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Cover Letters

These days a large percentage of jobs advertised require cover letters to accompany CVs. Even if they don't specify that a covering letter is required, it's quite a good idea to include one. I don't intend to tell you how to lay out a letter; such as your address at the top right of the page, the employer's address just below on the left hand side, etc. I'm presuming you already know how to write a letter, I'd like to just give my opinion on how you should lay out covering letters, whether they are for a speculative application or in response to a specific job advertisement.

SPECULATIVE APPLICATIONS

If you are applying to a company where a job hasn't been advertised you should start your letter stating that you are interested in a specific position within that company. Try to find out the name of the person who the letter should be addressed to rather that just "Dear Sir/Madam" if you really can't find out the name of the person the letter should reach ensure that you don't just type "Dear Sir" this is sexist to assume the manager will be a male I've received emails and covering letters addressed this way and I was not impressed. In your opening paragraph you should also show that you've researched the company and they are the sort of organisation you can really see yourself working in or something very similar. Recruiters love flattery but don't overdo it. Saying "I've heard so much about your company it's the only company that sells this fantastic product" is going over the top especially if the company is not the market leader in that area.

Once you've mentioned the sort of position you're after, provide a summary of your key strengths that are relevant to the position including how much experience you have of that skill, such as "2 years people management experience" or "18 months call centre experience" or "3 years sold office administration experience".

After this section you should state that you would relish the opportunity to gain the chance to have an interview with the recruiter or be happy to answer any queries they might have about your background/skills (as clarifying some areas could be the difference between getting an interview or not).

Finish off your covering letter advising which is the best way to get hold of you, be it a landline or mobile telephone number or email address. If you do ask them to contact you by email at least make sure you check your email regularly. Imagine how you'd feel if a recruiter dropped you an email asking

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