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Cover Letters / Covering Letters

Although less important than your CV, cover letters still need to be carefully planned and crafted if you want to get the position.

Formal letters in English follow specific formats that should be respected as much as possible. This includes the organisation as well as the structure. There are differences in the way letters should be written between British and American English and these will be explained here. Make sure you adapt your letter according to where you are sending it.

Your cover letter should be no longer than one page. It should include contact details for both you and the person you're writing to. As much as possible you should try to find out the name and position of the person who will read your letter: personal letters are more effective than anonymous ones.

If you're sending a paper version of your letter, print it on good quality paper and don't forget to sign it. If you're sending it by email, you can attach it as a Word document or a PDF, but you should also paste the contents into the body of the email itself (without the addresses or the date).

Above all, make sure there are no mistakes and that you tell the person you're writing to what they need to know as concisely as possible.

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