Good for you! You’re applying for a new job. Even in this modern day and age, when applying for a job, everyone still advises that you should write a job cover letter to stand out from the crowd. And that covering letter needs to be tailored to the job applying for. It’s no good writing a stock job cover letter – it will be spotted and your job application may quickly end up being in the reject pile. So read our Job Covering Letter Checklist to make sure that you write a good job cover letter that helps you get to the interview stage!
Contents of a job cover letter
- Provide your contact details:
- email address
- phone number
- Date it!
- Address the letter to the person who posted the job:
- ‘Dear Mr. Jones’
- ‘To Whom It May Concern’
- ‘Dear Sir/Madam’
- Include the job title
- Include the job reference number
- First paragraph:
- Mention the job you’re applying for
- Where you found the job listing
- Middle paragraphs:
- Discuss your qualifications. Why you are a qualified candidate for this position?
- Relate back to the job description given and reference it.
- What work experience do you have that fits the job requirements?
- Final paragraph:
- Say that you look forward to discussing your qualifications further
- ‘Feel free to call me at <contact number>, to arrange a time to meet. I look forward to hearing from you.’
- Don’t forget to thank them for their time.
- If the job application asks questions, make sure that you include the answers in your covering letter
- Save the covering letter with your name in the filename (for your records)
- Don’t forget to add anything new back into your master job cover letter