CourseToJob guide · content date . Tool instructions reflect the CourseToJob service. Editorial method.
Quick answer
Write a one-page letter only when the advert asks or the portal has a box. Three paragraphs: why this job, two proofs, practical close. Skip a letter when the form says not to attach one — extra PDFs get ignored or annoy. Skip this page if you need examples by industry; use the examples guide next.
Other situations: Not for US jobs that say “no cover letters” or for schemes that forbid them. Not a substitute for a weak CV.
When should you write a cover letter?
When the advert says “cover letter”, “supporting statement”, or the form has a mandatory box. When it is optional, write one only if you can add two facts the CV cannot hold (why this employer, a constraint such as notice period). Otherwise skip it. A generic letter is worse than none.
This site’s cover letter builder is a scaffold. Delete any line that could sit on another company’s letter.
What structure should a UK cover letter use?
Opening: role, where you saw it, one line of fit. Middle: two achievements mapped to two requirements. Close: availability, thanks, no begging. Address a named person if the advert gives one; otherwise “Hiring manager” is honest. Do not invent “Dear Sir/Madam” for a team that publishes names.
Industry samples: cover letter examples.
How formal should the tone be?
Match the advert. Law, accounting and public sector stay formal. Startups can be warmer but not jokey. Never claim you are “perfect”. Never claim you have used a tool you have not. Enthusiasm without evidence is fluff; evidence without a reason you want them is a mail merge.
If the vacancy is a graduate scheme with competency boxes, put the stories in the boxes and keep the letter short so assessors are not reading the same paragraph three times.
When should you skip a cover letter?
Skip when the instructions say not to send one, when the portal has no box and the email is only “attach CV”, or when you would only paste the profile again. Spend the time tailoring page one of the CV. The free option — no letter — wins in those cases.
CV first: how to write a CV.
What belongs in each of the three paragraphs?
Paragraph one: role, where you saw it, one line of fit. Paragraph two: two achievements mapped to two requirements, with scope. Paragraph three: availability or notice, a polite close, no pleading. Address a named person when the advert gives one. “Dear hiring manager” is honest when it does not. Inventing a name is worse than a generic greeting.
| Paragraph | Job | Fail state |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why this vacancy | “I am applying for the role” with no employer fact |
| 2 | Two checkable proofs | Duties copied from the CV |
| 3 | Logistics + thanks | Salary demands they did not ask for; “I am the perfect candidate” |
Industry patterns: cover letter examples. Scaffold: cover letter builder.
What if the portal has a small supporting-statement box?
Treat the box as the letter. Do not also attach a second PDF unless they asked. Paste a tightened version of the three-paragraph structure, then stop. Duplicate essays annoy assessors and can look like you ignored the form. Civil Service-style vacancies want behaviours in their boxes — put the stories there, not in a hidden attachment.
CV still comes first: how to write a CV. If the instructions say do not send a letter, do not send one. Extra files are not enthusiasm; they are noise.