Job search cover letter

01st Jul 2021

How to write an engaging job search cover letter

Supplying your hiring manager with a CV to detail your relevant skills and experience is understood to be a standard requirement for your job search in the UK. However, a job search cover letter, if written correctly, can be just as compelling when it comes to securing a job interview. When creating your job search cover letter make sure to always include the basic information as follow:

Your name and contact information.

The position you are applying for.

The job reference.

An appropriate greeting to the hiring manager.

This section will always remain pretty much the same when you are creating your job search cover letters, you can set up a template in Word or Google Docs to make life easier if you are writing a number of letters.

Where you really get to shine is in the body of the document, here is where you get to make your cover letter really engaging. Take a moment and review the job post that you are responding to. Focus on some of the keywords used in the adverts text and use them in your letter.

It should be pointed out here that your job search cover letter needs to be concise and attention grabbing. Just a couple of lines or a paragraph is enough, it doesn’t need to be a long rambling personal statement. You only have a few seconds to capture the attention of the reader so make sure you are providing information they will want.

In the same way, your cover letter should not simply reiterate the information contained in your job search CV, although you will want to weave in some relevant facts that highlight why you are the best candidate for the job. Leave out statements that don’t have any real purpose, many people will include terms like ‘highly-motivated’ or ‘process orientated’ without any real evidence to support those facts.

Try to focus on actions rather than descriptions, meaning instead of writing what you were, ‘responsible for’ or ‘in charge of’ communicate instead what you did. Implemented, streamlined, reduced costs or improved performance are all good examples. Remember you are trying to sell yourself as the best candidate so think about crafting an engaging cover letter from that angle.

Along with describing actions, tie in your own skills and experience to the role in a neat and seamless manner, as though you are leading the hiring manager to their own conclusion. Highlight what you can do for the company if you are awarded the role. Use number, stats, and results information to support your claims, this will make your cover letter much more engaging than simply using broad, sweeping statements.

Also, don’t include any non-essential information in your CV, you may be a great angler, or have an award for eco-friendly gardening, but unless it relates directly to the job it doesn’t need to be in your cover letter.

Everything in your letter should focus on the value you can provide to the company.

As a final step and to make your job search cover letter as engaging as possible, you should include a call to action. These are closing sentences that inspire the interviewer to take action and schedule an interview.

Phrases like ‘I would love to learn more and demonstrate how my skills can be a great fit for this position’

Or,

‘I believe this is a position that can use my current skills while fuelling future growth that would benefit the company in the long term’

Generally speaking your closing statement should be strong, confident, and lead the hiring manager to the next step. Sign off your letter with a simple ending like ‘Looking forward to meeting with you’ or if you think you have said enough a ‘Yours Sincerely’ will suffice.

As a final point, make sure your job search cover letter speaks directly to the position being applied for, although it can be tempting, don’t fall into the trap of using generic or copy and paste the cover letters that are general in tone. This will not make your cover letter engaging to the reader.

Repetitive cover letters will not do you any favours and experienced recruiters can spot them a mile away. They might actually hurt your chances of securing an interview, so take the extra few minutes and craft a cover letter that is specifically designed for the role you are applying for.

Writing an engaging job search cover letter can take a bit of time, but it is well worth it in the end.