jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • Advertise a Job
  • Recruiters
  • Your Account

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

career-advice.jobs.ac.uk

Secondary Sidebar

jobs.ac.uk Career Advice

  • CV and Cover Letter Advice
    • CV Tips
    • Free CV Templates
    • Cover Letters with Examples
    • Personal Profiles
    • CV Resources
  • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
    • Jobseeking Tips
    • Academic Interviews
    • Professional Interviews
    • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
  • Career Development
    • Academic Careers
    • Research Careers
    • Career Progression Stories
    • Professional Careers
    • Working in Industry
    • Career Development Resources
    • Global Careers
    • Working From Home
  • Women in Higher Education
  • FE Career Advice
    • FE CV & Interview Tips
    • Working in FE
    • Managing your Career in FE
    • FE Jobs Profiles
  • Resources
    • Academic Case Studies
    • Professional Case Studies
    • Job Profiles
      • Biological Science Jobs
      • Health and Medical Jobs
      • Engineering and Technology Jobs
      • Computer Science Jobs
      • Physical and Environmental Science Jobs
      • Professional Service Jobs
        • Business Development Manager Jobs Profile
        • Chef Jobs Profile
        • Civil Service Jobs Profile
        • Email Marketing Jobs Profile
        • SEO Jobs Profile
        • Office Admin Jobs
    • Vlogs
  • Webinars
  • Country Profiles
    • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Ghana
      • Kenya
      • Nigeria
      • South Africa
    • Americas
      • Canada
      • United States of America
    • Asia
      • Bahrain
      • Brunei
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Malaysia
      • Qatar
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Dubai
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Turkey
      • United Arab Emirates
      • Work in Vietnam – Country Profile
      • Work in Uzbekistan – Country Profile
    • Europe
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Russia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • United Kingdom
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
  • PhD and Studentship Advice
    • PhD
    • Studentship Resources
    • Vlogs
  • Need help advertising a job?
  • About jobs.ac.uk
  • Ask A Professional
  • Academic Spotlight Interviews
  • Menu
    • CV and Cover Letter Advice
      • CV Tips
      • Free CV Templates
      • Cover Letters with Examples
      • Personal Profiles
      • CV Resources
    • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
      • Jobseeking Tips
      • Academic Interviews
      • Professional Interviews
      • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
    • Career Development
      • Academic Careers
      • Career Progression Stories
      • Research Careers
      • Professional Careers
      • Working in Industry
      • Career Development Resources
      • Global Careers
      • Working From Home
    • Women in Higher Education
    • FE Career Advice
      • FE CV & Interview Tips
      • Working in FE
      • Managing your Career in FE
      • FE Jobs Profiles
    • Resources
      • Academic Case Studies
      • Professional Case Studies
      • Interview questions tool
      • Vlogs
      • Job Profiles
        • Biological Science Jobs
        • Health and Medical Jobs
        • Engineering and Technology Jobs
        • Computer Science Jobs
        • Physical and Environmental Science Jobs
        • Professional Service Jobs
        • Civil Service jobs
    • Webinars
    • Country Profiles
      • Africa
        • Work in Egypt – Country Profile
        • Work in Ghana – Country Profile
        • Work in Kenya – Country Profile
        • Work in Nigeria – Country Profile
        • Work in South Africa – Country Profile
      • Americas
        • Work in Canada – Country Profile
        • Work in the United States of America – Country Profile
      • Asia
        • Work in Bahrain – Country Profile
        • Work in Brunei – Country Profile
        • Work in China – Country Profile
        • Work in Hong Kong – Country Profile
        • Work in India – Country Profile
        • Work in Japan – Country Profile
        • Work in Kazakhstan – Country Profile
        • Work in Malaysia – Country Profile
        • Work in Qatar – Country Profile
        • Work in Saudi Arabia – Country Profile
        • Work in Singapore – Country Profile
        • Work in South Korea – Country Profile
        • Work in Turkey – Country Profile
        • Work in United Arab Emirates – Country Profile
      • Dubai
      • Europe
        • Belgium Country Profile
        • Work in Denmark – Country Profile
        • Work in Finland – Country Profile
        • France Country Profile
        • Work in Germany – Country Profile
        • Work in Ireland – Country Profile
        • Work in Italy – Country Profile
        • Work in the Netherlands – Country Profile
        • Work in Norway – Country Profile
        • Work in Russia – Country Profile
        • Work in Spain – Country Profile
        • Work in Sweden – Country Profile
        • Work in Switzerland – Country Profile
        • Work in the United Kingdom – Country Profile
      • Oceania
        • Work in Australia – Country profile
        • Work in New Zealand – Country Profile
    • Studentship Advice
      • PhD
      • Studentship Resources
      • Vlogs
    • Need help advertising a job?
    • About jobs.ac.uk

Tips for Writing Cover Letters

Fingers of a Businessman writing a cover letter

Your cover letter is an important document – a key part of your application to a prospective employer. It is surprising that jobseekers often pay scant attention to it. Many candidates fail even to write one and only submit their CV or application form. Craft a strong cover letter and your application could really stand out from the crowd. So if it’s of such importance you’ll need to know how to produce the perfect cover letter. That’s where we step in.

1. Always send one

The cover letter’s job is actually twofold. At its basic level, the standard one-page cover letter performs a simple courtesy function. It is a socially acceptable way of introducing you and explaining which vacancy you’re applying for or which area you are enquiring about. It also provides the recruiter with a handy list of your contact details.

2. Don’t rewrite your CV

It should provide edited, juicy highlights from your CV. However, it should not merely repeat what the CV includes but rather distils the key themes into one place.

3. First Paragraph and last line

Don’t waffle in your first paragraph, make the reason you’re writing clear and sell yourself; writing what makes you better than others straight off. Finish with a call to action, request they contact you for a meeting or interview and let them know you will be in touch to discuss.

4. Talk about the company

Do some research into the company/ organisation and include information about them. Specifically, tell them what you are impressed with and what attracts you to them.

5. Provide quality evidence of your qualities

Pick out the top 3 or 5 (max) qualities the employer is seeking in their advert or job specification if there is one. These should be qualities that you have already covered in your CV and they should be the 3 to 5 things that you refer to – not explain – briefly in your cover letter. Provide concrete examples and solid numbers wherever you can. For example, after you’ve introduced yourself in your letter you could include lines similar to these:

“You will see from my enclosed CV that I match your requirements precisely. I have worked in the education sector for over 10 years and have led a number of departments that ranged in size from 5 to 20 people.”

Or

“You will see from my CV that I have worked in both Further Education and Secondary Education and have successfully developed Virtual Learning Environments in both sectors.”

Your cover letter then is an additional ‘sales’ document…selling you

6. Reflect your personality

Ensure the letter shows how motivated and enthusiastic you are. Do not include negative comments. Try to use dynamic acting verbs for each skill you are explaining, such as:

People skills – Collaborated, communicated

Teaching – Instilled, motivated, encouraged

7. Relevant and brief

A well-written letter should draw the recruiter’s eye to relevant experience on your CV. It is an, admittedly brief, space in which you draw a positive picture of yourself in the mind of the employer. Ensure it is never more than a page long.

8. Contact details

Wherever possible send your letter and CV to a named individual, particularly if it is more of an enquiry than a specific role application. Research using websites, ask friends and colleagues if they know of anyone or ring through to reception and get yourself a name and job title. It will look a lot better than sir/ madam.

9. Sign the letter

Unless you’ve had to sign an application form, your cover letter is the only place where you provide your signature. This may seem old fashioned in this digital age but it’s still a strong signal of your authenticity.

10. Neatness/ presentation

Finally, make sure your covering letter is clearly laid out with no typos or spelling errors. Do this and, compared to many jobseekers, you’ll already stand out as an impressive candidate!

View jobs in Further Education

What did you think of our article? - please rate

0 / 5. 0


Share this article

Reader Interactions

You may also like:

  • write a fe cv - jobs.ac.uk

    How to make your FE CV more professional

  • write a fe cover letter-jobs.ac.uk

    What is a cover letter when applying for jobs in FE?

  • how to write a fe cv - jobs.ac.uk

    How to write a brilliant CV

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

seventeen − 13 =

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Follow us

Searching for a job in the United Kingdom

Latest Jobs

  • Administrative Assistant - Receptionist

    Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge

    Location: Cambridge

    Salary: £24,344 - £26,942 per annum


  • Lecturer - Electrical

    Bridgwater & Taunton College

    Location: Bridgwater, Somerset

    Salary: £30,000 - £33,037 per annum


  • Research Assistant Writing Roots

    School of Education, University of Leeds

    Location: Leeds

    Salary: £32,546 - £38,249 p.a.


  • Career Adviser (Part-Time) (LUM194/1885)

    Luminate Education Group

    Location: Leeds

    Salary: £15,719 - £17,174 per annum


  • Teacher - English GCSE (LUM18796/1522)

    Luminate Education Group

    Location: Leeds

    Salary: £30,527 - £34,349 per annum


  • Customer Experience Supervisor (LUM591/1900)

    Luminate Education Group

    Location: Leeds

    Salary: £26,429 - £27,981 per annum. Frequency


Footer

jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2025

  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Careers Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility
jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2025