When submitting an application for a job vacancy, a cover letter will often accompany your CV with the purpose of introducing yourself to a potential employer. Not every employer will require a cover letter, but unless you are instructed otherwise, you should include a cover letter to provide more information upon your previous experience and future goals for new employment.

Despite only being around three to five paragraphs long, cover letters can be difficult to master, but Blueprint Recruitment Solutions have created a step-by-step guide to support you in perfecting yours.

Step 1: Research

Before writing your cover letter, you should re-read the job description for the relevant job, highlighting the employer’s key requirements (just as you would whilst writing your CV). We also recommend that you research the whole company in more detail by checking out their website and social media pages. Collate information that will allow you to tailor your cover letter to align with the company’s ethos, showing that you have taken the time to go one step beyond other applicants by exploring their work more broadly. You should seek out key details about:

·         The culture and values of the company

·         The company’s vision/goal over the next few years

·         The industry that the company operates in, potentially considering key Clientele.

This information will prove extremely helpful when it is time to write the content of your cover letter…

The General Structure:

·         Heading

·         Term of address

·         Paragraph one: Introduction

·         Paragraph two: Experience and qualifications

·         Paragraph three: Your interest in the company and the contributions you can offer

·         Paragraph four: Restate your interest and thank the reader for their time

·         Sign off

The Details:

Heading: Like an ordinary letter, a cover letter should feature your address in the top right corner and the company address underneath, aligned to the left of the page. Furthermore, underneath the company address, you should include the date.

Term of address: If possible, you should attempt to find a named contact to address at the opening of your letter. The name of the hiring manager might be featured on the initial job advert, but you might also be able to find them through the employees listed on their LinkedIn company page. If this information is unavailable, you can still use a more general term of address, such as Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Hiring Manager, as your final resort.

Paragraph one: To open the first paragraph, you should provide background information about your reason for writing the letter. State the role you are applying for, where you saw the job advert, and provide a brief summary about your current job title/situation.

Paragraph two: Use this paragraph to discuss your relevant experience and potential contributions to the company you are applying to. This section of your cover letter is your opportunity to highlight your key strengths. Remember that your cover letter should not simply repeat the content of your CV, but can expand upon information in instances where this will add value to your application. Refer to particular scenarios where you displayed the relevant skills, and try to use statistics to support these examples.

Paragraph three: Explain why you believe you’re suitable for the job and summarise the skills you would be able to contribute if you start in the role. You should link your contributions to the mission of the business, and also explain why you’re interested in working for that particular company.

Paragraph four: This is the concluding paragraph to your cover letter. Keep this paragraph short, simply restating your interest in the job and the company. You might also want to briefly mention that you are keen to come in for an interview and you are happy to answer any further questions they may have.

Sign off: Your sign off will depend on how you initially addressed the reader; if you referenced a specific person/name use ‘Yours sincerely’, but if you used a more general term of address, use ‘Yours faithfully’.

Format:

Ensure that your cover letter is written in the same style/size font as your CV (we recommend either Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman and a minimum of size 11 font). If you are sending your cover letter via email, include it in the body of the message so that it doesn’t get moved to a junk or spam folder once sent. Otherwise, convert your cover letter to a PDF format, unless you have been told to submit the document differently.