1.  Your covering letter is the first thing someone reads when they look at read your CV. You want someone to read at it and want to go through your CV. Be brief, use enthusiastic language, be interesting it shouldn’t be longer than one page,.

2.  It is important to be accurate – spell the name of the company contact correctly and structure the letter in a formal way.

3.  Writing in the first person by saying “I this and I that” is too repetitive so try to avoid this.

4.  Go to the company’s website and tell the reader how you can contribute to furthering their organisation.

5.  Say what you are applying for and why you are the ideal person for the job.

6.  Refer to your CV in different ways. Make these relevant to the job and the employer.

7.  Use examples by backing up a statement by including a scenario from the workplace. This will enable the reader to analyse your logic and thought process.

8.  Try not to bend the truth in your covering letter. An employee may use this as a basis to direct questions to you during an interview.

9.  If you are not applying for a specific role then you need to be slightly broader in your content:

- Research the company and try to understand what they look for in employees
- Call up the company and get the name of a decision maker to ensure it lands on their desk, otherwise it may get lost in the internal post.
- Ask for a particular action like a reply or an interview.
- In the body of your letter try and include as much of your experience as you can but be factual.
- Mirror the language used on the company’s website.

10.  Follow up the letter with a phone call to check your application has arrived. Leave this for a few days to enable delivery of the letter and also giving the reader chance to actually go through your CV in detail.