It can be tempting to trawl through your old job applications or even to use the cover letter that you wrote for another opening just weeks ago, but it’s best to avoid regurgitating the same letter for different employers. Recruiters and hiring managers will be able to spot bland, generic sentences easily.
Research the company and its culture, its goals over the next few years and any newsworthy changes in the industry in which it operates. You should also pinpoint a list of keywords that appear in the job advert and seem important to the role that you can try to use in your cover letter.
“Candidates routinely let themselves down through not personalising their cover letters. Go beyond the companies’ websites and look at their socials and extra content, such as podcasts,” Gina Visram, a career coach from Your Career and Future, said.
“The recipient is likely to get the impression that you are genuinely interested in the organisation. As many applicants don’t make this effort, you have the opportunity to stand out.”
As the cover is technically a letter, some companies will expect you to format it as such. This means listing out your basic contact information — name, location (you can be vague), phone number and email address — at the top.
If you are sending it in the body of an email, you could choose to add these details at the end.
You should also ensure the document looks clean and uncluttered, so use the same font and size as you use in your CV and all the way through the cover letter. If you’re using a document (rather than an email body), use 1.15 spacing to make it more readable.
Do your best to pin down exactly who will be reading your cover letter. This could be the head of the department or a hiring manager, but most companies will list some form of contact on the job advert – this is your best bet.
If there’s no obvious contact, check the company’s website. Look at LinkedIn or other social media sites to see if there is someone suitable to whom you can send the letter.
If you still have no luck, do your best to avoid generic introductions such as “To whom it may concern” and opt for “dear hiring manager” or a simple “hello” instead.
In your opening paragraph tell them why you are writing to them – that you are applying for this specific role and this specific company. Don’t be vague, as it implies that you are sending out a blanket letter to various companies about their “job openings”.
It’s up to you how much flare you put into this opening paragraph. If you are applying for a corporate position at a traditional company, it might be best to simply state that you are excited to apply for the open position and mention why you like the company. Show off your knowledge of the firm.
If the role is more creative and you feel comfortable being less formal, you could use this part to grab their attention with an anecdote about why you are interested in the role. Are you a customer of theirs for instance, or do you admire something that they have recently accomplished?
Next, you should explain why you would be a good fit for the position. Look through the job advert and pick out what seem to be the most important attributes and skills the hiring manager is looking for.
Abby Robbins, recruitment director at Yellow Bricks which specialises in hiring for professional roles, even suggests printing a range of job descriptions for the type of role you are seeking, and recommends using a highlighter to mark the skills that appear most regularly. This helps you pin down the “must haves”, she said.
Tell them how your skills and past work experience match what they are looking for. Don’t be afraid to use the advert’s specific wording – it proves that you have done your homework and understand what the role entails.