How To Write An Excellent Cover Letter

Our guide to getting the attention your application deserves.

How To Write An Excellent Cover Letter

GIVE IT TIME

You may spend hours and hours on your CV, butthere is no point if you’re going to blow it on ahalf-arsed cover letter. You need to spend atleast an hour considering, composing and

checking the perfect letter that is going to doyou justice.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

There are different types of cover letter for differentsectors and different situations. First, what sector are you

applying to? If it’s business, law or accountancy forexample, you will need a more conservative approach.You might need something a little more creative if you’rehoping to bag a job in marketing, advertising or PR,

something that shows imagination but isn’t too over-the-top.

Are you applying to a live advertisement or sending out aspeculative letter? Are you a graduate or a career

changer? This reason will also reflect how you write andpresent your cover letter.

UNDERSTAND THE ROLE

Do you know what the company are looking for?It’s up to you to scrutinise the job description andreally understand what their requirements are.

Check the company information – what do theydo? What is the person specification? Are thereany essential or desirable criteria? Do you meet

them in one way or another?

This could be through your previous roles,training or qualifications, or through pure life

experience.

TAILOR FOR EVERY APPLICATION

Job hunting takes time. It can be tedious, but ifthere’s one thing you do after reading this blog,then let it be tailoring your application. It’s acompetitive market so you simply won’t standout with a generic CV and cover letter, or evenone that is clearly copied from an old one.

We’ve experienced many incidents ofapplications to the wrong company name. Youmay laugh (or cringe) but it’s an easy mistake tomake when you use copy and paste in a rush to

get an application in.

GIVE EXAMPLES

So you know what they’re looking for from theperson specification and the essential and

desirable criteria. With each point it will be usefulto make a note of an example or two on how you

match these requirements.

You’ll then use these examples to frame yourcover letter and make sure it shines out from the

other applicants. The main point here is toprovide evidence of your suitability for the role.

GET THE FORMAT RIGHT

The format is the first impression, if they just lookat it and think ‘Urgh’ then it’ll be in the bin withinthe second. Structure it like a professional letter,but keep it short, positive and to the point. Noone wants to read an essay and nor do any

recruiters even have the time to.

DON'T DUPLICATE YOUR CV

Your cover letter is something to complimentyour CV, not just a regurgitation. So consider whatyou would like to highlight that you couldn’t

necessarily get across in your CV, or would like toexpand on.

Don’t just pull the same content into your coverletter that they will also read on your CV, it’s awaste of a valuable resource and promotional

opportunity.

Good luck with your application!

If you want support finding roles to applyfor, contact the GB Solutions team andthey’ll be able to get to work finding the

perfect role for you.

Call 01242 412999 or emailinfo@gbsolutions.co.uk.