Covering letter

Why you need a good covering letter
Before even looking at your CV, an employer usually reads your covering letter.
If it is badly-written, or untidy, or difficult to read, your CV will probably go into the nearest bin.
If it is well-written, attractive, easy to read and persuasive, the employer will turn to your CV.

Your covering letter must sell your CV
When you send your CV to apply for a position, you should also include a short letter. This letter is called a covering letter or (in American English) a cover letter.
A covering letter sent with a CV/resume is also called a letter of application. Your letter of application is a sales letter. The product it is selling is your CV.

The reader of your letter may be busy and unwilling to waste time on unnecessary details.
You should therefore design your letter to be easy to read.
It should be short, concise and relevant.
It should not be too formal or complicated.
Content

Your letter should:
confirm that you are applying for the position
say where you learned about the position
say why you want the position
say why you would be a benefit to the company
request an interview

Format
The layout of a modern business letter in English is very simple.
Your address is at the top, on the right or in the middle.
The rest of the letter can be in 'block' format, with each line starting on the left.
Try to keep the whole letter on one single page, with plenty of white space.

1 Your address
telephone - fax - email
Put your address + 1.Your address
your telephone number, telephone
fax and/or email address fax
at the top in the centre email
OR on the right.
Do NOT put your name here.

2 Date
Do not write the date as numbers only, for two reasons:
It can be considered too official and therefore impolite
All-number dates are written differently in British English (31/12/12) and American English (12/31/12). This can lead to confusion.

3 Destination name and address
This is the name of the person to whom you are writing, his/her job title, the company name and address.
This should be the same as on the envelope.

4 Reference
This is the reference number or code given by the employer in their advertisement or previous letter.
You write the employer's reference in the form: 'Your ref: 01234'.
If you wish to include your own reference, you write: 'My ref: 56789'.

5 Salutation (Dear...)
A letter in English always begins with 'Dear...', even if you do not know the person. There are several possibilities:
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Mr Smith
Dear Mrs Smith
Dear Miss Smith
Dear Ms Smith

6 Subject
The subject of your letter, which for a job application is normally the Job Title.

7 Body - the letter itself
8 Ending (Yours...)
Yours sincerely
Yours faithfully
Yours truly
9 Your signature - sign in black or blue ink with a fountain pen;
10 Your name
Your first name and surname, for example:
Mary Smith
James Kennedy

11 (Your title)
If you are using company headed paper, write your Job Title here.
If you are using personal paper, write nothing here.

12 Enclosures
Indicate that one or more documents are enclosed by writing 'Enc: 2' (for two documents, for example).

COVER LETTERS
When writing a cover letter, consider the following tips:
■ Customize the letter for each job.
■ Don’t use a generic cover letter for every job application.
■ Highlight your skills in bold font that match the job description.
■ Make sure the cover letter does not contain any typos or grammatical mistakes.

COVER LETTERS
■ List specific examples of things you’ve accomplished and how each corresponds to the job description.
■ Market your strengths, achievements, work ethic, and personality traits that will benefit the organization.
■ Ask for an opportunity to interview.

Cover letters are typically written to:
■ Respond to an advertisement for employment.
■ Respond to a request for your resume.
■ Network with contacts during a job search.
■ Accompany a proposal, report, or application.
■ Respond to a job offer.

Sample
12345 Heartside Drive
Western Branch, GA 31234
December 2, 2011
Mr. Kevin Wilson
President
Videologies, Inc.
10 North Main Street
Atlanta, GA 30303

Sample
Dear Mr. Wilson,
I am very interested in applying for the job of office assistant listed in the Atlanta Constitution on December 1.
As you can see from my enclosed resume, I have worked for both a still photographer and a small video production company. I enjoyed working at both of these companies, and I feel this past experience qualifies me for the position described in your advertisement.
I have a good understanding of the visual medium and the many details you must handle in your work. I believe I can help take responsibility for some of these details with little additional training.