I’m sure it’s been done before but what should I include in a covering letter to a prospective employer ? They are asking for a CV plus covering letter.

a full page of 10 point Arial text saying ‘give me a job you b*stards’ over and over

Bit more about yourself, skills experience all tailored to the job in question. Why you would be good for the job. Bit like a personal statement.

If it’s a vacancy you’re applying for, say which vacancy and where you saw it advertised. If it’s a speculative application, say what sort of position you’re interested in. Briefly and succinctly say why you’re suitable for the job, referencing bits of your CV that you’d like them to pay particular attention to. Make sure that you’ve tailored your CV and covering letter to the company you’re applying for, rather than sending a generic application that reads like you could have sent it to anyone.

Don’t make it too long, or just repeat the bulk of what your CV says, and make sure you proofread it. One of the quickest ways an application gets binned is if it contains multiple spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and typos.

Covering letter is your chance to really tailor the application to the vacancy, so try to highlight how your skills and experience really benefit the employer – and then make sure you can get that across.

Like chakaping and Mrs Toast say it is a chance to tailor. If there is a job spec look at what the employer considers essential skills and experience and makes sure you address each item in the letter. Also make sure you tailor your CV to the spec as much as possible. Stage one of the selection processes is usually to bin any applications that didn’t include the covering letter or who wrote less than a paragraph!

Thanks all for your input.

include your previous experience, your strengths, what you feel you could bring to the job and try to link it to what the job spec is. It basically is an extra chance to sell your self to your prospective employer.

As an aside, i had a colleague once who got a CV and covering letter and at the end of the letter it said , and i can;t remember the exact wording, something along the lines of “And while you may consider the points above as relevant to the job opportunity the more relevant point is that I know you have been shagging my sister and it may be the case that I have to divulge this information to your wife”. He went very pale because , indeed, he did have a bit on the side and this was clearly her brother. I’m not sure what he did in the end.

LOL

Damn, I’ve obviously gone for the wrong strategy.

Also use it to demonstrate you’ve done some research about the company.

Clicky lots of good info here. Shame they didn’t actually have a job but just kept it advertised.

CV – just the facts, did this, did that, etc
covering letter, a bit of embellishmnet, what you got from this or that, and how just abolutely ace you are at team working, handling responsibility, etc

covering letter, a bit of embellishmnet, what you got from this or that, and how just abolutely ace you are at team working, handling responsibility, etc

Yes and no – if that’s all you put in your covering letter you won’t get that far, you need to make sure it’s tailored to the job you’re applying for: like CaptJon points out let them know you’ve researched a bit about the company.