How to write a covering letter

Top tip: As with your CV, make it relevant to the person who will read it, which means you will need to change it
for each role. A generic covering letter won’t be enough to get you through to the next stage.

Types of covering letter

There are two types of covering letter, either responding to an advert or speculative. Either way make sure you
research the company first and make your letter relevant.

What to include
You need to cover three main areas within your covering letter:
1. Why you want to work for this company
2. Why you want to work in this job role
3. What specific skills/experiences/attributes you have that are relevant

Letter structure:

Paragraph one - Introduction

Make it clear from the first paragraph why you are writing the letter. If in response to an advert mention the job title
and where it was advertised. For a speculative letter explain what sort of role you are looking for. This should only be
a brief paragraph.

Paragraph two - Write about the company

Explain what appeals to you about the company, in order to do this you need to do your research. The information
you might want to find out about the company could include:

 What do you know about their industry?

 What do you think would be interesting/challenging about working in this industry?
 How is this industry different to other industries?
 What makes them different to their competitors?
 What size are they? How might this affect the job you are applying for?
 Where in the world do they operate? Do you think this could provide interesting opportunities for you in the
future?
 What are their values?
 What are their plans for the future? What new areas/products have they launched recently?
 What are they good at? What awards have they won?
 What are the challenges facing them? How might they and/or their industry change in the coming years?

Don’t just regurgitate facts and figures, remember that the person reading the letter will already know this
information as they already work for the company. Instead explain why this information is of interest. For example,
instead of:

‘I understand that you operate in 26 countries around the world and employer over 5000 people’

you could put:

‘I am drawn to your organisation as your overseas offices could allow me the opportunity to work on an international
platform, something I already have experience of through my university exchange trip to China, and an area I am
keen to build on in the future.’
Paragraph three – Write about the job role
Explain why you are interested in this specific job, and again for this you need to do some research. Try to
understand the following before writing this section:

 What does this job involve? What are the main responsibilities?
 What sort of duties will you perform on a regular basis? What experience do you have of doing something
similar?
 What have you learnt during your degree that's relevant to this role?
 What sort of environment will you work in? Will you be on your own for long periods of the day or will you
be in a busy open plan office or something totally different?
 Will you be based in the same place/department all the time or will you get to travel/work in different
teams?
 Who will you interact with regularly? Customers, team members, other departments, supervisors, senior
managers etc.
 What sort of training will be provided? What will you have to contribute (i.e. studying in your own time)?
 How will what you do affect the wider business?
 Will you have the opportunity to improve on the way you work or get involved in projects?
 What are the future opportunities once you are fully trained in this role?
 Where could this role take you in the future? In 1 year? In 5 years?

And once again, don’t just repeat what is written on the job advert. Explain why you are interested in the role in your
own words.

Paragraph four - Sell yourself

Now explain why you are suitable for the role or if for a speculative letter why they would want to employ you.
Detail academic achievements, work experience, extracurricular activities and personal traits. As with your CV, back
up claims with examples, but don’t just repeat what is on your CV. This should be tailored to meet the employers
expectations, so if in response to an advert look at what skills/attributes/experiences they have asked for.
Remember to include what you can offer them, it’s not just about you wanting the experience they can offer you.

Paragraph five - Close

This is a brief paragraph to end the letter, you could thank them for considering your application, refer them to your
CV, explain when you are available for an interview or list how they can contact you.

Tips
 Lay out the letter correctly, include your name, address and date on the top right.
 Try to find the correct person to address it to, either from their website or by phoning.
 If addressed ‘Dear (name)’ it should end ‘Yours sincerely’. If addressed ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ it should end ‘Yours
faithfully’. (To remember – ‘Sir and sincerely should never be seen’).
 Try to come across as positive and keen without sounding to pushy, but also don’t come across as lacking in
confidence.
 Avoid any negative language, such as ‘Although I don’t have experience in...’, try ‘I am keen to learn more
about...’ instead.
 Stick to one side of A4.
 Spelling and grammar need to be perfect, make sure you create the right first impression.

HOW TO PRESENT A COVERING LETTER – CONTINUED......

 Your first and last name
Your address
Address cont.
Address cont.
Postcode
Optional: if sending by post put
their name and address here
Date – formatted correctly: 1st January 2012

Dear (name if you can find it, alternatively use Sir/Madam)

Optional: a bold subject line (e.g. Reference the role of Graduate Finance Assistant)

Paragraph one – Introduction. Make it clear from the first paragraph why you are writing the letter.
Refer to the vacancy title and how you heard about it. This only needs to be two or three lines

Paragraph two - Write about the company. Why do you want to work for them? Why are you
interested in this particular industry? Demonstrate that you have done your research and
understand the company’s purpose and mission. Don’t be too effusive as this can be offputting – ie
“it would be an honour to work for such an esteemed company”. Just say why you’d like to work for
them as you might say it to them. This should be around four or five lines for this paragraph.

Paragraph three – Write about the job role. Show the employer you have done your research and
understand the job. Include a sentence or 2 about what experience you have that is relevant – just a
summary. This should be around four or five lines.

Paragraph four - Sell yourself. Explain what you have to offer an employer. Detail your educational
background, work experience, extracurricular activities and/or personal traits. Back up claims with
examples, and don’t just repeat what is on your CV. Aim for two or three points that will help you to
stand out, these could include additional languages, international travel, relevant work experience,
key positions of responsibility etc. Or you could consider your top e skills/strengths and outline
these. This should be around four or five lines.

Paragraph five – Close. This is a brief paragraph to end the letter, you could thank them for
considering your application, refer them to your CV, and/or list how they can contact you. This only
needs to be two or three lines

Yours faithfully (if addressed Sir/Madam) or Yours sincerely (if addressed to a named individual)

Your name
Telephone: 01234 567890
Email: yourname@email.co.uk