Resumes and Cover Letters

Cover Letters

Overview

A cover letter may or may not be requested by the employer. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, you should always provide it. In case you are applying online, and you only have room to add one attachment, be sure to combine your cover letter and resume/CV into one file, ideally a pdf.

A cover letter is an opportunity to create a more personalized expression to your employer. There are some fundamental aspects you want to achieve when preparing a cover letter:

• Make your passion for the job and the organization known clearly; both are difficult to fake, and when present they easily come across on the resume.
• Connect yourself to the job, both in skills and in personality. You have an opportunity to let the employer know that you know what their organization is about, what the job is about, and how you are the best fit for their needs.
• Do not be too flowery or too animated. Try to be natural and use simple language (except when oratory skills are a significant component of the job).
• Ensure you customize your cover letter for each job you apply to. Some sections may remain similar but ensure to customize it. For example, one of the ways to customize your cover letter is to refer to the organization by name, rather than using the phrase 'your organization'.

Outline of a Cover Letter

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Letterhead

We recommend applicants develop a decent letter head that they will use across multiple application documents. A letter head is great for branding and expresses consistency. Create a letterhead that you will use on your cover letter and your resume, CV and any other documents that you may be submitting for a job application.

A letterhead should include your physical address and reliable telephone number and email address.

Employer's Address

Include the name of the person who is overseeing the recruitment process. Indicate if its a committee. If you do not know the name of the individual you can use generic terminology such as Human Resources, Hiring Manager.

Include the physical address and telephone number of the organization.

Salutation

In emphasizing about the need to personalise your cover letter, it is beneficial to know the actual name of the person who is overseeing the recruitment process. This way you can address the individual directly. If this is not possible, you can resort to using the generic 'Dear Sir / Madam'.

Opening paragraph

The opening paragraph is the most important part of your cover letter. Utilize the opportunity to open 'strong'. Using one sentence indicate very clearly why you want the position and why you are the best candidate for it. You can highlight one skill if you know it makes you stand out from the rest of the applicants. This is especially possible when the job is quite focused, and you wish to indicate right at the beginning that you have that very unique skill. While it is discouraged to use humor, if you are confident that your humor can work, you should be willing to utilise it. Humor is used here as an icebreaker. If you intend to use humor, make sure you know the organization very well so that you know what aspects might offend. You can humor them using some information you obtained about their own organization and or products.

Middle paragraph

In this section, you will lay out your skills in a very strategic manner, frequently connecting the skill you have mentioned with the job or the organization. It is totally Ok to write "After I read about your organization's core values, I....." or statement like "My excellent teamwork skills will fit very well in your organization, which has a long history of rewarding great teams through the "Highflier's award"'.

Prioritise your skills and experiences with the mindset that the employer may not read the whole section word-for-word. The first sentence should contain the most relevant skill you bring to the job. The first four, or so, words of each subsequent sentence should mention a relevant skill clearly so that the employer gets to know each of these pieces of information first and fast.

Cluster your skills and your life experiences. If you wish to start with education, add all aspects about the relevance of your education before you jump into your work experience skills.

Closing paragraph

Summarise the key skill that you started your cover letter with and wrap up your cover letter reaffirming your commitment to deliver that skill to the employer if they give you the opportunity. The make sure to provide contact information, both telephone and email information.

Preferably use 'Sincerely' before you sign your name.

In cases when you are submitting multiple files for the application, you can add at the very end a section that lists all the documents that accompany the cover letter.