10 ways to get the best from your cover letter and CV

The main way to gain attention when looking for work is still the CV and the accompanying cover letter. Here are 10 tips on getting the best from these two key documents.

1.    Consider the reader
Thinking about the person reading your CV and cover letter should help shape what you say. If you’ve already spoken to the person, you can be more focused and particular in your cover letter. If you haven’t had that opportunity, pitch your letter to the reader. Sometimes the recipient is nothing more than a post-box and you might be writing the CV and letter for the second pair of eyes, be that a head-hunter or the employer’s internal HR recruiter. Just be conscious of who you’re writing to and be smart in what you say.

2.    Work out what the recipient needs
Make sure you address what the recipient needs and wants. General, vague language will not work well for you. Make sure you tailor both your documents specifically for the person you’re contacting.

3.    Start and end well
Don’t waste the first and last paragraphs of your cover letter with filler and fluff. Instead have a very direct message and purpose. In the first paragraph, clearly state why it is that you’re writing and what it is that you’re interested in. Explain if you are following up on a phone call, for example. The third and final paragraph is your close. This is your chance to state your interest and how you look forward to hearing from them.

4.    Keep it short
Your cover letter should support your CV and, like your CV, should be short, direct and relevant. Your CV should be no longer than one page long, two pages if you have a particularly full work history. The cover letter should consist of just three paragraphs: the introduction, the “meat” of the sandwich and the sign-off. It’s in the middle section where you explain why you are the right person for the job.

5.    Consider each document on its own merit
Understand how each document works independently and how they work together. Check each piece separately to see whether it stands up and is relevant  on its own. Often we think that the two sent off in an email together will suffice. The acid test for you is to see whether each of them stands up on its own merit.

6.    Highlight your benefits
Explain what value you bring to an employer and how close you are to meeting precisely the organisation’s requirements. Be honest if there are gaps in your employment history, but state your commitment to being exactly what they want for the short, medium and long term. What are the benefits for the company if it brings you in? This could be to do with your value but it could also be do with your experience, your energy or your relative cost. Whatever the benefits of employing you are, be sure to highlight them in both documents.

7.    Don’t repeat yourself
You’d be surprised by how many people say in their cover letter what they have already said in their CV. Why on earth would you do that? Whilst your CV is more backwards looking, use your cover letter to take a present and future view.

8.    Send your documents efficiently
How are you going send your documents to their intended recipients, and in what format? Are you going to use email? Is your CV a Word document or a PDF? Or is it some other smart digital document? Would you consider using the post instead? For some employers, a job candidate’s CV and cover letter arriving in the post marks that individual out. It’s not something that everybody does these days.

9.    Vary your types of CV
Having spent a long time developing your CV it’s tempting to use the same template for every application. This is not a good plan in a market that requires us to be specific and unique. The CV that you submit to each job should be very specifically designed for that particular job and employer. This may mean some significant reworking of your CV each time you complete an application, but it’s time well spent.

10.    Take the time test
Most professionals these days are busy and don’t have time to struggle making sense of applications. Work at aligning your cover letter and CV – nothing less is expected of you. Try reading your cover letter and CV in 30 seconds. How much do you take in? Try again but this time set the stopwatch for just 20 seconds. How much do you take in? This is typically the amount of time somebody will have to read your documents. So reshape and shorten your application and bring greater focus to what you want to say.

About the author

Simon North is the Founder of Position Ignition and the Career Ignition Club. Position Ignition is one of the UK’s leading career development and career planning companies. The Career Ignition Club offers a range of career support tools, advice and e-learning materials for its members. Follow Simon North and his team on twitter @PosIgnition and get more advice from him on their Career Advice Blog.