Guest Post: Key Ingredients of a Successful Cover Letter by Graduate Recruitment Bureau

If an employer requests a CV to apply for a graduate job vacancy you should always include a graduate cover letter. What’s this? Well, this is your opportunity to introduce yourself and explain your suitability for the role - preferably on one A4 page. You must take time over this document and adapt it for each role because this is your one and only chance to impress, so make sure that it is immaculate. With over 80 applications per graduate job, creating a compelling cover letter married to a tailored CV should increase your chances of going onto the next round.

In order to create a successful cover letter the advice below should to be taken into account for each job you apply for. Not to mention, getting into this frame of mind will make tailoring your CV a lot easier. So if you’re wondering how you can go the extra mile, show you are the person for the job and beat the competition, then think about these five key successful ingredients below:

1) First impressions count

It’s not an option to just send a CV – a cover letter is mandatory – and a great opportunity to sell yourself so use it! The first impression you make is key, and firstly you should pay attention to the layout. Make it easy to read so no more than 3-4 paragraphs. Remember selectors spend less than 40 seconds scanning cover letters and CVs, so good presentation is vital. Use a business typeface like Verdana and keep the font size no less than 10. (If your handwriting is neat maybe consider this for your letter as this is a really good way to stand out plus it can be posted which add to its impact as no-one posts anything anymore!)

2) The Job Reference number

An obvious one but sometimes overlooked. A reference number is there for a reason so make sure it is bold and clear to see, otherwise the employer won’t immediately recognise which job you are applying for. If there isn’t one refer to the job title or scheme. If you are applying speculatively then leave this out as your tailored letter will take a different tone. After all, you are asking them to create a job around you so you better have done your research!

3) Addressed to a person not Sir/Madam

You need to have your cover letter read by the selector not a junior so, check before who this person is by looking at LinkedIn or calling the reception. It is a basic marketing rule that you must personalise your message to the correct addressee. It shows you have made the effort and done the research - It’s the little things that count, right?

4) Mention where you saw the job advert

This is important for the recruiter to know as they will record how all the applicants came about and they will be able to trace it back to certain marketing initiatives and see if it was money well spent. An appropriate place for this ingredient is in the initial opening lines.

“I wish to apply for the post of Graduate Retail Management Trainee as advertised in the Manchester Evening News on 27 October 2011. At present I am completing an honours degree in Management and French at the University of Manchester.”

Reiterating this will keep you focussed on the purpose of your cover letter and the role that you are trying to secure.

5) The middle paragraph is the most important

Get this right and you can guarantee a call. Before this you’ll have your introduction stating why you are interested in the role, and after, in your concluding paragraph you’ll finish positively by looking forward to an interview. Therefore, the middle paragraph is the heart of your cover letter. This is where you summarise and highlight your skills, qualifications and major accomplishments - the essence of your suitability. Pay close attention to the job description so you know precisely what skills to talk about, bearing in mind that you are not repeating what is already on your CV. Most importantly, explain why your qualifications and the job requirements are a good match to fit the role.

6) End with a call to action

Finish off your cover letter by saying you look forward to hearing from them and will call during the next 10 days for their response to your application. This shows your enthusiasm and reiterates your interest in the role. It leaves the door open to make another impression on them with a phone call.

Finally below is a check-list of some of the important dos and don’ts of a cover letter. Make this your check-list and use it before hitting send!

Do

· make your graduate cover letter tailored to the company and to the role.

· make it concise.

· make it persuasive and eye catching.

· proof read. Read it once then read it repeatedly. If possible get someone else to read it for you, this will ensure you catch every little typo or grammatical error.

· use an appropriate format; it must look professional i.e. for business purposes.

Don't

· make it generic.

· waffle! Think about what is relevant to the company and particularly the actual position/role.

· make it more than one side of A4.

· leave errors that will make it easy for the company to reject your application.

· forget to put the address of the company at the top of the cover letter and to sign it with you name. It is a formal letter so it must be in the correct format.

We hope that this helps! Click the links for more information on graduate cover letters and graduate jobs.

Top 5 Tips for Avoiding the Catch-22 of Work Experience

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There is nothing more excruciating than not receiving work experience because you don’t have any work experience. By all means, if you have the contacts and the resources to secure work experience, then use them to your advantage. If like I was, you’re starting with no contacts at all, then have a think about some of the top tips below, and see if you can avoid that catch-22 of work experience.

1) Volunteer

By far the easiest way to gain initial experience is by working for your University/School. This could be by applying for a role on the University newspaper or magazine, working on events days or any other work for the University that will give you the key transferable skills, and will look great on your CV.

2) Local work experience

Usually, this will be easier than trying to gain a placement at a large well-known company. Therefore, do your research and have a look at what publishing companies are local to you. For example, I found a book publisher local to my hometown. I applied there and I was accepted shortly after. This meant that I was able to complete some work experience there when I was at home during summer. Additionally, because they were a smaller local company, my placement was a bit more flexible and cost me nothing in travel. So have a look on Google and see what companies are local to you.

3) Add originality to your application

Have a think about how you can be original with your application and/or how to show off your knowledge of the company. If you’re going for an editorial role, along with your application, send off a sample article that you would like to be published by the company – something original, which will suit their target audience. An employer will like the fact that they can ‘try before they buy’ as it were.

4) Send a personal letter (if possible)

It is difficult to do this for all of the companies that you apply for, but for the ones that you’re really passionate about, and especially the ones that give you a personal name to send your application to, then send them a letter instead of an email. It is much more personal and it will set you apart from the masses that email. Make sure you attach a cover letter, gearing it towards the company and really show off your knowledge of them.

5) Don’t give up

This may sound like an obvious tip, but the point is you need to be persistent. There is no use applying to only two companies per week, where applications are fiercely competitive. Of course, you should apply to wherever you like, but at the same time, you need to send out as many applications as you can because there is no room to be meticulous.

Of course, you can also use my blog and some of my other published work to receive some more advice from me. Specifically, look at my blog page ‘Where Do I Start?’ follow my advice and I’m sure like me, you’ll gain plenty of work experience. Some of my readers have already tweeted me and sent me emails about their work experience success stories when you get yours, get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.

Good luck in securing those initial work experience placements.

Top 5 Tips for Creating an Impressive Cover Letter

Cover letters are a major part of your work placement application. However, a lot of people I’ve spoken to, find the cover letter the most difficult - particularly in terms of content and style. Therefore, I have listed five top tips below that will begin to help you with writing your cover letter. However, I always suggest undertaking your own research too.

1) Talk about your achievements

Introduce yourself and talk about any achievements or skills that you think are the most relevant. You could have this at the start of your cover letter in a ‘short and sweet’ introductory paragraph.

2) Focus on the company

Make sure you show an interest in the company that you are applying for, and what they do. For example, if they are a book publisher, make sure it is clear that you have an interest in their books. Specifically, this is important if you are applying to a well-known company as they will receive plenty of work applications, and will then start to filter people off this way.

3) Be concise and to the point

The cover letters are not meant to be long. I would say between half to a page long. Therefore, it is important to be to the point and concise rather than having extensive sentences, which in effect do not say anything.

4)Proof read

It is very important to proof read your cover letter, and of course, your entire application. Employers will not be very forgiving if they see numerous spelling and grammar mistakes, and this is even greater if you are applying for an editorial based position.

5) Make sure you do the final checks

Once your cover letter has been completed and you are happy with the style and content, you can then make the final checks. Try to avoid fancy fonts, for instance, size 12 Times New Roman or Arial will be fine. Additionally, make sure word processor has completed a spell and grammar check.

For those unaware, you can also improve the spell and grammar check that word processor does within the settings. Therefore, to improve the checker you can set it to check both grammar and writing style, and as well, it can show you readability statistics.

So don’t hesitate and start applying.

Keeping you updated...

I hope everyone has had a really good week, and taken advantage of all the opportunities that I have blogged so far.

Some of you may already know what I have been up to since my last ‘Keeping you updated...’, but for those unaware, I will paste some links below, which you can take a look at. Namely, this is my debut Guardian article and the debut of ‘Steff’s Love Column’, which went live on Cocokouture on the 11^th October 2011.

• http://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/publishing-internships-sandwich-year
• http://www.cocokouture.com/category/luxe-life/steffs-love-column

I also want to take this opportunity to express my delight in the feedback I have received from people. It’s great to know that my blog has helped you, and I’m always happy to hear this. As usual, feel free to email me at steff.lever@gmail.com if you’d like some personal advice.

Looking at the feedback I have received the past few weeks, I’ve gained more inspiration about future upcoming blogs. These include:

• Top 5 Tips to creating an impressive cover letter
• Why am I not getting employer responses and what should I do?

Of course, I will be continuing to provide my snapshot diaries; there are still about 4 more to be posted up. Additionally, I’m working hard on Twitter to try and get well-known Editors to provide us with their number 1 top tip for interns. I have a few so far, but ideally I would like a couple more before I publish the page.

Lastly, don’t forget that to avoid constantly checking my blog for new posts, you can easily subscribe to it via email. This way you’ll get new blog posts straight to your inbox, once you do, make sure you activate the subscription by following the link in the initial email.

It’s great to already see a steady increase in email subscriptions and followers. Thanks for all your support.