This cover letter will change your life
There's always speculation around what makes a good cover letter. As a recruiter I have seen a lot, some good, some bad, most somewhere inbetween. A few years ago, I created my own cover letter template, and started writing one for for every candidate who didn't have one. Clients told me how much they liked it, and when I decided to move jobs, I used it myself. It must be doing something right, as both companies I applied to invited me to interview! The problem with the traditional cover letter is that they get saved as a different document to CV. Lots of companies use ATS, which do not open the cover letter with the CV. This means it might not get seen by the first person in the hiring process (generally the Recruiter or HR person). If it does manage to get seen at that first stage, the person who then creates a shortlist to send to the Hiring Manager tends to save just CVs - so anyone involved in the process from then on won't see your cover letter!
The solution is to save your cover letter as the first page of your CV. If you follow my CV design tips, this will give you a 3 page document, with your 1st page being the cover page, followed by your 2 page CV. The cover page should be broken up into 3 key parts:
1. Introduction. Here you will explain why you are looking to move on from your previous job, and why you are interested in this particular job and company.
2. Justification. Here is where you tick off all the job criteria that you meet. Have the job spec to hand so you can easily match your cover letter to the job spec.
3. Resolution. Here, finalise any issues that arn't mentioned in your CV - e.g., notice period, salary expectations or any travel/relocation issues. Once all these concerns are adressed, the recruiter will have no reason not to call you! Here is an example of what I mean. It's my own cover letter from early 2015 - the one that got me interviews at both companies I applied for so it comes with a 100% success ratio! I've included notes to explain each part of the cover letter, but feel free to tweak it and make it your own. Let me know your thoughts, and let me know if it brings you interview requests! :)
Laura Summerfield is a Manchester based technology recruiter/music lover/book geek. In her spare time she likes eating vegan food, making cushions, playing civ, and walking her two dogs, Manny and Ralph. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
