cover letter???

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by colz1234, Sep 2, 2009.

  1. colz1234

    colz1234 Bit Poster

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    Hi all, i just wanted some advice on this. Should i include a personal profile statement on my CV??? or leave this out and write a cover letter instead??? Which one is best???

    Also, every application you make should have a cover letter included to accompany the CV, so should i write both???

    Just a bit confused about it, if someone could shed some light onto this for me please it will be most appreciated.

    :biggrin
     
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  2. crazy horse

    crazy horse Byte Poster

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    Hi Colz,

    I have just graduated and applied to a number of companies, I was advised the best method is to provide a covering letter tailored to the company you are applying for. I think within this you can include some things on your personal achievement as these are liekly to overlap.

    Hope this helps and good luck with your applications! :biggrin
     
  3. Evilwheato

    Evilwheato Kilobyte Poster

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    Exactly that ^^
    Write a personalised cover letter for each application, highlighting anything on your CV that makes you relevant (and your skills) for the job.
     
  4. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    The purpose of a cover letter is to get them to read your CV. You should mention any skills/experience they've asked for in the job advert and hopefully show how you can be an asset to the company. This obviously means you have to tailor your cover letter to each individual application.
    Tweaking your CV so that, for example, the skills asked for are at the top of your list is also a good idea.

    I'd leave the profile in the CV. Mention anything in your profile that is relevant to that particular job in the cover letter.
     
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  5. supernova

    supernova Gigabyte Poster

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    Anyone have good examples of cover letters to share?
     
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  6. Jiser

    Jiser Kilobyte Poster

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    Ive been advised against 'mothering' or 'bs' to much on covering letter/cv. So my future plans with regards to this is to mention the vacancy and my interest + to keep it short and simple with an overview of myself and inviting them to look at my one page cv with attached details of my specific technical experiance.

    Also included a brief of my experiance and skills at the top of my CV e.g. 'Capability profile'.

    I will see how this goes in the next few months. Though most places I will be applying for are online applications. Seems most of the big organisations do this.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2009
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  7. colz1234

    colz1234 Bit Poster

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    ahhhh ok, cheers guys, that was just the information i was looking for, im still not too sure what to put in my personal profile/achievement section as i dont want to talk about myself in the third sense so to speak, like say things that I cant really back up.

    I have got no real workplace experience in IT, but have done lots of troubleshooting for friends and family. I also have a home network that I play about with, should I include these things as experience in my personal profile??? as it is essentially the ONLY experience I have.

    Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for everyones help so far.

    :biggrin
     
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  8. BDB2008

    BDB2008 Bit Poster

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    This is my template cover letter that i amend certain area's depending on the job i am applying for; the amended area's are in italic.

    You need to personalise it for every job you apply for, dont make the common incompetent mistake of copy & paste it to an email - you will make mistakes and thats one job you may or should of got - lost.


    Please dont pinch it!! :P


    Dear iiiiiiii,



    I am responding to your advertisement in the iiiiii website for an iiiiiii and I would like the opportunity to be put forward to interview stage to discuss what I can provide the iiiiiii Company in experience and skills.

    I’m confident that I am the ideal candidate for this position because I not only have nine years of experience as a Microsoft professional but I also have strong skills in every aspect of communication and composition, having studied consistently Microsoft learning principles.

    You can contact any employer throughout my history and I am confident he or she would be happy to provide you with a strong reference on my behalf.



    I would be happy to meet with you at your convenience and answer any questions you might have.







    Kindest Regards
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2009
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  9. crazy horse

    crazy horse Byte Poster

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    Yes, you shoud include any experience that you have even if it is troubleshooting friends and family as it shows you are willing and enjoy this aspect of IT support (i'm guessing your looking into a role within a 1st or 2nd line support).

    It might also be beneficial to show where you have be most experience, e.g. setting up wireless networks, troubleshooting printer problems. This gives the employer some useful information which they may test you on in the interview.

    I have put one of my covering letters below as an example:

    "Dear Sir/ Madam,

    I am writing to express an interest in your graduate scheme starting in 2009. I will be completing my degree in BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology from the ******** in June 2009 and I am currently anticipating a first class honours. I am very keen to establish a career in the IT service industry having already gained experience in this area. Please find attached my CV for your consideration.

    Having spoken to a member of the ***** at the ******** Graduate Fair I was extremely interested in the company as they offer good opportunities to progress and valuable training. Also with the company performing well, I feel this will be a great opportunity for me to gain significant experience in a growing successful business. I have already gained experience in support having worked as a part time IT technician at a school. I worked on the network infrastructure and server side administration as well as supporting the school with any other IT issues. More recently I have just completed an industrial placement year working for a blue chip company in tier two support fixing hardware, software and managing accounts for the site. Finally, working in the tier three team with our partners to ensure our servers were maintained correctly and the local data centre was working efficiently and performing to best practices. Through this work I have gained knowledge on many different Windows operating systems (including desktop and server), hardware of Dell machines and many types of software. I have also been accredited with the ITIL V3 Foundation certificate, and attended a CNET Data centre management course that details data centre best practices. To continue gaining knowledge I am also a member of the British Computer Society. With these skills I hope to fit into your organisation and quickly become an employee who adds value to your business. I will be available for interview at a mutually convenient time. Finally, I would like to thank you for considering my application for the graduate position and look forward to hearing from you.

    Yours Faithfully,"


    I don't know whether this is a good covering letter or not, but I hope it helps!
     
  10. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    Oooh, sorry but no.
    No offence meant... :biggrin

    That's a classic example of a generic covering letter that will leave the employer cold.

    In your covering letter, you need to identify skills/attributes that the employer has identified in the job ad and explain how you meet them. Also provide a bit of further information about how your skills and experience meet the job profile where it might not be covered in depth on your CV.

    And you NEVER sign off a formal letter with 'Kindest Regards'.

    :eek:
     
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  11. BDB2008

    BDB2008 Bit Poster

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    No offence taken :) But i will disagree.

    Firstly the email/letter is adressed to a person directly, it is not addressed Dear Sir/Madam; i take thetime to find out who will be doing the interviewing. Secondly I have had 3 interviews this week and each interviewer commented on the cover letter and how it stood out from the norm.

    Strange huh?
     
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  12. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Sorry, I disagree. Identifying skills and attributes is what the CV/resume is for.

    You have a very limited amount of time to keep their attention; the cover letter is not the place to do it.
     
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  13. crazy horse

    crazy horse Byte Poster

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    Fairpoint on the "Dear Sir/ Madame" part, you should try and find out who the interviewers are as this shows a greater interest in the company.

    I hope you are successful with your interviews BDB2008!
     
  14. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    A wee bit long perhaps mate? :blink
     
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  15. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    No worries.

    If you are sending a letter to a person, 'Dear Mr Smith', you sign off 'Yours sincerely'.
    If you send to 'Dear Sir/Madam', you sign off with 'Yours faithfully'.

    Basic manners.
    'Kind Regards' is for casual correspondence such as emails.
     
    Certifications: MCT, MCTS, i-Net+, CIW CI, Prince2, MSP, MCSD
  16. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    Well, you've got your CV plus a covering letter - about 3 pages in total.
    Your CV tends to be pretty clinical - employment, education etc.
    Although you should tweak it for various types of job, you don't want to be rewriting it for every position that you apply for.
    Your covering letter is your opportunity to show that you have read and understood the job requirements and can offer the relevant skills or experience.

    So, yes, I agree that generally skills and attributes go on your CV - but your covering letter is what makes a potential employer want to READ your CV.
     
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  17. BosonMichael
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    Must be a UK thing... didn't know there was a "proper" call and response. :D
     
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  18. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Actually, you should. :) Most people who provide resume help will say that as well... and I agree with them.

    I agree... you say that you understand the requirements and that you believe you have the skills to help their company succeed... but what I'm saying is that you don't LIST those skills or experience! That's my point. They'll read the cover letter, see that you say you have skills, then they'll go to the CV and view those skills in detail.

    Know what I use candidate's cover letters for? To find out if you can write a logical, coherent letter... and THAT makes me want to read your CV. Has nothing to do with stating your skills... I'll see all that on your CV.

    No sense in repeating yourself twice - saying you've got experience with Server 2003 on the cover letter, THEN saying you've got experience with Server 2003 on your CV is redundant. Trust me, an employer will see it on your CV... you don't need it both places. ;)
     
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