{"id":1147,"date":"2018-11-06T12:46:14","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T12:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=1147"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:56:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:56:42","slug":"cover-letters-a-guide-to-writing-the-perfect-cover-letter-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2018\/11\/06\/cover-letters-a-guide-to-writing-the-perfect-cover-letter-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover Letters: a guide to writing the perfect cover letter (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Many students see this as a daunting prospect. You\u2019ve just perfected your CV and NOW you\u2019re being asked for a cover letter.<\/p>\n<p>But don\u2019t be put off \u2013 even if the cover letter is optional, complete one! It\u2019s a great opportunity to demonstrate how much you want this position and how you can prove that you\u2019ve got the skills to do it.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a guide that will help you when approaching cover letters. This week will focus on the structure and planning writing your cover letter.<\/p>\n<h2><u>Structure \u2013 <strong>Piece of persuasive writing<\/strong><\/u><\/h2>\n<p>Your cover letter needs to <strong>prove<\/strong> to employers how interested you are in the position you're applying to and whether your skills and experiences make you the <strong>best candidate<\/strong> for the role. To do that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create a clear and concise structure \u2013 beginning, middle and end (4-5 short paragraphs) and 1 A4 page MAX.<\/li>\n<li>Emotive language \u2013 <em>\u2018passionate\u2019 \u2018eager\u2019 \u2018excited\u2019 <\/em>\u2013 professional, yet personable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><u>Research \u2013 So important!<\/u><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Who will receive and read the letter (try LinkedIn\/company website\u2019s \u2018About Us\u2019 page)<\/li>\n<li>The skills and experience required (know the job description inside out!) - if your job description is brief, try searching Indeed.com for similar roles<\/li>\n<li>The company and its culture (try company website, Glassdoor.com, Bath Connection)<\/li>\n<li>Competitors \/ company\u2019s market position (remember, why is this relevant to why you're applying)<\/li>\n<li>The sector and recent news \/ trends \/ awards won<\/li>\n<li>The company\u2019s aim \/ mission statement \u2013 refer to their values or specific campaigns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><u>1<sup>st<\/sup> Paragraph \u2013 Opening Statement<\/u><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Who you are <em>(I am an Undergraduate Marketing Student...)\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Indicate the position you\u2019re applying for<\/li>\n<li>Where you learned about the available job (advert? Referral?)<\/li>\n<li>When are you available to start?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><u>2<sup>nd<\/sup> Paragraph <\/u><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>What attracted you to <strong><em>this type <\/em><\/strong>of work? Job role \/ sector<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>Why<\/strong><\/em> you\u2019re interested in working for that <em><strong>particular<\/strong><\/em> company (how do they differentiate from other similar companies? Values? Key clients?)<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Why<\/em><\/strong> you\u2019re suitable \/ what you can <strong><em>offer<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Demonstrate your research<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make it personal!<\/strong> Boost your power of persuasion - let the employer know you're a human with passions!<span style=\"margin: 0px;line-height: 107%;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif;font-size: 12pt\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left\">Have you had a passion for this industry since childhood?<\/li>\n<li>Have you attended networking events? Careers Fairs?<\/li>\n<li>Is it a current topic of interest? E.g. helping the environment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><u>3<sup>rd<\/sup> Paragraph <\/u><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Highlight relevant experience<\/li>\n<li>Demonstrate <strong><em>how<\/em><\/strong> your skills match their <strong><em>specific<\/em><\/strong> requirements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>What tasks are you most looking forward to doing? Which of your skills do you believe are strongest? How will those skills best equip you for specific tasks? Which skills are you most looking forward to developing further? <\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Summarise any additional strengths \u2013 <strong><em>how <\/em><\/strong>can these benefit company<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><u>Last Paragraph \u2013 Round up the letter<\/u><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Reiterate your interest<\/strong> in the role - <em>I am eager to begin a career with\u2026 This is the perfect role for me\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Indicate your <strong>desire for an interview<\/strong> (dates available \/ unavailable)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Thank<\/strong> them<\/li>\n<li>Assume that they will be meeting you! - <em>(I look forward to discussing my application with you further\u2026 Looking forward to meeting you soon)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><u>Planning writing your cover letter<\/u><\/h2>\n<p>A process of matching your skills and experiences to those required in the job<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Study the job description and person specification<\/li>\n<li>Which skills and characteristics are the <strong>most important <\/strong>for the role?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Highlight<\/strong> the key skills and characteristics<\/li>\n<li>Write these key points in a note pad (either spider diagram or as headings)<\/li>\n<li>Now <strong>match<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">o\u00a0\u00a0 Think of examples from your academic \/ work \/ personal backgrounds that show you have these key skills\/characteristics<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">o\u00a0\u00a0 Try to include the positive end result<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2018\/10\/Spider-Diagram-bigger.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1151 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2018\/10\/Spider-Diagram-bigger.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"899\" height=\"729\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2018\/10\/Spider-Diagram-bigger.png 1026w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2018\/10\/Spider-Diagram-bigger-300x243.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2018\/10\/Spider-Diagram-bigger-768x623.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2018\/10\/Spider-Diagram-bigger-1024x830.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2018\/10\/Spider-Diagram-bigger-265x215.png 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 899px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><u>Things to remember<\/u><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Focus on motivation for role \u2013 <strong>why<\/strong> you are interested, <strong>why <\/strong>your skills relate to job<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t simply repeat facts from your CV \u2013 be specific on <strong>why<\/strong> you are a strong match based on experiences<\/li>\n<li>1<sup>st<\/sup> impression is critical! Check typos and grammar<\/li>\n<li>If it is generic, it is likely to be rejected<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Useful Resources<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Feedback from an Applications Advisor - \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myfuture.bath.ac.uk\/students\/appointments\/app\/?siteId=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/myfuture.bath.ac.uk\/students\/appointments\/app\/?siteId=1<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Cover letter guide -\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/publications\/application-cv-and-cover-letter-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/publications\/application-cv-and-cover-letter-guide\/\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li>The Balance Careers -\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/free-cover-letter-examples-and-writing-tips-2060208\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/free-cover-letter-examples-and-writing-tips-2060208<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many students see this as a daunting prospect. You\u2019ve just perfected your CV and NOW you\u2019re being asked for a cover letter. But don\u2019t be put off \u2013 even if the cover letter is optional, complete one! It\u2019s a great...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1177,"featured_media":1148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[748],"tags":[16,384,396,15,21,398,120,397],"class_list":["post-1147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-applications","tag-cover-letter","tag-guidance","tag-job-hunting","tag-research","tag-structure","tag-top-tips","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2018\/10\/pexels-photo-574285.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1177"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}