Cover Letter

A cover letter (letter of application) consists of three parts:

1. The introduction, in which you refer to the vacancy in question and how you found out about it. You also express your interest in the job.

2. The core of the letter, where you put forward your reasons for sending the application. Indicate clearly and concisely why you find the job and/or the company/organisation so interesting. You then refer briefly to the job requirements (certainly any requirements not covered by your CV). Write something about the aspects of your education, experience, qualities or interest that are particularly relevant to this job. Don’t repeat your whole CV.

3. The conclusion - you indicate in the final sentence that you would like to be invited to attend an interview. Also refer to your CV.

Some tips on writing a Cover Letter
• Make sure you address the person mentioned in the job profile, rather than writing to for instance "The HR department";
• Do not use negative terms like "unfortunately", "although", "in spite of", etc. So don’t say: "In spite of the fact that I have a good job at present, I would like to apply for" or "Although I do not meet all the job requirements";
• Make sure the letter is linguistically correct (no stylistic or spelling errors). Use the spelling checker in your word-processing program;
• Use active verbs rather than passive wordings as much as possible;
• Show self-confidence: no "wishing" or "hoping";
• Avoid abbreviations or, if you use them, explain them;
• Read the letter aloud to yourself, and then you will immediately hear where any changes should be made. And then let someone else read the letter;
• Do not digress. The letter should not be longer than one sheet of A4;
• There is no standard letter, so always write a new letter that matches the job, the job requirements and the organisation (i.e. matches the information contained in the advertisement);
• Always make a copy of your letter of application and accompanying documents, so that later you know exactly what you have written, when and to whom.

Example Format for a Cover Letter

Format of a letter of application

Name of company/ organization
Department
Attn: title, initials, name
Function
Address (street, post code, town)


Place, date



Dear Ms Capital/ Mr Capital,
Part 1: Introduction
Reason for application and interest
Mention name of contact person


Part 2: Core
Suitability for the job
Refer to the requirements of the job
or to special points mentioned in the advertisement.

Part 3: Conclusion
Final sentence
Reference to enclosure(s)


Yours sincerely,

Signature


Name
Address (street, post code, town)
Telephone number

Enclosure: Curriculum Vitae