Most importantly your cover letter needs to be genuine and written by you, and show how you really believe that this job is a perfect match between you, what you have got, the job and the employer. Show the employer that not only do you have what it is that they are looking for, but also that your values and career strengths fit with them as an organisation. You can write this in a way that shows who you are, that is unique and genuine, so whatever you do, don’t follow a template or use language that is too cliched and generic.
Do your research
For writing both your cover letter and CV, you will not only need to read the ad and job description thoroughly, but also research all about the organisation on their website, LinkedIn and other social media posts. What are they planning for the future, and how would you be able to be an asset for them? This will help you to write in a way that captures their attention and shows how you are a great fit.
Format and tone
The cover letter can be written as a separate document or some people add it as the first page of their CV. If you are applying by email you can write it within the email. All of these methods are fine, but just remember the purpose is to summarise key selling points, complement the CV and comment on information that doesn’t fit in to a 2-page bullet pointed CV.
It should be reasonably, but not overly, formal. So in other words, don’t use casual language like ‘hey’ etc but at the same time don’t use over-formal language such as ‘I would be honoured…’. It is helpful for them to see your language skills, how you write and with some of your personality coming through as well.
The cover letter and CV go together, and most advertised jobs ask for both so they should match by having the same font. They complement each other but are written differently and should not repeat the same information. The CV is written in the third person and covers off in bullet point format, what you have to offer the employer that is relevant to the role, and write these as key points within the 2-page format of the CV (New Zealand standard length).
On the other hand, the cover letter is just one page, written in the first person in a paragraph format to show how you write and gives you the opportunity to show your personality and how it fits with the organisation and the role. The difference is that the letter can cover off information such as why you want to work for them and why you want this role as well as other details that they need to know, eg why you are moving to a different city or taking a different career direction. Keep with paragraphs and leave bullet points for the CV.
Keep to one page
Write around 4-5 impactful paragraphs and keep the letter to the equivalent length of a one page Word doc.
Start by introducing yourself and show your suitability and enthusiasm for applying for the role.
Stand out by writing a paragraph or two that clearly show the key strengths that you bring to the role. This is written in a different way to the CV, and so pull out your best ‘selling points’ (based on the research you did) to capture their attention and say why they should hire you, in other words show that you have got what they are looking for.
Write an authentic paragraph about why you want to work for them. It is not enough to say that you want to work for them because they have a great reputation in the industry. They already know that and they want to hear about you and how you fit with them. Instead, show a values alignment that you have with them, or a unique skill set that you can bring to the role for example, for a particular project they are working on and how your skills and experiences fit so well with that. Go back to what you read when you were researching the ad, the job description, their website and LinkedIn and any other social media.
Your sign-off paragraph should be short and positive but not too gushy. By positive I mean that you expect to hear back from them for the next stage, eg ‘I look forward to hearing from you to arrange a time to meet and talk about my application further…’ Don’t try and grease them too much or say something like ‘I would like to work for your esteemed organisation’ or ‘thank you for taking the time to read my application’. This is wasting space, does not add value and may put them off if it is too cliched. It may seem to them that you would write that in all of your applications.
There’s a quandary I hear people talk about a lot in the self-improvement world which goes something like this: “Should I keep trying to change, or should I just learn to love myself?”
The people posing this question almost invariably feel terrible about themselves, and further, they assume that’s par for the course. It isn’t. In fact this whole “self-love vs self-improvement” thing is a false dilemma, one that badly misunderstands the role of self-love.
This equates loving yourself with thinking you’re just fine the way you are. It treats self-love as a reward for being the person you want to be. It assumes that your self-regard should be based, in some sense, on you being objectively “good.” And conversely, it equates wanting to change with disliking yourself. But ask yourself- is this true of your love for other people?
If you love someone else, surely that means you want the best for them? You want them to be healthy, happy and successful. If you have children, you want them to do well in school. If a friend is unhappy with their life, you want their life to change so they’ll be happy.
Apply the same standards to yourself that you do to others- love yourself the way you love your friends and family. Decide to be better because you deserve better; because you love yourself and want to enable yourself to live your ideal life.