A cover letter accompanies your CV when you apply for a job.
The letter is designed to act as a short introduction to you and your expertise. It should be your pitch to encourage an employer to consider your CV.
A cover letter should be professional and eye-catching. Recruiters will likely receive a number of applications for the same position, so make your cover letter unique – don’t just repeat what you’ve mentioned in your CV.
You should write a new cover letter for each job you apply for, just as you would create a tailored CV.
Unless otherwise stated in the job description, you should include a cover letter with every job application. Below, we’ve highlighted some top tips for a job-winning cover letter:
Double check the details
Before you start your letter, make sure you have all of the contact details right for the letter. Do you have the correct job title, contact, email address etc?
Quality over quantity
Keep your cover letter short and well-crafted. This will be much more powerful than pages of rambling detail. One side of A4 is the preferred amount. Remember, it’s not how much you write, it’s what you tell them that matters- particularly how relevant it is to the job you are applying for.
Professional format
Recruiters will expect a professionally formatted cover letter, so don’t do anything less than this, unless stated otherwise.
Avoid copying from your CV
It’s very easy to echo the same points you’ve made on your CV, but that isn’t what recruiters are looking for. If anything, this can turn them off – they won’t be happy about reading the same information twice over.
You have limited space across your CV and cover letter to stand out to employers, so don’t waste your time and theirs by duplicating information.
Give evidence
Made any bold statements in your CV? Well, your cover letter is the perfect platform to justify those statements. If you claim you have a particular skills, give examples on your cover letter to prove that you have experience – demonstrate how successfully you implemented these skills, and show the recruiter your worth.
Write tailored cover letters
Just like your CV, cover letters should be tailored to the role. Avoid going off on a tangent, and keep the letter specific to the skills/role the recruiter is hiring for. There shouldn’t be anything on your cover letter the deviates from what they are looking for on their job advert.
For it to stand out, you’ll need some detail in there specific to the company and the role, and why you think you are a perfect fit.
Tell them what you can offer
Your cover letter should be written in a way that highlights what you can bring to the role and the company, not what they can offer you. We can all find it a little strange boasting our achievements and experience, but that’s exactly what a cover letter is for – just keep it concise and applicable to the job description.
Hold the salary talk
Salary can be discussed further down the line, but it’s not relevant when you apply. Leave it out and if it’s really important, you can have the discussion at interview stage, when the recruiter is actually considering hiring you.
Positive sign off
End your cover letter on a confident, positive note. Indicate your eagerness to discuss the role further, and make it obvious that you are interested. This will go down well with recruiters, especially if you can tailor it to their company.
Proofread…and proofread again
Think you’re proofed your cover letter? Great…now do it again. Because this will be in the format of a professional letter, you should make every effort to ensure there are no mistakes or sticky bits that recruiters will find hard to read. Ask a friend or family member to proofread the letter for you, before you send it – trust us, you’ll thank us for stressing this point so strongly.
Now your cover letter is sorted, need some inspiration for your CV? Download our available CV templates below (they’re tailored to specific sales roles!) to get started!
Need more help with your CV? Download our helpful CV guide for sales professionals below:
Simply Sales Jobs and TopCV partner to provide a free CV analysis to candidates
Simply Sales Jobs and TopCV partnership Simply Sales Jobs, the leading job board for the sales industry, and TopCV, the world's leading CV‑writing service have partnered to support candidates in getting hired faster with a job-winning CV. The partnership will see...
Major Challenges Recruiters Are Facing
We recently caught up with Angela Bradby from Link Resources to find out the major challenges that recruiters are now facing during these unprecedented times. This is what she had to say... "The spread of COVID-19 has had considerable effects on the global...
7 reasons you should be outsourcing your recruitment
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is one of the fastest growing markets within recruitment as businesses strategically try to optimise their business processes. Employers of all sizes are embracing the RPO model and opting for another qualified team to take the...
How to write a successful Account Manager CV
If you're looking for your next job as an account manager, you're going to need to be able to provide a proven track record of success to potential employers. You can do this by crafting a strong CV. How to write an Account Manager CV To write a tailored...
Physical events v Virtual events – what wins?
We all have our preferences when it comes to running events - but if the coronavirus has taught us one thing, it’s that virtual events can’t be stopped. While physical events have been put on complete hold for the time being, the virtual world is booming,...
Why work:life balance has to play a part in your job advert
On average, there are 7554 jobs posted on Simply Sales Jobs every month. So the challenge to make your job advert stand out in a long list of sales director or business development roles, for example, is tough.Over the last few weeks we’ve shared tips on...
