Cover letters
A cover letter is a short business letter that accompanies your CV and serves as an introduction to it. It is very important, as it is your first point of contact with a company. It is your chance to impress by matching your qualifications and experience to the company’s needs/mission. An impressive cover letter should gain the attention of a busy Human Resource Manager and persuade her/him to look at your CV. Hopefully, if your CV is equally impressive, an interview will follow.
Cover Letter Tips: Include the person’s full name, job title, company name and company address. If you don’t have a name try the company’s web site or phone to ask for it. Sign off with Yours sincerely. Include your full name, address and contact details. Use a formal greeting with titles as appropriate (Ms, Mr, Dr). Check name spellings e.g. “Smith” or “Smyth”. Dear Dr. Smith…. Keep it short. Tell why you are writing and your qualifications/experience for the job. Focus on the specific needs of each employer, don’t use a generic letter. Refer to specific information about the company gleaned from your research. Be positive and creative. Use good quality A4 paper (same as resume). Single space the letter and double space the paragraphs. Leave 4 spaces before “yours sincerely”. Check spelling and grammar. Type address on proper sized, good quality envelope.
Follow up within a week with a telephone call.COVER LETTER GUIDELINES Applicant’s Address Tel/Mobile number
Date Individual’s Name Job Title Company Name Address
Dear Mr./Ms./Dr (get title and spelling correct)
Opening Paragraph: State your reason for writing, the position or type of work for which you are applying and mention how you heard of the position or organisation. Refer the reader to the enclosed resume and ask for consideration of your qualifications.
Middle Paragraph: This is your opportunity to sell yourself but be brief. The resume has the details. Summarise your qualifications and emphasise any achievements or skills that make you particularly suitable for this job/company.
Fourth Paragraph: Explain why you want to work for this employer and/or this type of work. Mention something about the organisation - its services/products, expansion. diversity etc.
Closing Paragraph: Indicate your availability for an interview with times when you may be contacted. You might even want to say here that you will contact them within a certain time. Thank the reader for the time and consideration given to your application.
Yours sincerely
(signature over line) Name Typed
Kylemore House Threadneedle Road Galway 091-4444444
20th June 2005
Ms. Kay Thompson Human Resource Manager Marin Pharmaceuticals Charlotte Quay Dublin 2
Dear Ms Thompson, Recently I spoke with Mr. Kelly from your Marketing Department, who suggested I contact you concerning employment opportunities with Marin Pharmaceuticals. I am a final year degree student in the University of Limerick and am very interested in pursuing a career in Marketing Management with your company. My Business Studies Degree in Marketing has provided me with both academic and practical experience. I maintained a cumulative 2.1 average in my studies and during my six month placement with Alvion Cosmetics I worked on market research for the company, and was given sole responsibility for collating and analysing survey results on several proposed new products and reporting back to management. I would particularly like to work for your company because, although it is a dynamic growing organisation, it is strongly committed to a Fair Trade ethos, something which I believe is very important. Also, as you are newly expanding into Europe I might get an opportunity to put my fluency in French to practical use in the workplace. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider my application. I would welcome an opportunity to discuss career possibilities and my qualifications in a personal interview with you. You can contact me at the above phone number any evening or on my mobile: 087-66667778, at any time.
Yours sincerely, __________ Mary Smith 5 Beechwood Avenue Rockglen Bantry Co. Cork Tel: 087-242444444
27th April 2005 Mr. Michael Egan Human Resource Manager Westmeath County Council Main Street Mullingar Co. Westmeath Dear Mr. Egan, I’m a diploma year Civil Engineering student in Cork Institute of Technology and would like to apply for the position with Westmeath County Council as advertised by Cork Institute of Technology’s Career’s Service. For the past two summers I have been working with a large building firm and gained extensive experience both as a General Labourer during the first summer and as a Carpenter’s Assistant last year. Also, during school and college in my technical drawing studies I became quite proficient in at drawing house plans. I would love to work with Westmeath County Council as I’m interested in all aspects of civil engineering and Westmeath County Council is involved in a diverse range of projects. In particular, I understand major road works are currently being developed in the county as well as a number of large scale sewerage and water projects. I would welcome gaining experience in all of these areas. I can be contacted at the above phone number at any time and am available for interview from May 25th when my exams finish. Thank you for taking the time to consider my application and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
__________ John Murphy
Drumdoo Mohill Co.Leitrim Tel: (078)000000 Ms. Jean Smith HR Manager
Marks & Spencer’s’ Grafton Street Dublin 2 27-1-05 Dear Ms. Smith, I am a final year student in the Honours Degree Programme in Business Studies in Athlone Institute of Technology and would like to apply for the position of Trainee Marketing Manager with your company, as advertised on the www.irishjobs.ie website. Please find enclosed my CV with details of my qualifications and experience to date.
I am a hard worker and very well organized. To date I have averaged a 2:1 while working part time during term time to finance my studies. I expect a 2:1 Honours degree in my final exam next June. Also, I received an “Employee of The Year Award” from Burger King last year. This competition was open to employees from all over the midland region. I would love the opportunity to work for Marks & Spencer’s as I have always admired the range and quality of your products and services: clothes, home furnishings, gifts, beauty, food and financial services. During my time with Kilkenny Design I came to really enjoy the marketing exposure I obtained, which in turn influenced my decision to specialize in Marketing in my final year.
Thank you for taking your time to consider my application. I am available for interview any time and could commence work on the 30 th of May on completion of my exams. You can contact me at the above phone numbers any evening. Yours sincerely,
__________ Sandra Mcnamara
Main Street Ballintubber Co.Sligo Tel: (078)000000 rmonaghan@stait.ie.com Mr. Michael Smith
HR Manager Ericsson Garrycastle Athlone 27-1-05 Dear Mr. Smith, I am writing to apply for the position of Graduate Software Engineer with your company, as advertised on the Careers Office website. Please find enclosed my CV with details of my qualifications and experience to date. As a final year Honours Degree student in Software Engineering I have a lot to offer in terms of academic achievement and experience. To date in my college career I have averaged a 1:1 in my exam results and I expect a 1:1 Honours degree in the coming finals. In addition my projects have scored in the high firsts with my top subjects being Compiler Design and Software Systems Design. I would love the opportunity to work for your company as I have just recently completed my Final Year Project in telecommunications and won the Ericsson Award. During my time there I gained valuable experience in Software Design (Java) and in automated testing using scripts. I am interested in all aspects of Software Engineering and am happy to work in any part of the Design lifecycle from Software Design through to troubleshooting. Thank you for taking your time to consider my application. I am available for interview any time and could commence work on the 30 th of May on completion of my exams. You can contact me at the above phone number or email address.
Yours sincerely,
__________ Robert Monaghan