Job Cover Letter Checklist

Good for you! You’re applying for a new job. Even in this modern day and age, when applying for a job, everyone still advises that you should write a job cover  letter to stand out from the crowd. And that covering letter needs to be tailored to the job applying for. It’s no good writing a stock job cover letter – it will be spotted and your job application may quickly end up being in the reject pile. So read on to make sure that you write a good job cover letter that helps you get to the interview stage!

Contents of a job cover letter

• Provide your contact details:
  • email address
  • phone number
• Date it!
• Address the letter to the person who posted the job:
  • ‘Dear Mr. Jones’
  • ‘To Whom It May Concern’
  • ‘Dear Sir/Madam’
• Include the job title
• Include the job reference number
• First paragraph:
  • Mention the job you’re applying for
  • Where you found the job listing
• Middle paragraphs:
  • Discuss your qualifications. Why you are a qualified candidate for this position?
  • Relate back to the job description given and reference it.
  • What work experience do you have that fits the job requirements?
• Final paragraph:
  • Say that you look forward to discussing your qualifications further
  • ‘Feel free to call me at <contact number>, to arrange a time to meet. I look forward to hearing from you.’
  • Don’t forget to thank them for their time.
  • If the job application asks questions, make sure that you include the answers in your covering letter
• Save the covering letter with your name in the filename
• Don’t forget to add anything new back into your master job cover letter