How to write a perfect cover letter in English Business English Course Lesson 2
hello everyone and welcome back to
english with lucy we’ve spoken about
writing a wonderful CV but alongside
that you will most likely need a cover
letter
some people consider a cover letter to
be pointless but I think it’s an extra
opportunity to persuade a recruiter to
give you a telephone interview some
recruiters may receive hundreds of
applications a day so your cover letter
gives you a chance to stand out from the
crowd in this lesson I’m going to tell
you everything you need to know about
writing a perfect cover letter let’s get
started with the lesson now a cover
letter should be an a4 piece of paper or
document to start you will need to
include your name your contact details
the date and the recruiters contact
details as well even if you are emailing
a cover letter it needs to be written as
a formal business letter always send it
as a PDF file as you don’t know whether
the recruiter will be using Windows or
Mac and a PDF will open on both and the
formatting will stay the same it should
be no longer than 1 a 4 page and I
advise a maximum of 4 paragraphs start
with your name address and contact
details in the top right hand corner
make sure your details are sensible
email addresses like crazy babe 393 @z
male comm won’t make you look very
professional underneath on the left you
should write the company address and the
date
now let’s talk about appropriate
greetings for your cover letter when
you’re doing your initial research try
to find the name of the hiring manager
or whoever will be reading your letter
this way you can make your letter a lot
more personal and it will prove that
you’re a determined candidate who wants
this job specifically if you aren’t sure
of gender just write their full name
make sure you check your spelling
because misspelling their name will
cause them to disregard your application
99% of the time if you can’t find their
name or if you aren’t sure about their
name you should instead start with dear
sir or madam or dear hiring manager or
dear recruiting manager or even dear
human resources professional just avoid
to whom it may concern as it’s a little
outdated now let’s talk about the first
paragraph the first paragraph needs to
include why you’re writing the letter
and the position that you’re applying
for
you should also mention where you found
the position and the fact that your CV
is attached at the end you can add a
little extra about yourself that you
couldn’t share on your CV for example
I’m writing to apply for the role of
Account Manager in response to the
advert posted on the seed jobs platform
please find my CV attached alongside
this cover letter having worked in the
agricultural industry for five years I’m
very excited about the prospect of
working with a company that has such a
strong focus on sustainable food
let’s discuss the second paragraph now
that you’ve introduced yourself and
established your enthusiasm in the
second paragraph you can discuss your
most relevant experience and talk about
the specific qualifications and skills
that make you the perfect candidate in
this paragraph you need to sell yourself
something that we talked about in
another lesson
make sure you’re not just repeating what
you’ve put in your CV you want to add
something extra while still emphasizing
your skills and experience let’s talk
about your third paragraph the main goal
of your closing paragraph is to thank
the employer for their time and
consideration you can also use this
paragraph to justify any major gaps in
your employment history sum up your
qualifications and express an interest
in continuing to the next stage in the
hiring process
you could also show your availability
for a callback and an interview before
you sign off you should try to promise
more information for example I would
love to show you my award-winning design
portfolio or I would like the
opportunity to show you how I increased
productivity by 23% just be prepared to
fulfill any promises in the interview
now let’s talk about an appropriate
sign-off you should end your message
with a formal clothing such as sincerely
regards or best regards
if your clothing contains more than one
word capitalized only the first word as
in best regards or your sincerely be
sure to put a comma after your closing
on the next line you need to write your
full name and then you need to write
your telephone number and your email
address on separate lines after your
name
although you will already have put your
contact information at the top it’s
important to remind them including it
again makes life easier for the
recruiter now we’re going to be looking
at cover letter grammar my first grammar
tip is to avoid contractions where
necessary I’m or I am don’t or do not
I’d or I would so how do you know if
it’s okay to use contractions in a cover
letter or not well it depends on who’s
likely to read it and the job that
you’re applying for you want to
demonstrate that you’re a good fit and a
good way of doing that is to match the
communication style of the employer in
your cover letter you should always use
full sentences bullet points are for the
CV full sentences are for the cover
letter you should avoid the passive
voice and use the active voice most of
the time an example of the passive voice
is a promotion to supervisor was awarded
to me after only one year the active
voice
after only one month I earned a
promotion to manager the passive voice
loyalty was recognized as one of my
strengths the active voice I am very
loyal now let’s discuss the vocabulary
that you should and should not use in
your cover letter firstly don’t use any
slang this is a formal business letter
you should also try to use keywords from
the job advert additionally you should
use powerful verbs and adjectives I’m
going to give you a list of weak verbs
and the powerful verbs you can use
instead number one instead of get you
can use receive number two instead of
give you could use provide
number three instead of help you could
say assist for instead of answer you
could try reply number five
instead of twos you could say select
number six
instead of saying talk about you could
use discuss
number seven instead of to make sure you
could say ensure and number eight
instead of to tell you could use to
inform lastly before you send off your
cover letter you need to check is
everything attached is your CV there as
well is everything proof read are there
any spelling mistakes or are there any
grammar mistakes right if you follow all
of my tips you should have a really
clear and concise cover letter that
should make you stand out amongst the
crowd okay now it’s time for a quiz
correct the following sentences in the
comments down below using what you’ve
learnt in this lesson
there are also some further grammar
mistakes I’ll be looking out for correct
answers but please feel free to correct
each other number one to whom it may
concern I’m interesting in this job to
whom it may concern I’m interesting in
this job
number two I looking forward to get your
feedback I looking forward to get your
feedback
number three I made sure all the
customer were helped
I made sure all the customer were helped
number four I give my contact details
below I’ve give my contact details below
number five I helped my boss in
developing to the project I helped my
boss in developing to the project
number six I love the project management
which is why I hope you choose me for
this position
I love the project management which is
why I hope you choose me for this
position number seven I am available for
an interview at your convenience I am
available for an interview at your
convenient
number eight you’re sincerely Alan Smith
you’re sincerely Alan Smith right that’s
it with the quiz comment your answers
down below that’s it for today’s lesson
I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you
learnt something don’t forget to connect
with me on all of my social media I’ve
got my facebook my Instagram and my
Twitter and I shall see you soon for
another lesson what
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