Why? Because the cover letter has to sell the CV. And if doesn’t, the employer may not get as far as reading the CV. And it would be a shame if you spent time and money on your online proofreading course, and then fell at the first hurdle in the job hunting race.
This is especially important if you’re apply for a proofreading job after finishing our online proofreading course. One employer we heard of found an error in the cover letter, and deleted the application.
So the cover letter needs to sell you, and sell your CV, and be relevant to the job you’re applying for.
You don’t need to repeat the information in your CV. The recipient can read that themselves. You’re writing a sales letter, and you are the product! You should aim to make an instant impression, so they are desperate to read the CV.
I was asked to review a proofreading course student’s letter last week, and I told them it was very general. They could have used it for any job, anywhere. I told them to tailor it for the job in hand, and to demonstrate why they, and the job, were a strong match.
This takes hard work. You need to study the business’ website and search Google to find out as much about them as you can – and then look for common ground between you and them.
This is likely to be in spheres such as:
- Skills.
- Experiences.
- Education.
- Sector knowledge.
- Personal references that connect you with the employer, or their products.
See our proofreading courses