiteMap