{"id":153,"date":"2019-12-17T09:31:06","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T09:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/?p=153"},"modified":"2019-12-17T13:29:43","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T13:29:43","slug":"how-to-write-the-perfect-cover-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-write-the-perfect-cover-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>No matter what kind of job you\u2019re looking for, or what industry you\u2019re in, there\u2019s one thing that they all have in common. For every job you apply to, you need a stunning cover letter and CV to showcase your skills and experience. Employers don\u2019t have the time to interview everyone who applies for their job. That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial that you represent yourself well in your cover letter &#8211; it\u2019s the employer\u2019s very first impression of you. It\u2019s your first chance to impress them and get yourself an interview.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at the ways you can make your cover letter absolutely perfect.<\/p>\n<h3>1) Proofread<\/h3>\n<p>This may seem like an obvious tip, but it\u2019s actually one of the most important. One small mistake could be the reason that you don\u2019t get an interview at your dream job. It\u2019s a good idea to run your cover letter through a grammar and spelling checker. However, you also need to proofread it yourself. If you have another person who can read it over, it can really help to get a fresh point of view.<\/p>\n<p>You want to make sure that your cover letter displays your attention to detail and dedication to getting the job. Here are some common mistakes that you should look out for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Typos or small spelling mistakes.<\/strong> You may not even notice these during a read-through, so it\u2019s best to take a break or get a fresh set of eyes to proofread.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Issues with commas.<\/strong> Misplaced commas, too many commas or too few commas &#8211; these are all common mistakes that you should avoid in your cover letter.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Run-on sentences.<\/strong> Make sure that each sentence is concise and detailed. Don\u2019t ramble on for lines and lines at a time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2) Make it the Right Length<\/h3>\n<p>A cover letter should be no more than one page. A cover letter that is too short may come across rushed, and it won\u2019t convey all the necessary information. A cover letter that is too long may come across as repetitive, and the employer might not even read it all the way through.<\/p>\n<p>Things to look out for when it comes to the length of your cover letter:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t be repetitive.<\/strong> Ensure that you don\u2019t talk about the same thing in several places of your cover letter. Say what you need to say but say it only once.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t include waffle.<\/strong> The point of a cover letter is not to hit a certain word count or fill a page. Ensure that everything you include has a purpose.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3) Include the Right Things<\/h3>\n<p>You may be confused about what exactly a cover letter should include. It\u2019s important to remember that it\u2019s different to your CV, and it\u2019s different to an interview. The cover letter should complement both these things. Rather than simply re-stating the information on your CV, go into more detail, and add anything that wasn\u2019t expressed there. The cover letter offers a chance for you to introduce yourself and speak in your own voice. It\u2019s here that employers should get a sense of your personality and work ethic.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few things to include in your cover letter:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Make it specific.<\/strong> Talk about the exact job that you\u2019re applying for and why you\u2019re applying. Don\u2019t use a generic cover letter. It\u2019s a good idea to pull directly from the job posting or description. Talk about how you fill all the necessary requirements.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Highlight your qualifications.<\/strong> In your cover letter, it\u2019s a good idea to pick out a couple of your most important or applicable qualifications. Pulling from your CV, you can expand on your experience and knowledge in the field and how it can help you in your new position.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Express your appreciation.<\/strong> Keep in mind that a cover letter is not a replacement for an interview. Keep it short, and then offer your appreciation for the opportunity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you have seen, your cover letter is crucial to your job applications. In a CV, you can lay out all your skills and experience. However, a cover letter offers a place for you to introduce yourself to employers. You need to make sure that your cover letter represents who you are, how good a fit you could be, and why they should give you an interview. To do that, you have to proofread and include all the right information.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, you learned that the keys to writing the perfect cover letter are to keep it concise, don\u2019t drag it on and make sure that your grammar and spelling are perfect.<\/p>\n<p>Now, all you need to do is get out there and start applying for jobs. Good luck!<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No matter what kind of job you\u2019re looking for, or what industry you\u2019re in, there\u2019s one thing that they all have in common. For every job you apply to, you need a stunning cover letter and CV to showcase your skills and experience. Employers don\u2019t have the time to interview everyone who applies for their &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-write-the-perfect-cover-letter\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter&#8221;<\/span><\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155,"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions\/155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xostudentdiscounts.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}