Your Cover Letter should be the perfect accompaniment to your CV. Together they are powerful marketing tools in your quest for the ideal career or position. Sending a Cover Letter with your CV is professional, indicating that you should be taken seriously. It serves as your introduction.

A Cover Letter should target each particular position you wish to apply for. A prospective employer will be impressed if you know something about his company. The Letter should convince the employer that he really wants to read your CV. Inform them that you plan to contact them shortly regarding the position.

To begin with, explain what you can do for the company – not what they can do for you and your career. You could mention something personal, but it still has to be professional and orientated towards the position. A Cover Letter can be ever so slightly more personal than a CV or Résumé, allowing you to express and reveal a bit about yourself. Show your passion for your chosen career, the position, and the company. If possible, address the Letter to a specific person.

Offer the prospective employer a sneak peak of what your CV contains. And refer to the content of your CV, but in short and mentioning only a highlight or two. Confirm that you have the skills and experience that the employer is looking for.

Whereas a CV needs to be in chronological order, a Cover Letter does not, therefore you can emphasize the parts of your career best suited to the position you are applying for. And do not use the same Letter for each vacancy you submit an application for.

There are employers who are of the opinion that the lack of a Cover Letter indicates that the applicant is lazy or sending CVs en masse. You want to show your commitment to the position and the company.

 

'The résumé focuses on you and the past. The Cover Letter focuses on the employer and the future. Tell the hiring professional what you can do to benefit the organization in the future.' – Joyce Lain Kennedy, Cover Letters for Dummies

 

Cardinal rules:

• There must be NO grammatical errors and NO spelling mistakes.
• Never, ever lie on a CV, a Résumé, or a Cover Letter.

 

Believe that you are a superstar!