As part of your job application, a cover letter contains details about you and your skills that cannot be found in your CV. It focuses on your motivation and your most important professional or educational achievements. When you're going up against applicants with similar qualifications, the cover letter usually helps recruiters make the final decision. Young job seekers and people switching careers can benefit immensely from a well-written cover letter because they typically don't have a lot of relevant work experience in their CV.
In the UK, in particular, many job seekers are hesitant when they're required to write a cover letter, as digital application forms are becoming the norm. But don't worry: The following standards and guidelines will help you create a cover letter that will impress recruiters.
The structure and design of a job application cover letter
If you're required to submit a job application portfolio, the cover letter is usually the first page of that portfolio. Likewise, it'll be page one when submitting your application as a PDF file.
While there are no official norms or rules for how to write and structure a cover letter for a job application, you may want to follow several informally established conventions. In general, you should always strive to make your cover letter easy to read, as recruiters rarely have the time to read through very long or complicated letters fully. Choose an easy-to-read font like Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman in 11 or 12 pt. font size, and structure your cover letter along these guidelines:
- Letterhead
- Subject line
- Introduction
- Body
- Closing thoughts
- Greeting and signature
- List of attachments
Our job application templates, which are already perfectly formatted, make it easy to create professional cover letters. Simply customise the content and you're ready to go.
Design job application nowThe content of your cover letter
When structuring the content of your cover letter, your goal is to include information on your professional background that fits in well with the position for which you're applying. If you're applying for a leadership position, you'll need to emphasise different achievements and qualifications compared to an application for an entry-level position. Always make sure you write a unique cover letter for every job application, as recruiters easily recognise generic letters sent out en masse. Some specific cover letter examples can be helpful if you're having trouble finding the right words.
In general, a cover letter should focus on three main points:
- Your motivation: Why are you applying for this job with this company? Emphasise your motivation for this particular position. Why is it the right job for you? Emphasise your motivation for filling the position.
- Your suitability for the job: Which personal or professional success stories were you able to achieve thanks to your unique qualifications? Support your statements with facts and figures.
- Your value to the employer: Give your prospective employer a good reason to hire you. How can you help their company? Are there any positive developments you're hoping to initiate for the company?
- Be precise: Simple, clear sentence structures are more persuasive than overly complex ones. Use the active voice and avoid the passive voice. Make sure your cover letter is one page at maximum.
How to address people
It's never wrong to address someone politely and respectfully with only their last name and a "Mr", "Mrs", "Ms" or "Mx". If the company uses first names in the job advertisement, though, feel free to also address the recruiter by their first name in your cover letter.
The Letterhead
The letterhead is the first part of your cover letter, which includes your contact information and the prospective employer's address. Start with your information and the current date, flush right, followed by the recipient's address, flush left.
You can also include your personal information in a header, which allows recruiters to find it quickly, regardless of which page they're currently viewing.
Robert Smith
11 Station Road
SOUTHAMPTON
SO53 5PD
Phone: 1234/123456789
E-Mail: firstname@lastname.co.uk
01/08/2023
The Company Ltd
Attn: Mrs Davies
24 Business Road
LONDON
EC1Y 8SY
Subject line
The subject line of your cover letter helps recruiters understand which job opening you're applying for. It should include the following information: reason for application (job advert or speculative application), job title, reference number (if applicable), and place of work.
The subject line should be bold, and it should always be one line at maximum. It should start with "Subject".
- Subject: Job application as Marketing Manager (reference number XY123) in Birmingham
- Subject: Application for an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk
- Subject: Job application as Personnel Officer (job advertisement from 01 April 2023)
- Subject: Speculative application as a Sales Representative
Introduction
The introductory lines of your cover letter should make an immediate impression. Recruiters typically read over a hundred applications per job advert, and most start with generic lines such as "I'd like to apply for a job". You'll make a much better impression if your cover letter starts off uniquely.
Start with your strongest argument. Emphasise your motivation for applying for this particular job and relate your arguments directly to the company. If you've already spoken to people in charge on the phone or at a trade fair, you should mention this. This makes you look confident and makes for a much more interesting first impression than the one-size-fits-all approach. Back up your statements with facts and figures.
Dear Ms Newman,
Renowned industry association Bitkom expects that demand for cloud-based billing systems will increase by more than 20 percent in the not-too-distant future. As an IT Specialist with five years of experience in cloud computing, I would like to help your company benefit from this development.
Dear Thomas,
Your latest campaign, "Don't waste, re-use!", has made your company's stance clear once again. You don't just advocate for sustainability – you practice what you preach! As Marketing Manager of your company, I will help you encourage even more people to reflect on their behaviour as consumers.
Dear Mrs Davies,
As a salesperson in your shop, I can contribute my enthusiasm for cycling in the best way. I've been working with racing bikes and mountain bikes since I was a child. I am very familiar with all the standard derailleurs, cranksets, suspension forks, brake systems, and other components.
Body
The body of your cover letter should focus on three things:
- Professional achievements
- Soft skills
- Added value to the company
Since these are often related, you can combine them in any way you wish. But don't just make assertions about your skills and abilities – back them up with specific examples. Keep the text body to about two or three paragraphs.
"I am resilient, decisive, a good team player, and efficient." – Listing attributes like this without proof isn't a very credible argument since anyone could say the same thing about themselves. Additionally, these attributes aren't directly linked to the job requirements either, which means they sound very generic.
Social skills (soft skills), in particular, can easily be implied in your cover letter by letting your professional achievements speak for you. If you've been a project leader for a year and you managed to finish the project successfully, you probably have good communication and organisational skills, and you know how to work as part of a team. You can also mention voluntary internships to emphasise your motivation to work.
Together with my team of four, I increased the reach of our online shop measurably. Thanks to SEO measures and improved product copy, we reached around 15 percent more customers than in the same period last year.
I approach my work with discipline and good organisational skills. When my department switched to working from home during the pandemic, I increased the rate at which I resolve enquiries.
My current employer uses custom sales techniques depending on the customer. This allows us to close more deals in the same amount of time as before. I am convinced that such an approach can also make your sales more efficient.
Closing thoughts
The concluding section of your cover letter should seamlessly transition into the job interview. Highlight your enthusiasm for the job and the company with a positive closing sentence and avoid the passive voice. Subtle calls to action express your confidence without exerting any pressure on the recruiter.
If the job advertisement asks when you can start and what level of salary you expect, you can include that information in your closing thoughts.
I look forward to getting to know your company and convincing you of my ideas in a personal interview. I'd also be happy to exchange thoughts on the phone in advance. You can reach me at 0123/45678 between 5 and 10 pm.
I would be pleased to meet you in person and convince you that I am the perfect addition to your team. I eagerly look forward to your response.
My earliest possible starting date is 01 July 2024 and my salary expectation corresponds to a gross annual salary of between £38,600 and £41,800. Please treat my job application with discretion due to my current employment relationship.
Greeting and signature
When learning how to write a cover letter, you're always told not to use empty phrases. However, you can deviate from this a bit when closing your letter. A friendly greeting is sufficient to conclude your cover letter, even if it's a standard phrase like "Best regards". You can add a unique personal touch if you're applying for a job with a young company that values creativity.
Remember to sign your cover letter. If you're submitting your application digitally, scan in your signature. Always opt for a fountain pen with blue ink instead of felt-tip pens or pencils. Alternatively, you can use our CV editor to create a convincing and impressive signature.
Best regards
Jane Miller
Looking forward to visiting beautiful London.
Martin Lewis
List of attachments
The list of attachments in your cover letter is where you note the documents enclosed in your job application portfolio. This information fits below your signature, making it the final section of your cover letter. Make sure to list all documents enclosed with your application instead of just saying "attachments".
Attachments:
- CV
- certificates
- work samples
You usually don't need a list of attachments when submitting your application digitally as a single PDF file or when applying via application forms that require you to upload all attachments individually.
Four common mistakes when writing cover letters
Recruiters read countless job applications every day, trying to find the perfect candidate quickly. They're familiar with the most common mistakes you can make, so to them, these indicate a lack of care on your part. Thus, you can significantly increase your chances by avoiding the following common mistakes:
- No personalised address: Find out who will be reading your job application. You can usually find their name in the job advert. Addressing your cover letter to "Dear Sir or Madam" should be the exception rather than the rule.
- Careless mistakes: Mistakes in the address, typos in names, incorrect spelling and other careless mistakes make a bad impression. They can easily be avoided by careful proofreading. Ask friends and family to look over your job application.
- Re-using the same cover letter: Always write a unique cover letter for each job offer. You can re-use elements, but you should rephrase your central arguments to fit the specific job opening. Recruiters don’t like mass applications that aren't tailored to the specific requirements of their company.
- Repeating your CV: By the time recruiters pick up your cover letter, they've usually already read your CV. Now, they want to find out more about you or about any gaps in your CV. Use this opportunity to illustrate your motivation and skills with examples. Don't simply repeat the information from your CV.
Four tips for writing good cover letters
There are a couple of general tips and techniques that will help you learn how to write a good cover letter. Even if you follow only a few of these, they'll already improve the impression you make on a prospective employer, bringing you one step closer to your dream job.
- Use clear wording: Your cover letter should convince recruiters, not entertain them. So get to the point! Complicated sentence structures only distract from the goal.
- Avoid subjunctives and other hypotheticals: Remove everything from your cover letter that may sound uncertain or indecisive: would, could, might etc. Never say "I can help you increase sales" when you could be saying "I will help you increase sales!"
- Analyse the job advert closely: The job advertisement makes it clear which qualifications and soft skills the employer is looking for. It also allows you to draw conclusions about the corporate culture of the company. Use this information to strengthen your arguments. Include keywords from the job advert in your cover letter.
- Stay authentic: Confidence and passion are good, but exaggeration is bad. Don't use superlatives. Let the facts speak for themselves. Only make claims that you can back up. Your statements will most likely be put to the test during the interview.