{"id":1391,"date":"2019-03-19T12:56:51","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T12:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=1391"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:17:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:17:21","slug":"speculative-cover-letters-its-not-me-its-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2019\/03\/19\/speculative-cover-letters-its-not-me-its-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Speculative cover letters: It\u2019s not me, it\u2019s you"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Speculative cover letters are used when applying to a company for a position that has <strong>not <\/strong>been advertised. This could be to enquire about work experience, or to gain a role with a company you particularly admire. However, without having a job description, they can be really tricky to write!<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the employer isn\u2019t necessarily inclined to read your letter \u2013 you need to grab their attention and focus on how you will benefit them, not the other way around!<\/p>\n<p>Here are my tips for conquering the speculative cover letter\u2026<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong><u>Know your audience<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It's really important that you address your cover letter to the relevant person (or at least make a strong attempt to). If it\u2019s not addressed, it will not look professional and will appear a half-hearted effort.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Research<\/strong> who would be the best contact to address your letter to \u2013 LinkedIn (Director\/Head of\/Lead\/Manager *industry specific* + company name e.g. Marketing Manager Walt Disney \/ Head of Human Resources Apple)<\/li>\n<li>Call HR of that company and ask who to address your cover letter to<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong><u>Understand their business<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Does this company actually use your skill set? Don\u2019t waste your time by applying to companies that don\u2019t need your expertise.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, understand their company culture and save yourself time by applying to companies that meet your personal goals.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Research their company website \/ LinkedIn profile<\/li>\n<li>Where would you fit in the company?<\/li>\n<li>Who are their competitors?<\/li>\n<li>Have they been in the news \/ had recent campaigns?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong><u>Opening<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This needs to be attention grabbing to encourage the employer to read on. Therefore, I\u2019d recommend not immediately starting with your intentions to request work experience \/ a job.<\/p>\n<p>Reel the employer in and once you have their attention, highlight your purpose for writing (I still recommend doing this early on).<\/p>\n<p>Suggestions include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Positive feedback for an event they recently held<\/li>\n<li>Following up on networking you have done<\/li>\n<li>An interesting personal story \/ experience (that is relevant to their company)<\/li>\n<li>Your admiration of the company \/ employer (hard facts based on research)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Then indicate what kind of role you are looking for and why that company. Be careful not to close any doors by being too specific on the type of work \u2013 if you are seeking a placement year, say so \u2013 but if you\u2019d be happy with a week\/a day shadowing someone, say that you would like some valuable experience in *sector\/role* for example.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong><u>Main body<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A speculative letter will have less focus on what the company can do for you \u2013 the employer isn\u2019t too concerned that they have <em>\u2018excellent training opportunities\u2019 <\/em>or<em> \u2018an inclusive company culture that will allow me to grow\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>You need to give them a reason to hire you alongside their other paid employees. How will you be a benefit to their company?<\/p>\n<p>Suggestions include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You have the latest, up to date industry knowledge due to your studies<\/li>\n<li>You have proven success working in teams and will be an asset to theirs<\/li>\n<li>You have confidence working on systems \/ technology \/ methods they use<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019re motivated and driven<\/li>\n<li>You have a niche skill set<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019re adaptable and learn quickly<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019ve won awards relevant to their industry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s vital that you back these statements up with <strong>proof.<\/strong> Consider the <strong>STAR <\/strong>technique (<strong>S<\/strong>ituation, <strong>T<\/strong>ask, <strong>A<\/strong>ction, <strong>R<\/strong>esult) when giving your examples \u2013 it\u2019s important to demonstrate how this skill\/achievement\/experience will benefit them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Include the research that you have done about the company to highlight why you are so interested in working for them <strong>specifically<\/strong>; but make sure you comment on <strong>why <\/strong>this is important to you \u2013 be careful not to just state facts that they already know!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong><u>Conclude<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>This can be really short (2-3 lines) where you summarise why you\u2019re interested in them and how you\u2019ll be an asset to their organisation (what you have already written).<\/li>\n<li>Remember to let them know when you\u2019re available for a phone call \/ meeting and when you are free to work.<\/li>\n<li>Thank them \u2013 and let them know you look forward to meeting them soon!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong><u>Closing off<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Yours sincerely (if you have their name)<\/p>\n<p>Yours faithfully (no name)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For some info on how to send speculative letters by email, see this <a href=\"https:\/\/myfuture.bath.ac.uk\/students\/faqs\/detail\/7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">page<\/a> written by our Careers Advisers.<\/p>\n<p>And for some useful feedback, book an appointment with an <a href=\"https:\/\/myfuture.bath.ac.uk\/students\/appointments\/app\/topic\/1?siteId=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Applications Adviser<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Speculative cover letters are used when applying to a company for a position that has not been advertised. This could be to enquire about work experience, or to gain a role with a company you particularly admire. However, without having...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1177,"featured_media":1404,"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":[16,46,407,346,398],"class_list":["post-1391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-applications","tag-cover-letters","tag-employer-research","tag-speculative-applications","tag-structure"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2019\/03\/slim-emcee-ug-the-poet-truth_from_africa_photography-517550-unsplash.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1391","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=1391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}