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A covering letter has a standard format.  Make your paragraphs concise and well organised, ensuring that each paragraph addresses only one important factor e.g. your motivation or suitability.

Structuring a cover letter

1. Introduction

Tell them why you are writing (e.g. for work experience or to apply for a specific vacancy; if the latter, give the job title and where you saw it advertised). If relevant, establish any links with the individual or the company to whom you are writing, e.g. ‘I spoke with Jane Smith, a consultant at Deloitte, at a careers evening and she suggested I apply for this role’.

2. Why this Organisation/Career Path/Sector?

Show that you know something about the organisation and why you would like to work for them. Never just repeat what is on their website. Perhaps you met someone from the company at a careers event or attended a presentation? If so, name the person and the event. Explain what motivates you to work in this sector, what you know about it and what is happening currently. This is your chance to show you have researched their organisation, the sector, and potentially the career path too.

3. Why this job role?

You need to show that you understand what the job involves and why it is of interest to you. Look at the information in the job advert which explains what you’ll do in the role and pick out any task or activities that particularly appeal to you. If it’s a traineeship or a development programme then you can also talk about how it is structured, such as the training provided, or the chance to rotate into different departments.

4. How you meet their requirements

The job advert will also detail the combination of qualifications, knowledge, skills, and experience they are looking for. Make sure to mention these requirements and provide evidence of how you match to them. Briefly detail in which part of your life you demonstrated these requirements so that they can then look for more information on your CV. You can refer to any aspect of your life e.g. side hustle, part-time work, your course, or a role within a club or society.

5. Finishing the letter (one brief paragraph)

This section is just to show that you are polite & know how to end a letter, but if you need to, you can briefly mention any additional factors e.g. why your degree result/A-level grades were not as good as expected, or when you are available if you are requesting work experience.

Layout: use a formal business letter layout with your address in the top right-hand corner and the name and address of the person and organisation you are applying to below, on the left-hand side. Include the date and any job reference below this.

Length: one side of A4.

Contact: always try and write to a specific, named person. Use their correct title e.g. ‘Dear Mr Jones’ or ‘Dear Ms Smith’. If you can’t get a name, use Dear Hiring Manager or Dear Sir/Madam. Make sure all names are spelled correctly.

Font: Use something simple like Calibri or Arial - make sure that it matches your CV or it could look like they were written by two different people.

End the letter correctly: if you address the letter to a named person i.e. ‘Dear Ms Smith,’ sign off with ‘Yours sincerely’. Use ‘Yours faithfully’ if the letter is addressed to ‘Dear Hiring Manager’ or ‘Dear Sir/Madam’. Then leave a few lines and type your name in full, leaving space for your signature.

Make sure that whatever you are sending out is professionally presented and error free. Use the same font type and size in both covering letter and CV.  If you have been asked to send your application by email, you can attach both letter and CV to a brief email as pdfs.  Alternatively, you can use the covering letter as the text of the email and attach your CV as a pdf.  Make sure you follow any instructions the employer has given.

A speculative application is sent to an organisation to see if they have any opportunities which have not yet been advertised.  It might be a good way of sourcing work experience or work shadowing, as long as you are willing to send a lot of them as the response rate is not high and you are relying on timing.  Writing a good speculative letter requires you to:

Do your research: good research and careful thinking around the employer/organisation will help you to suggest the roles/areas you are interested in. Employers like to receive suggestions as to the type of work you can do.

Think about the employer’s point of view: do explain what you can bring to the organisation, whether this is relevant experience, or an interest in this area of work and lots of enthusiasm.

Find out more about Speculative Applications.

• If you a finding it difficult to write your first draft, try using text generative AI. If you upload the text of the advert into your favourite Gen AI application, and ask it to draft a covering letter it will produce a generic draft that you can build from. If you add in a de-personalised version of your CV, it will produced a more tailored version. Either way, these are only first attempts, so be ready to improve them with your own ideas and communication skills.

• Proofread the letter before sending it. Grammar and spelling mistakes are likely to result in your application being rejected

• Make it clear what you are looking for i.e. a meeting to discuss your CV further, an interview or work shadowing. If it is a speculative letter, explain that you will follow it up with a phone call in the near future

• Always keep a copy of the job advert together with the covering letter and CV which you sent in response to it

Made a good opening? 

• Started your letter with why you are writing 

Explained why this job role is attractive to you? 

• Conveyed what you would find particularly rewarding about working in the role 
• Showed that you have a good understanding of what the job involves 

Outlined why their organisation appeals? 

• Conveyed what you think is attractive and rewarding to you about working for that organisation and in that sector 
• Showed your understanding of what the organisation can and does offer, including what research you have done 
• Written concisely and focused on the minimum number of points that demonstrates your motivation 

Shown why you are suitable for the job? 

• Identified the key requirements for the role and provided evidence of having demonstrated these skills, achieved the qualifications, attained the experience and used your knowledge 
• Used the organisation’s terms from their job advert  

Written a concluding paragraph? 

• Rounded off your letter in an optimistic way and outlined what you would like to happen next 

General points 

• Write in a confident and optimistic tone – does it sound as if you want the job? 
• Keep it to one side of A4 
• Proofread it and ask someone else to check it for you 
• Keep a copy