Homepage > Applying for Work > Covering Letters
A covering letter supports your CV, and although your CV is a document that sells your skills, motivation and abilities, a covering letter:
- explains why you want to work for a particular organisation
- explains the abilities that you can bring to an organisation
- demonstrates your knowledge or interest in an organisation
- is a chance to go into more detail about information that doesn’t fit into your CV
- is a chance to explain personal circumstances or gaps in your employment or education (e.g. if you repeated a year at school due to a serious illness). Phrase these in a positive way explaining how you have overcome your hurdles
The importance of a covering letter
A covering letter together with your CV is your first chance to sell yourself to an employer, so it is important that you make a good impression! A covering letter sets the tone of an application to encourage an employer to continue reading your CV.
Tips for writing a good covering letter
- Include details you haven't mentioned in the application form or your CV like when you'd be available to start, what made you apply for the job and where you saw it advertised.
- Keep your letter to one page and try not to ramble.
- Try not to be too formal, but don't get too chatty. Try to get your personality to shine through if you can.
- Unless you know the person well, do not use first names. If you don't know their name or are not sure about the spelling, ring up and ask. Starting your letter Dear Ms Smith looks so much better than Dear Sir/Madam.
- Get to the point quickly and avoid waffling. The first paragraph should mention the job you're applying for and why you think you are right for it.
- Your closing paragraph should be positive and confident, showing that you expect a response and advising them how you can be contacted.
If you are looking to work within a particular industry it is often a good idea to send your CV and covering letter to potential employers, rather than to a specific employer who is advertising a vacancy. This kind of covering letter is referred to as speculative. Speculative covering letters should be tailored to the industry and the abilities you can bring.
Need help writing covering letters?
If you are looking to write a covering letter to support your CV, why don’t you sign-up to MyConnexions? You will need to remember your username and password but you will get this emailed to you when you first sign-up. You can work through the online page saving your progress as you go. Once complete you can download and print out your covering letter.
Useful websites
DirectGov
Further advice about job applications, letters and interviews.
Bradley CVs: professional cover letters
Professional covering letters and free guide on how to write a great CV.
Alec: cover letters
Free advice on writing the perfect covering letter, along with a free CV writing service.
BT: moving on
BT provides information on job application and interview skills for young people. Moving On helps young adults aged 14-19 and beyond to learn more about themselves, the skills they need in life and work, and how best to develop and demonstrate these as they identify and apply for jobs that are a good fit for their personality, interests and skills.
Last updated: 21/06/11
Your Comments
Posted - 01:12, 05 Jun 2009
Thanks for your comment. I am sorry to read that you find the CV builder a pain. The CV builder tries to capture all of your achievements in order to produce a CV that makes you stand out as an excellent candidate to an employer. All the sections capture important information that we feel you should be telling future employers. Creating a CV is never a simple task because often you can’t remember all the good skills and achievements that you should share with an employer. This is why the CV builder asks for lots of information. If you are having any particular issues with the CV builder please don’t hesitate to email cnx.webmaster@essex.gov.uk and we will be more than happy to assist. Regards Connexions
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Posted - 09:40, 05 Jun 2009
THe CV builder is a pain in the neck It asks too many questions for school leavers and wont let you move on