The perfect covering letter

To many students in the middle of arranging a work experience placement, it seems particularly unfair that the competition for placements is almost tougher than it is to get a permanent job with a company. In many cases this is because firms don’t offer placements – or at least they don’t advertise that they do. So exactly how do you go about penning the perfect speculative letter that will conjure a work placement as if by magic?

'Covering letters should be concise and to the point. Anything that alerts the employer that you have done a bit of research ie looked at their website, know their products and possibly their competitors is likely to impress. If you can briefly convey why you want to work for the employer and what attributes you could bring to the job then this may help you score points over those that don’t,' says Heather Collier, Director of the National Council for Work Experience (NCWE).

Stand out

The first thing is to avoid the common mistakes, according to Martin Edmondson, CEO of Graduates Yorkshire. 'The worst mistake to make is to produce a generic mailer and send the same letter out to a dozen different companies. Every one should be different and relate to that particular company and the field in which the company operates. Also, try to get a contact name and address it directly to them. It shows you've done your homework and looks more professional.'

Felix Brann, a computer science student at Manchester University managed to get a placement in the ultra-competitive computer games industry by targeting not just his letter but his accompanying CV. He was also prepared to do a lot of work – another key factor in getting a placement. 'I pretty much compiled a list of all the games companies I could find in England and a couple abroad and I emailed every one of them individually. My email contained my CV which I had really tailored to working in the games industry. I sent out at least 30 emails and I think I got an actual response from seven or eight and a response asking for more information from four at the most.'

Be passionate

The next thing that your letter should do is communicate some enthusiasm. There’s nothing worse for employers than reading a letter that shows nothing of the personality of the individual who is requesting this experience. 'You should be targeting companies in the field you are passionate about working in,' says Martin. 'Tell them why this would give you a great start to your career and this should come through in your letter. Tell them why you are passionate about that career, why you think their company would be a great starting point for you and then tell them what you have to offer. You should also try to mention any relevant work experience or times when you have gone above and beyond your academic studies to gain experience of, or insights into, the career.'

Sell yourself

This last point is perhaps the most essential of all. As much as we’d like to believe that companies can sometimes do things out of the goodness of their hearts, at the end of the day most companies are interested in making a profit and explaining to them very clearly how you can add value to their company, even during a relatively short placement is often the key to getting your letter to be taken more seriously. 

Computing student Robin Gissing from Sheffield Hallam University applied to Unilever asking for a placement and had to do his research to sell himself to them. 'To apply for the job I was required to write a two page covering letter explaining why I fitted the bill and what I felt I could give to the role and company. My advice if you are trying to sell yourself is to make sure you research the company really well - browse their website, understand the core business processes before you write the letter. Also try and find out if there are any students still at the university who have worked for the company previously and ask what their roles entailed, as this can be a valuable resource in saying exactly what it is that you can bring to the company.'

Further information

• Applications, CVs and interviews
• National Council for Work Experience (NCWE)

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