Cover Letter |  | |
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The cover letter is essential when applying for work experience, employment or training. It should be provided along with your CV (advice on writing a CV – an example CV) and it should state the motivations behind your application. The cover letter should spark the interest of the recruiter by answering the following three questions:
- First part of the cover letter: Why are you applying?
As early as the opening stage of your cover letter, you should, as concisely as possible, state the reasons for your application and demonstrate that you are well informed regarding the company or institute in question. "...I am looking for work experience/ employment in the field of bioinformatics…within a market-leading company such as XX technology". If you are applying for work experience, state your availability (full-time, times according to sandwich training, available dates, duration). If you are applying for admission on a training programme, clearly state your chosen options.
- Second part of the cover letter: Who are you?
Be careful not to reiterate the contents of your CV in the cover letter. At this stage, you should elaborate on your application by describing your studies: "after completing a BTS in Marketing, two work experience periods as a salesperson, I would like to secure a position as an attested salesperson". Your cover letter should expand upon your CV by providing details of a particularly interesting work experience period that you could not develop within your CV: you can include assignments, responsibilities, achievements…Expand on details of this experience if it corresponds directly to the job advertisement: "during my time at XYZ, I was able to demonstrate my project management skills by carrying out…". In the eyes of the recruiter, this part of the cover letter, your application in light of your studies, strengthens the value of your experience as introduced in your CV.
- Third part of the cover letter: Why do you want this work experience/employment/training?
In this part of the cover letter, explain why the company or institute attracts you, why the assignment/training interests you. The cover letter, in addition, is an opportunity for the reader to decipher whether you are aware of what awaits you (if you have really understood the challenges relative to the desired position): at this stage, you can incorporate the factors required and specified as part of the work experience/employment offer and outline what motivates you about these assignments, describing your strengths with regards to these assignments.
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Be courteous and polite: always end your cover letter stating that you will remain at the reader’s disposal should they require further information and conclude the cover letter with the standard polite, closing phrase: "If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours faithfully…".
Use short, punchy sentences adopting a direct and clear style (maximum length of one page). Try to be original in your cover letter in order to stand out from the crowd. The impact of your letter will be noted (however, within limits!). | | The same CV can be sent to various companies, however the covering letter should be individual and tailored to the offer and company or institute in question. Only include details which apply to you and which are likely to interest the recruiter.
Should it be handwritten? |
The rule stating that a cover letter should be handwritten seems outdated in light of the explosion of recruitment on the Internet. However, if you are able to send your application by post, a handwritten version of your cover letter may make your application stand out from other applications.
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For further help with your cover letter:
6 cover letter examples: see the webpage and the provided model cover letter.
Golden rules when writing a cover letter: advice to bear in mind :)
Just one last piece of advice – get your family/friends to read your cover letter and re-read the cover letter after having taken a break from it. Your cover letter should be perfect both in appearance and content.
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| 4 template files for download : |
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