Your London Jobs

The outcome from applying for a job would not depend entirely on your resume. Sure, you have all the achievements, skills and talents an employer could want in their company, but with a boring and generic cover letter as your presentation, it could actually jeopardize your chances of ever getting hired in a company at all. Cover letters are what employers would look into first before anything else. They address the company's call for applicants and present to them your determination and desire to work for them in a certain position.

Now, a cover letter example may help you in creating one for yourself, but you have to remember that what these HR managers are looking for isn't someone who just does things without any effort on their part. They want employees who can come up with creative ideas, put effort into their work and who know how to present themselves as worthy employees to the company. If you can come up with your own creative cover letter that speaks with your own voice, then that would definitely grab their attention and might even hire you in the end. So, as much as possible treat a cover letter example as a mere example and not something you should copy paste or buy to send to the company as your own.

Cover letter examples can be found all over the internet. You won't be short in these sample cover letters, but you will be short of creative ideas and original thoughts in terms of writing them on your own. A lot of applicants commit the dreadful mistake of copying and submitting generic sample cover letters, thinking that HR managers do not usually take the time to read them and that their resumes are what is the most important in the application process. This is a very mistaken assumption. On the contrary, HR managers determine if an applicant is worth hiring by putting 50% of their judgment on the cover letters, 50% on the resume. They don't want to hire people who do not know how to create their own letters and who only depend on the samples available on the internet because it is an indication that they are lazy and unwilling to think of their own presentations. So if you are really in need of a job or if you are aiming for a particular position in a company, then put some effort even in writing up your own cover letters.

You can always follow the basic format used in the samples to give you an idea on what to write, what not to write, and how to address the bosses of the company as formally and professionally as you can. Do not be afraid or hesitant to use your own words to express how grabbing the position matters to you and that you have the skills, talents and the motivation to work hard for the company. With such determination, the HR department will be curious as to what kind of an applicant you actually are and may invite you for an interview.

Below is a very simple example of an example that one could write to a headhunter. Feel free to use it and tailor it to your needs.

Your address
Your contact numbers
Your e-mail

Recipient's name
Recipient's position
Company name
Company full address

Dear Sir/Madam, I understand you have a client seeking a writer who can deliver excellent articles within a stipulated deadline. As such, I would like to make a strong case for myself. As you will note from my enclosed resume, I have a long-standing track record with various magazine and newspaper publishers such as (please name some of the larger publishers here). I am interested to move up in the editorial chain-of-command and hence, am looking for a position with a publisher who believes in promotion from within. My achievements in brief:

- Delivering articles for the fashion section of (name the last magazine/newspaper you worked on) within the deadline.
- Working on a series of contractual publications each month for various clients that brought in additional revenue to the publisher.
- Overseeing fashion and product shoots. In order to do this effectively, I worked closely with the designer, photographer and fashion stylist to produce award-winning (name the awards that you have won) fashion spreads.

I am particularly interested in the position of Fashion editor with (name the publication you have in mind) with an annual salary range of $80K to $100K. Please contact me to arrange a meeting. I can be reached during the day on my direct line (XXX-XXX-XXXX) or at home most evenings (XXX-XXX-XXXX).

Sincerely,

Your name
Your signature

That's it! Hopefully studying cover letter samples and examples can help the writing process go much more smoothly for you. After all, it's all about finding things that work and making them better. Why re-invent the wheel?