First impressions count, and for most job applications that means making your cover letter stand out and make the recruiter want to find out more about you. A well written cover letter arriving in the inbox will tempt the reader to open your CV and progress your application, a poor cover letter will result in you CV not being looked at – so it’s vital to get it right. 

Stay On Point

Keep your cover letter short and sweet - back in the day we advised to keep cover letters to less than a page of A4, now that everything is conducted via email we suggest keeping your word count to no more than 500 words. Write your email in a word document to keep your word count in control and copy and paste it when you’re ready to send. 

Research and Adapt

Never reuse a generic cover letter, always write for the job you’re applying for and use the email to explain why you want to work at the particular company and why you’d be a good fit. Research the company’s history, ethos and future plans – understanding who they are, where they are heading and how they fit in their industry. This will enable you to tailor your application to the company and the role, the extra effort you’ve put in will show your enthusiasm for the job and your attention to detail. 

The Little Details

It’s often repeated, but we still see this mistake all too frequently – make sure your email address is professional. A stellar cover letter and CV coming from a beerlover420@aol.com or Sam_xoxo@yahoo.co.uk looks awful – make sure your email is yourname@gmail.com. And of course don’t use your work email address!! 

Find more cv, cover letter and interview advice on our candidate resources page. Ready to apply for the next stage in your career? Contact one of our consultants today!