This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Exeter chapter.
With applications for internships, work experience and graduate jobs fast approaching, the two dreaded words on everyone’s lips are ‘covering letters’. These letters bring up a number of daunting images, namely staring into the computer screen for hours with no clue how to start or all nighters desperately filling out application forms. Here are a few tips to help you get through the process!
- A covering letter is designed to give you the opportunity to present yourself to the employer in a positive light and indulge in a bit of self-love. It’s about adding a personal touch to your CV which can come across as boring stylistically, filled up with lists and lists of your grades and employment history. So don’t worry about writing about things that you are very proud of (awards, achievements, hobbies) in your letter. Employers won’t think you are being pompous and no-one else will be playing the modesty card!
- Try and link everything together. This is the most difficult part and probably requires the most research. A good way to go about it is to find out as much as possible about the company/firm/organisation itself (make a list of their approach to work, their values and any deals they have recently been involved in). Once you have done this it will be easier for you to relate your own skills to the job itself. Linking all of it together will require multiple redrafts but stick with it (lots of tea does the trick) and you will eventually come up with a well structured letter.
- Spelling and grammar. We’ve all heard the stories about immediately discarded applications once a single spelling mistake is spotted in your letter. Whilst this may be a slight exaggeration, bad spelling and grammar will be a black mark on your application and it is an easy aspect to correct. Read through your letter a few times and get a friend to check spelling and clarity. This may well be the one thing you do that makes all the difference.
- Stand out. With companies and firms receiving thousands of applications every year, reading letters can become tedious especially with the same ‘2.1 expected’ in every letter. Try and find something that makes you different – it doesn’t need to be academic or sports related but will hopefully give them something unique to remember about you.
- Time. The best way to succeed in writing covering letters is practice. Drafts, drafts, and more drafts! Not really what you want to hear when coursework is already ruining your life but starting now means you will factor in valuable time to improve and build upon your letters. Rushing to meet the deadline is a likely route to a sloppy or badly structured letter and will just cause you unnecessary stress.
So from all of us here at HCX… Good luck!
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