Writing Cover Letters for Job Applications

When you sit down to write a covering letter to a prospective employer you need to have a clear idea of what a cover letter is. The letter is literally a covering note that accompanies your CV curriculum Vitae. The covering letter is the first thing that the employer will see. It is vital that it gives the right impression. Covering letters should always be formal and business like. For a small number of jobs a direct approach to an employer may be appropriate, particularly in a job where an out going and confident person would be preferred. For most jobs though the traditional CV and covering letter is the first opportunity that you will have to communicate your skills and experience to your employer.

Creating an effective covering letter is a skill that is worth investing time in. Your CV and your covering letter should work together to give the best impression and to create the most persuasive picture of you as a prospective employee. You should present your education, your skills, your experience, the things that you have done and the things that you can do, clearly and concisely. You can use your covering letter to draw an employers attention to the elements outlined in your CV, that are particularly relevant to the post that you are applying for.

Writing a good covering letter is difficult because it needs to provide a snap shot of who we are, what we have done and what we are capable of doing in the future. It is a challenge to find the right tone, you want to appear confident but not arrogant. You want to ensure that you get all of the relevant facts across, without giving unnecessary details. You need to be persuasive and offer the best account of yourself.

A covering letter for a job applicant should be a summary of their career to date that points out the relevant facts and shows the most important aspect of their skills and experience in the best way possible. You need to ensure that the employer understands why you would be the best person for the job or as a minimum, why they should take the time to meet you to explore your skills and experience in more detail.

Even if you are sending a CV and covering letter speculatively you should never open your letter with a phrase like, "I am interested in any job available" or "please consider me for any job". The employers do not have time to read your skills and experience and try to match you to their list of outstanding vacancies. If you don't know what you want to do, then it is not for them to tell you. Always target a specific job and make sure that you give a clear indication of why you would be suited to do the task.

You have very little time to impress the employer. The way that your letter looks will create an instant overall impression of you need to ensure that you have a good layout and that you format the text correctly. But you can also make an impact in the first 2 or 3 seconds with an effective opening line. Try to come up with a phrase that will encourage you employer to keep reading. When writing cover letters for job applications, make sure that your opening line gives the best impression of you. Why you are perfect for the job in 12 – 20 words. Refer to yourself as successful, trusted, with enormous potential. Put yourself in the position of the employer, think about the kind of person that they are looking for and then describe yourself as that person.

John Lawson is the managing editor of the http://www.ukjobspy.co.uk and a large number of career and job related publications. UK Job Spy has over 100 local job websites, listing thousands of UK jobs.