Why Writing a Covering Letter?

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right? First impressions are always important. Well, when you apply for a job, most employers want to have 2 important documents from you:

ü A CV or a resume

ü A covering letter

Your CV and letter are usually the first impression that an employer has of you. And because an employer may have hundreds of job applications to consider, you have about 15 seconds to make sure that first impression is a good one.

Before even looking at your CV, an employer usually reads your covering letter. If it is badly-written, or untidy, or difficult to read, your CV will probably go into the nearest bin. If it is well-written, attractive, easy to read and persuasive, the employer will turn to your CV. It's that simple!

A covering letter is a short letter sent with another document - a CV/resume. It is called a covering letter (BE) or a cover letter (AE). Sometimes is also called a letter of application. Your letter of application is a sales letter. The product it is selling is your CV.

The layout of a modern business letter in English is very simple. Your address is at the top, on the right or in the middle. The rest of the letter can be in 'block' format, with each line starting on the left. Try to keep the whole letter on one single page, with plenty of white space.

Here is the typical format for your covering letter:

1 Your address telephone - fax - email
Put your address + your telephone number, fax and/or email address at the top in the centre OR on the right. Do NOT put your name here.	1 Your address telephone fax email
2 Date	Do not write the date as numbers only, for two reasons: 1. It can be considered too official and therefore impolite. 2. All-number dates are written differently in British English (31/12/99) and American English (12/31/99). This can lead to confusion.
3 Destination name and address	This is the name of the person to whom you are writing, his/her job title, the company name and address. This should be the same as on the envelope.
4 Reference	This is the reference number or code given by the employer in their advertisement or previous letter. You write the employer's reference in the form: 'Your ref: 01234'. If you wish to include your own reference, you write: 'My ref: 56789'.
5 Salutation (Dear...)	A letter in English always begins with 'Dear...', even if you do not know the person. There are several possibilities: Dear Sir Dear Madam Dear Mr Smith Dear Mrs Smith Dear Miss Smith Dear Ms Smith
6 Subject	The subject of your letter, which for a job application is normally the Job Title.
7 Body	The letter itself, in 3 to 6 paragraphs.
8 Ending (Yours...)	Yours sincerely Yours faithfully Yours truly
9 Your signature	Sign in black or blue ink with a fountain pen.
10 Your name	Your first name and surname, for example: Mary Smith James Kennedy
11 (Your title)	If you are using company headed paper, write your Job Title here. If you are using personal paper, write nothing here.
12 Enclosures	Indicate that one or more documents are enclosed by writing 'Enc: 2' (for two documents, for example).

Read the following sample of a covering letter:

4 Heart Street

Outbacksville NT 8989

T: (08) 888 888

M: 0499 999 999

E: fletcherc@email.com

17 April 2012

Philip Simons

Aussie Getaways

35 Flood St

Darwin NT 0800

Re: tourist information officer position

Dear Mr. Simons

I wish to apply for the position of a tourist information officer with Aussie Getaways as advertised in The Northern Territory Daily on the 11^th of April, 2012.

During my seven years in the travel and tourism industry, I have worked across education, tour management and promotions. In my current position with Outback Adventures, I am responsible for leading tours of up to five days, catering to all customer needs, planning provisions and itineraries, giving educational talks and ensuring the overall safety and enjoyability of our clients’ travel experience.

During my time as a student I have had a variety of part-time and vacation jobs, all of which have required me to work as part of a team and to deal directly with the public. I found my work at our local Tourist Information Office (2007-2008) particularly valuable in teaching me the importance of determining customers' needs and providing clear and accurate information in response to those needs.

In addition I possess a Senior First Aid Certificate, a driver’s license, and speak Japanese, German and French. I also possess the energy, passion and knowledge to be an enthusiastic and responsible Tourist Information Officer, and I enjoy the opportunity to meet people of all ages and cultures, and to show them just how beautiful this country of ours is.

I will be available for interview at any time to your convenience. I look forward to hearing from you shortly and enclose my CV for your consideration.

Yours sincerely

Christine Fletcher

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 801

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