Cover letters in context!

By Bianca Praino

May 2020

The abundance of information and advice available on cover letters, can be overwhelming. The wealth of advice on the do’s, don’ts, types of microsoft templates and online examples can more often than not leave you more confused. To be honest, there is no secret to the art of cover letter writing, but from my personal and professional experience, the successful ones do share some commonalities, mainly a level of originality, self-reflection, a firm grasp of the nature of the role and a genuine interest in the organisation. Don’t be too hard on yourself, cover letter writing is a skill in itself, and therefore takes time and practice to master. They require effective written communication skills, a distinct writing style (in a UK context), an understanding of the language of employability, knowing what key words and criteria to select from job adverts, tailoring and an awareness of what employers and recruiters look for. In addition to these variables, it's also essential to understand your own strengths, skills and experience. The process demands patience, conscientiousness, self-awareness, and good old graft.  The hard work and effort involved can cause some to procrastinate, or just want to ‘get it done’ and resort to composing a template which they recycle for all their applications or find a sample one online which they have copied and pasted (highly unrecommended).  These approaches result in a generic and boring cover letters.

If you consider where a successful cover letter could get you in your career- a salary increase, career progression, your ‘dream job’- surely  it’s well worth the effort.

So below are some of my top tips to get you started. These are based on my professional experience of working in career guidance and recruitment for what has worked for candidates (and myself)- you can take or leave the advice. Up to you. 

Reframe!

First and foremost, take the pressure off yourself by being consumed with the idea that cover letters are about ‘selling yourself’. It’s not so much about about selling yourself as it is about your career narrative through outlining your skills, knowledge and experience whilst evidencing how you meet the  essential (and desirable) criteria and displaying confidence and self belief that you could do that job, and that you would do it well.  The most successful cover letters I see are the ones which have been written in a way that the person is already doing the job.

The power of why

Cover letters are also called motivational letters, because the aim and purpose is to communicate your personal motivation for why you are interested in a specific role and company. It is therefore essential that you outline what specifically stands out for you  about the job and organisation from the very first paragraph and emphasise this throughout.   It is pertinent to get across your unique interested in the vacancy and these reasons should be personalised, authentic and owned by you.  Effective cover letters are ones where the individual has carefully dissected the job advert and differentiated between, the nature of the role; duties and responsibilities; essential and desirable criteria; personal attributes and skills required and the organisation.

Making the distinction between your interest in the role and interest in the organisation is key.   Your underlying motivation for the role will be based on the skills/attributes and criteria whereas your interest in the company relates to their company values, strategy, culture etc. Always go beyond the job advert to research the company. Look on their social media platforms and LinkedIn and use the content in your letter. This will be noticed and appreciated.   

Value your experience!

If you do not have experience directly related to the role, it is your responsibility to make the experience you do have relevant in some way. Understanding the significance of interpersonal and soft skills you have which are transferrable and applicable to all workplaces is vital. A lot of international students and overseas job seekers undervalue their international backgrounds and multilingual skills, which could just be what sets you apart from other applicants.  If employers value these skills, why shouldn’t you? 

Tailor all the way

The most common advice on cover letters is to ‘tailor’. You hear people saying it all the time- but not really explaining what they mean by this or demonstrating how to do this in practice.  One of my top tips is, that, every third sentence should relate back to the role and/or organisation.  This way, you can be certain you are tailoring and contextualising your skills, experience and knowledge to the job. Weak cover letters are ones which are very descriptive and outline what skills and experience you have, without mentioning the role description or organisation after the first paragraph.  Having the same cover letter and changing the first paragraph isn’t tailoring, it is cheating and plain laziness. Taking that bit of extra effort and time to add a couple of sentences at the end of each paragraph to relate it to the role/organisation will get you a lot further in your job search and ultimately, your UK career.

Be original- Avoid the clichés

-I can work alone and as part of a team

-I am motivated, enthusiastic and passionate

-I am an asset to any team

-I meet the criteria and am very suited for this role (without then elaborating on why you are actually suitable).

Guilty or not guilty?

Last but not least, Reflect and Rejig!

If you are submitting lots of cover letters and wondering why you are not getting interviews, ask yourself whether you really understand what is expected of a cover letter and why employers ask for it. Finally,  always send a cover letter with your CV unless it is stated not to. Making the effort to submit both a cover letter and CV will instantly see you stand out compared to those who didn't bother. 

I could write a lot more on cover letters, but I hope the above provides some insight into what is expected and encouragement to get you started. The main thing to remember is that if you consider the possible return for investment, it is surely worth the time, investment and effort.

Thanks for reading. Go get writing!

Ciao for now!

 Bianca

Join one of my cover letter Q&A sessions to get more advice.