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Writing the Perfect CV Cover Letter

You can get swamped by the amount of information and advice that’s available in books and websites about how to create the perfect CV, but there’s comparatively little to help you when it comes to writing that all-winning CV cover letter. It’s a must have if you wish to boost you application, helping you to secure a job interview and the next step in your career. So here are some tips:

Always write a CV cover letter

Everything has become a little less formal with email now the main medium for making job applications, but employers still want to receive cover letters from candidates. Leaving one out could spoil your chance of gaining the job you really want, so you should only ever not include one if you are explicitly told to do so.

CV cover letters are a chance to impress

Remembering that they are your first chance to impress a recruiter will put you in good stead. So write it in a way that expresses why you are the best candidate for a particular position, giving examples from your past employment that highlight the specific skills and experience required by the employer for the advertised post. You will increase your chances if you write your CV cover letter in a targeted way, generic ones will not stand out.

Demonstrate your professionalism

Show that you are an original thinker able to write succinctly. Recruiters often won’t be impressed if you send your online application, or any application for that matter, without a CV cover letter.

Asking a friend occasionally for feedback can sometimes help to ensure that your letter is free of typographical errors, as spell checking tools often don’t pick them all up. The following points are also important:

  • Your initial sentences should demonstrate why you are applying for the advertised job. You can even include headings to attract the recruiter’s attention.
  • Clichés and insincerities should be avoided. Don’t exaggerate your skills and experience as you will have to justify them in an interview.
  • Back up you claims with evidence, such as “I increased sales by 14% over a one month period.” This sort of evidence will show you are qualified if you are going for a sales position, while other kinds of jobs will have other ways of measuring your success. Mentioning such examples could help you succeed.
  • Keep your CV cover letter to one side of A4 and provide clear contact details, which will make it easier for recruiters to understand you and make contact.
  • Using standardised fonts and white paper will give the right impression. Employers are often put off candidates when they receive fancy fonts or CV and cover letters typed on coloured paper.
  • Research the company to tailor your response. Think about the activities that the firm is involved in and about what might impress the recruiter. This includes making sure that your cover letter refers to the job in question, the industry it is active in, and the company itself. You then need to explain why you’re suited to all of these.
  • Whenever possible address the recruiter by name. You will look lazy if you just write “Dear Sir/Madam” when a name has been provided. Reading the advertisement and making sure that you address the person who placed it will show that you know who you’re writing to and why. Also make sure that you don’t spell the person’s name wrong, and that you refer to the right person.
  • Take your time. You should spend at least 30 minutes to an hour writing each cover letter, taking your time to ensure that each one hits the mark and adequately demonstrates why you are the ideal candidate. Remember, bespoke applications will put you a step closer to attaining the job you want. Templated CVs and cover letters just won’t impress anyone, so demonstrate some effort to inspire recruiters.

Don’t forget that you don’t have to write heaps of text in order to be invited to an interview. It’s about the quality of the information you provide, not about the word count. Employers like to read cover letters that get to the point, so make yours as short as possible – two or three paragraphs are sufficient.

If you follow these tips you should attract the attention of recruiters, making it easier for them to eliminate applicants who haven’t put in as much effort as you, while showing you have the ability to prioritise and write succinctly.

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VinceVince26 June 2010Career advice, Cover Letter
  • stephen collins

    very useful advice but i really believe that if you are over a certain age (as i am) prospective employers will not give you an interview i have not had one response/interview despite applying for many vacancies

  • Keith Stevenson

    I fully agree with stephen as i have had the same problem in getting any response to my job applying.

  • Reg Waite

    I also agree that age is a big hurdle for more mature people especially in the IT industry, even though it is age discrimination.

    I have applied for over 60 vacancies now and only had 2 interviews….and I have over 25 years experience. I have been told my CV is very good, my interview technique good. but still have problems being chosen over the 20-30 age group…….I’m 54.

  • Bob Evans

    This is one of the biggest problems for anybody over 50 trying to find employment today. Age discrimination is rife across all sectors of industry and the goverment really needs to tighten up the law if they want to raise the pension age they need to sort this out as a matter of urgency. Rember we all get older not younger !!

  • Alan Lowe

    Stephen, Keith and Reg, you don’t have to put your date of Birth on your CV and unless you’ve worked at the same place for 25 years, you only need to detail the last 15 years, so your age should become obscure. Employers are only interested in what you’ve done in the last 5 – 10 years, so this is perfectly acceptable.

  • George

    Alan, good point however when you do get past the initial shift and get that Interview, this question of age then comes to the fore. I am in my late forties, have made countless applications and have been fortunate enough to be called into a fair number of interviews.. However, there is always this awkward moment where the interviewers are keen to find out what you did before the last ten to fifteen years when they become aware that your no spring chicken and yes I share Reg’s frustration in having been repeatedly pipped at the post by the younger canidates….

  • Lynn Sharman

    Age has never stopped me getting a job and I am 54! Are you sure its the main reason you guys are not getting the jobs? Sometimes 25 years experience means stuck in your ways. Try a change of direction

  • Barry Skelhorn

    I am in full agreement about age discrimination across all sectors. I have not worked since December 2006. Too few jobs, to many searching for them. now they expect us to up sticks and go elsewhere. This may work for a tiny %age but for most of us, we have to keep the faith and always remember that once you hit rock bottom you either stay there or you climb right back. Even after 31/2 years I have no intension of staying at Base Camp Zero. Good luck everyone.

  • Martin Ward

    I have been trying in vain to get a job, well more of a carreer change from the road construction/maintenance, to the care sector for people with brain injury, at 43 Im finding this very difficult even though like most of you people my age does have more positives to offer than negatives in any sector of work…

  • John kidd

    I too agree with your comments about age.I’m 54 and une
    mployed since November. This new government are so out of touch with the real world. Just where do they expect all the jobs to come from to support their crazy plan to increase the retirement age?
    Common sense tells you this will never work. It just about sums their plans up – they have no common sense and think were gullible enough to believe them.

  • Steve Wilson

    Recruitment Agencies are my personal bugbare. In applying for jobs on line, you get no feed back whatsoever, even if you contact the recruiter by telephone! Very poor responses to any questions I have previously asked. Just a numbers game to these people.

  • http://www.fasttrackrecruitment.com Mitch Sullivan

    If you’re unemployed, you shouldn’t be using recruitment agencies.

  • Guest

    Why?

  • http://www.ukjobsguide.co.uk/CV-Help/ Cv writing

    I’m not sure I can speak to the utility of a cover letter (since my submissions are done through LexOpus, which requires abstracting, a cover letter is largely just a “Hi, how are you doing, please publish my article,” which is redundant), but I can say this: Because I don’t hold an academic position, I tend to be suspicious of things that look like opportunities for letterhead bias, so when a journal told me that they would not review my article without a CV, I sent it to them, but expected a rejection. I was pleasantly surprised when they offered to publish, and now I’m publishing with the George Mason University Civil Rights Law Journal.

    My point (which is somewhat tangential to your post) is two-fold: 1) I wanted to give that journal an attaboy for defying my expectations, and 2) I wanted to point out that there may be uses for parts of the submission package that we don’t fully understand. While I’m sure you prawfs have a better handle on how the process works than I do, I learned through this most recent iteration that some pieces of the package have roles I haven’t discerned. In the future, I’ll think hard about including things like cover letters and CVs.

  • Susan Lane

    It is against the law to put your age on application forms…. My CV is only going back to 1990. Even though I started work back in 1970….The companies I worked for no longer exist….the managers are now dead…..so there is no point. However, I have problems when asked the reason why I left my last job. I was severely bullied by my new manager. I was so ill I had to resign. Unfortunately because of this I didn’t take them to court for constructive dismissal. I cannot tell future employers that reason. So I have been told to make up a story. Like I felt it was time I moved on….Try something new. I am nw 56 and have been out of work since the end of June 09. I didn’t sign on the dole till three months later as I was so ill. I have obnly had 8 interviews in over 300 jobs I have applied for….

  • K Atkin1

    I have been bullied by management within the NHS and sworn at by a consultant. This made me very ill with stress, recovering now, but now found myself about to be dismissed under ill health as my GP feels returning to where I work would not be good for me medically and I quite agree but stress I want to return to working for the NHS, just not that TRUST. Any advice from anyone, regarding finding new employment, being honest without going over board, the NHS is a tight knit organisation and I have nothing to hide, but want to work, your advice will be gratefully received

  • analyn

    I i’m so grateful when i got and idea about cover letter of cv. i have read your advice to make a cover letter when applying and sending a profesional cv. thank you so much. i hope that this really help me to find a job. Beacuse im a jobseeker.

    god speed,,,

  • Midgley_fred

    I have just being laid off from my job, i have had over 25years in the food industry  
    working my way up from shop floor to supervisory/management roles i have taken other jobs i have not enjoyed due to the dislike of been out work.
    I recently went to a employment agency and was told i did not stand any chance
    off getting the job i wanted but take some job i insisted. i did not want to do, does,nt experience no matter what sort of education you have just makes me so mad someone 25/30 years old tries telling you have no chance even though you have had 40 years work experience behind you

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