How to sell yourself

A covering letter is an essential ingredient of any job application: your chance to show a company that you want what they’re offering and more importantly, that they will want to hire you. Coupled with a succinct CV, a covering letter will be what gets you through the door and into that interview room. So how do you word a letter that will catch the eye of a prospective employer?

Introductions are everything

An employer may not get to the end of your covering letter if the opening paragraph doesn’t grab their interest. You don’t need to do anything showy in the first sentence, just get to the point about who you are – perhaps referring to your current job or a significant qualification – and why you wish to work for the company. For example, if you’re looking to get in-house experience in a firm, explain why you feel this role would provide you with that.

 Sell yourself

You’ve told your prospective employer why you’re interested in them, now move on to why they should choose you over the other applicants. Check the job description and person specification for the key responsibilities and experience needed, and make sure you cover these.

If you’re making a speculative application, you won’t have specific details, but you can check career guides on the web to determine what kind of things businesses will be looking for. It’s also doubly important to research the company itself, demonstrating in your words how you feel your skillset would benefit them.

Bring things to a positive close

While it’s important to sell yourself, don’t overwrite or come across as arrogant – a covering letter should fit comfortably on one page, with just a few short paragraphs.

Your concluding paragraph only needs to be a couple of lines long; simply thank them for their consideration and mention that you are looking forward to meeting with them. If you are not responding to a particular job advert, you could suggest discussing the position further at a later date or say that you will follow up your letter with a phone call.

 Check the fine print

It should be obvious, but still merits saying: spellcheck your covering letter before you send it off! If you need formatting help, there are various templates available online that you can use as a starting point (but remember to tailor it to your individual voice, so it doesn’t sound like a stock letter). If you can’t find a contact name on the job information, ring up and find out who to address the letter to. Apply the correct signature: for example, it’s ‘Yours sincerely’ when you know who you’re speaking to. If you’re unsure about grammar or punctuation – such as semi-colons – leave them out to play it safe.

The main thing to remember is that you are trying to put forward an argument in a clear and concise manner. A covering letter should be a piece of persuasive writing as much as it is an informative one. This will be the first impression that a potential employer receives, so make sure you look like the kind of candidate they want on their staff.

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Posted on January 18, 2019