Forget trying to compete for a temp job or bit of part time work, the Business Secretary, Vince Cable has promised the creation of 100,000 new apprenticeship places as he urges more companies to give young people a chance. He is hoping that more employers to follow firms like British Airways, British Gas, BT and Jaguar Land Rover in offering thousands of places to young people looking to get on the working ladder.
The government is to replace the Connexions service for young people and the Next Step service for adults with a careers service that will cater for all ages in what the government is claiming will be the first such service of it’s kind. The suggested launch date is September 2011.
Google returns 39 million links to “Cover Letter Help”. So, there is an awful lot of information, advice and guidance out there for you to access.
To guide you through this maze, here are the fundamental things that we at abintegro think you need to know when developing your CV covering letter.
General
• Always send a covering letter – it is your chance to set yourself apart from others and get the employer to look at your CV
• If you are emailing your application, put the letter text into the email body and omit the recipient’s address and date. You’ll need to grab their attention quickly so make sure the first couple of paragraphs encourage them to scroll down to the rest of the letter and to read your CV
• It should be businesslike and formally presented – see our examples
Style
• It should be no longer than 1 side of A4 paper
• Use a legible font (Arial or Times) with a minimum size of 11 point
• Use clear, positive language – short, simple sentences, short paragraphs, action words
• Address the letter to a named person. Call the company to find out who it should be addressed to, and also check the spelling of their name and their job title.
• Check spelling, punctuation and grammar ‐ also ask someone else to read it to check for errors you may miss
• Always write it from the employer’s perspective – never send a standard covering letter. Tell them how you can contribute to their organisation, not what it can do for you
Content
• “WHY” ‐ the first sentence should make clear you intend to apply for the job. Make sure you include the job title, with any reference numbers. Mention where you saw it advertised.
• “WHAT” – outline what interested you about the organisation and the job and refer to your current situation. Pick the main responsibility from the job description and link it to an achievement within your CV. Tailor it to make it as relevant as possible.
• “HOW” – outline how you could contribute to the organisation, again linking this to the organisation’s aims and your experience/skill.
• “WHAT IF” – Close you letter by explaining what you hope will happen next.
An interesting video from Ellen MacArthur about her personal motivations, fears and most importantly working as part of a team.
IT has finally begun to feel the pinch but there are still a range of skill sets that are in strong demand. They include Oracle, Java, SQL, C#, .net and SAP. You can upskill your tool kit with courses from the Home Learnig college - found on the training pages of www.uktemps.co.uk
