Have you found your dream job and you’re nearly ready to apply but you’re a bit stuck on how to write the perfect cover letter? We can help! This handy little guide will teach you everything you need to know to wow your potential new employers!

Why do you need one?

• Covering letters give a better idea of your writing style than your CV, which should be brief and filled with facts (you can find tips on how to write a good CV here). This letter shows the employers that you have the qualities they are after, giving your application more of a personal touch.

What does it need to be like?

• Your cover letter shouldn’t be more than one page long, and if you are emailing it you can put it in the body of the email. Also, as with everything you send to an employer, make sure that you proofread and spell-check your cover letter!
• At the beginning you should state which job you are applying for, and where you found out about it. This ensures that your application is lined up with the right job, as many organisations will have more than one position open at one time.
• Alter it for every job you apply for, making sure that it covers the qualities that that exact job wants from the candidate and each cover letter is addressed to the relevant person. You want to give the impression that each employer is special, not that you have sent the same letter to lots of employers for lots of jobs.
• Also, by including some information of your understanding of the position and/or company you can give your potential employer idea of why you want to work for that company or in that industry.
• Finally, make sure that you sign off correctly. If you have addressed a specific person (e.g. Mr Jones), it should end with Yours Sincerely. Alternatively, when addressing “Dear Sir or Madam” it should end with Yours Faithfully.

Hopefully this guide has helped you when working out how to write a good cover letter, and you now feel more prepared to apply for your dream job! If your application is successful and you get invited to lots of interviews, you may want to check out our interview tips and tricks.

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