Winning Cover Letters
Introduction
Many people fail to recognise the importance of a good cover letter which could ultimately mean losing out on an interview. Some recruiters will place equal importance on it and with an average of 20 seconds spent reviewing each application, it is worthwhile investing time to write a letter which will inspire the reader to want to read your CV and make it stand out from others.
Whilst some may argue that a cover letter is unnecessary and you are effectively repeating yourself by re-iterating what is already written in your professional profile of your CV, you should consider that the cover letter could become separated from your CV and quite often the interviewer is not the same person to whom it has been sent; more often than not, it may have been separated in the shortlisting process. Your aim is to bring attention to your application which is quicker and has a greater impact with a cover letter rather than having to read through a whole CV.
As many recruiters face a pile of CVs to wade through for an advertised post, the cover letter should focus on your strengths and concisely summarise the skills and experiences you have highlighted in your CV; basically, to act as a sales pitch outlining why you should be employed. It should give the reader a flavour of your application and the enthusiasm to find out more about you so that your CV is top of the pile!