Menu Close
‘Great cover letter btw’ shutterstock

Dear sir/madam — how to write a winning cover letter

In his wonderful collection of correspondence, Letters of Note, editor Shaun Usher includes one from Robert Pirosh, a New York copywriter.

Pirosh wanted a job as a screenwriter and in an attempt to secure such a post he composed what Usher describes as:

One of the greatest, most effective cover letters ever to be written.

Usher tells us that Pirosh’s letter got him three interviews, “one of which led to his job as a junior writer at MGM”.

Though letter writing is surely a lot less common now than in the past, writing across other genres continues to permeate contemporary professional, educational and personal lives. And it is certainly still the case that many companies will request a cover letter with a job application.

But despite the fact that so many of us write, type, text or tweet – (sometimes incessantly) every day – few of us may feel that we write well. And fewer still would consider ourselves “writers”.

If you are confronted with a writing task, and you find yourself bamboozled or blocked, you need to draw on ideas, principles and strategies that can assist. And with this in mind, here are seven top writing tips below.

Writers who are mindful of these seven tips should find that their writing is more effective and the writing process more enjoyable. And who knows it may even help you secure that dream job.

1. Know your purpose

You need to know what it is you want to say and the effect you want your writing to have. You will, for example, write differently if you are applying for a job than if you are thanking your great aunt.

When writing to secure an interview or to get shortlisted, you need to have at least two important purposes in mind. The first is to address the topic – this will mean including the necessary content of an effective cover letter. Second, you should aim to convince the readers than you are the person that they most want to recruit.

Write for your reader. Pexels.

2. Name and know your audience

Every audience, you dear reader included, brings expectations to a piece of text. The text works when expectations are met, or better still, exceeded. Similarly, writing fails when the reader is disappointed or worse yet, offended by the writing.

Know your audience, and if you’re writing to get a job, work out what it is that your potential employer wants – then seek to exceed their expectations.

Think about your end goal. Shutterstock

3. Identify the genre

Different forms of writing have different rules and conventions. They may use different language and look differently on the page or on the screen. You need to know what is typical of a genre to be able to write well in that form or style.

A formal cover letter as part of a job application will look and sound very different to a text from a pal after a night out. Do some research and find out what good models of the genre look and sound like.

Know what you are aiming to produce. Shutterstock

4. Revise

It is very rare that the polished work which professional writers produce has not been drafted, redrafted and revised through several iterations. You should do the same.

Be prepared to edit your work. Shutterstock

5. Read it aloud

When we work with writers we always ask them to read aloud so that they can hear what they actually wrote and not what they thought they wrote. Often they stop themselves, mid-sentence, and say, “you know, that’s not what I meant to say”, at which point they start to reformulate their thinking and the articulation of their ideas.

Hear yourself say the words. Pexels.

6. Share with someone

Assuming you are writing for a reader (this may not always be the case) then it is a good idea to try out that writing on a willing volunteer before you submit a final draft. Ask your reader for a response and some feedback.

If you’re lucky, they might even help you to formulate new ideas or ways of wording. The writing process then becomes a shared one – which can be both interesting and enthusing.

Share with friends. Pexels.

7. Pause before you publish

These days, potentially any writing you give away, send out, or post online could go viral. If you aren’t content to see it on the front of a national newspaper should you really tweet it?

It can often feel risky to go public with your ideas – even as professional writers we feel that too. But the rewards can be extraordinary and the thrill of it all, exhilarating. So be courageous in your writing. Write authentically and with passion, but do make sure you give it a final once over before you hit the submit button.

Want to write?

Write an article and join a growing community of more than 181,000 academics and researchers from 4,921 institutions.

Register now