Nearly as important as your CV is the cover letter which accompanies it. Cover letters simply tell your potential employer why you feel you are right to the job, together with how you can use your skills and past experience successfully in the job.

Cover letters should never be longer than one side of A4 - they are literally a summary, a teaser before the company reads your CV. Essentially you need to use the cover letter to sell yourself and encourage the employer to invite you in for an interview - make it interesting and make it so that the employer wants to know more about you because you sound so interesting, with the necessary skills for the job.

You need to spend time on your cover letter and tailor it to each job you apply to, if it’s too generic the employer won’t be able to instantly see what benefit you will bring to their company.

Some dos and don’ts:

• NEVER address the letter to ‘To whom it may concern’ or ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ - This shows that you couldn’t be bothered to do your research and find out who would be reading it - show the employer from the start that you care about the job and it’s not merely ‘any old job’!
• Always ensure you’re cover letter is typed - it creates a much more professional image to the employer.
• In the same way as your CV give your cover letter to someone else to read - spelling mistakes and grammatical inaccuracies will cost you!
• Be concise - say what you want to say and no more!