Just writing a cover letter to go with my CV, what kind of stuff should I add?

[xudo]

Oh FFS, a Pub is a place, it needs to be capitalised.

I will edit the other typos. Also, Snooker and Pool do need to be capitals, they're names of things, well that is what I've always been taught anyway.

You can FFS all you like, but you are wrong. The word 'pub' is not a proper noun, and therefore does not require capitalisation. 'Wetherspoons' is a pub and also a proper noun, and as such requires a capital letter. See the difference? Snooker and pool follow the same rule. They categorically do not require capitalisation.

You honestly do not help yourself when you ask for help, receive it and then go on to argue that you are right and everybody else is wrong. None of us have to take the time to give you our insights, and yet for some reason we keep doing it. If you continue to shout people down who are offering you help and advice, you will begin to find that there are less and less of us willing to even reply.

 

[the_tortoise]

I've offered some ideas/feedback ....I hope you are not offended by my offering specific examples of rewrites based on my suggestions.

I will not be offended or upset if you decide to ignore everything I say, for any reason(s). This is your cover letter, not mine!

I am an early 40's adult with excellent customer service and administration skills as well as skills in general IT and Internet such as email, word processing, Web searxching and Web page creation using HTML.

I suggest breaking this up, and shortening the bit about your computer skills.

I could be very wrong but I think it is assumed that most people can do web searches, use email, and use a word processor these days -- I'm pretty sure these things fall under basic computer skills or basic computer literacy.

I also suggest you move the bit about how fast you type to include it here, so all your computer-skills-things are grouped together.

For example:

"I am an early 40's adult with excellent customer service, administration, and general IT skills.

I can type accurately at speeds of up to 60 words per minute, and in addition to basic computer skills I am skilled at web page creation using HTML."

If you'd prefer to keep all of your examples of computer skills, I suggest you include the software and/or operating systems that you're familiar with, or just talk about how you are are familiar with multiple operating systems and a variety of software. For example:

"My IT skills include proficiency with email, word processing, and web searches on [operating system(s)] using [email clients, word processors]. I am skilled at web page creation using HTML and can type accurately at speeds of up to 60 words per minute"

I have an excellent telephone manner, and I am very open and approachable and eager to help customers at all times in any way I can. I can also type accurately at speeds of up to 60 words per minute.

This is good stuff, but awkwardly phrased (it's a run-on sentence, too many "ands" and a missing comma), I suggest breaking it up: Example:

"I have an excellent telephone manner and am very open and approachable. I am eager to help customers at all times, in any way I can."

(If you decide to leave it as a single sentence, I still strongly urge you to add the comma.)

And like I said before, I suggest you talk about your typing speed in the same section where you talk about your computer skills. (It seems like a non-sequitor if you put it in the paragraph where you go into detail about your customer service skills.)

My hobbies include video gaming, particularly on Xbox One and Android mobile phone, as well as training in Tae Kwon Do, a South Korean Martial Art, every Sunday evening and alternate Mondays and Fridays. My other hobbies include watching and playing Snooker and Pool, and attending regular Pub quiz nights on a weekly basis, I also enjoy singing on a Karaoke website and listening to retro music from the 60's, 70's and early to mid 80's.

I suggest you break up the sentences more so that each activity gets its own, or use semi-colons and make it like a list. I also suggest you take out the details about how often/when you engage in hobbies.

Example:

"My hobbies include: Video gaming, particularly on Xbox One and Android mobile phone; Training in Tae Kwon Do, a South Korean Martial Art; Watching and playing snooker and pool, and attending regular pub quiz nights. I also enjoy singing on a Karaoke website and listening to retro music from the 60's, 70's and early to mid 80's."

Also, I have to add myself to the people telling you that you shouldn't capitalize all names of things/nouns, only "proper names"/proper nouns. (The only place I have ever seen capitalization of all things/nouns is in archaic English from centuries ago.....today, it's grammatically incorrect.) If you are intent on capitalizing all names of things, your paragraph about hobbies should actually look like this:

"My Hobbies include video gaming, particularly on Xbox One and Android mobile Phone [or "Mobile Phone" -- depending on whether you consider "mobile" a part of the name of the thing, or a description of the thing], as well as training in Tae Kwon Do, a South Korean Martial Art, every Sunday Evening and alternate Mondays and Fridays. My other Hobbies include watching and playing Snooker and Pool, and attending regular Pub Quiz Nights on a weekly basis, I also enjoy singing on a Karaoke Website and listening to retro Music [or "Retro Music"] from the 60's, 70's and early to mid 80's."

.....because hobbies, phones, evenings, quizzes, nights, websites, and music are all names of things.

For place names,.....a house/home is a place, a street is a place, a yard is a place, a club is a place, a pub is a place, but you don't capitalize them. It has to be a name that belongs to a specific, individual place.

If you could consider me for your positions, I would be very grateful, however due to personal circumstances I am only available to work part time hours of up to 15 hours per week, please don't let that put you off giving me a chance to prove that I could be a real asset to your company.

It sounds like you are apologizing for the hours you can work, and it sounds like you expect the employer not to value you....these things could put employers off. It's best to seem confident, even if you aren't confident at all.

I recommend you just state that you are very grateful for the employer's consideration. No "if", just speak as if you assume they are considering you -- technically they are, or they wouldn't even bother reading your cover letter all the way through.....reading your cover letter and CV are the first parts of being considered for a job.

I also recommend you say the stuff about 15 hours per week and you can be a real asset to the company before you thank them.

I'm guessing you are sending these out, or posting this on a website, so that it's not specific to any particular job?

Example:

"I am available to work part time hours of up to 15 hours per week in any position you feel I'd be suitable for, and am very grateful for your consideration."

 

[StephF]

All of the above stuff matters, it may seem like people are being picky but very often employers will make value judgments based on use of language, grammar etc.

There are usually a lot more applications than positions and it is far easy to end up in the wastebasket rather than the final cut.

 

[the_tortoise]

All of the above stuff matters, it may seem like people are being picky but very often employers will make value judgments based on use of language, grammar etc.

There are usually a lot more applications than positions and it is far easy to end up in the wastebasket rather than the final cut.

Yes, despite all my criticism I don't mean to be harsh.

I do think your original cover letter is good -- you highlight important skills and qualifications and you paint a picture of yourself as helpful, courteous, conscientous, and sociable.

However, employers will often make negative judgements about a person's intelligence, interpersonal skills, and work ethic based on how they write...they will infer all kinds of things (whether or not they have any basis in reality) based on word choice and phrasing. And all of this is especially likely when the jobs you're after are involve communication with others as a central part of your work.

An employer is likely going to be picky about stuff like grammar and phrasing when they read your cover letter even if they know that, in reality, you could be a far more effective overall/on-the-job communicator and a far better salesperson or customer service rep than somebody who can write a grammatically perfect cover with no awkward phrasing and that exudes all the confidence in the universe.....This is because an employer simply doesn't have time to see whether or not every person's cover letter offers an accurate reflection of that person's on-the-job verbal communication skills and demeanor...

Probably every job seeker you're competing with will be trying to sell themselves in more or less the same way you are, and many will have identical qualifications, a similar skill set and similar experience. So even if the job won't involve much or any written communication, employers will probably either see it as a bonus (an extra asset) or look at it as futher evidence of your qualifications and skill if you can write a grammatically perfect cover letter with no awkward phrasing and no hesitation or apologies in your sales pitch of yourself.

The stuff about coming across as confident and not apologizing for your own job requirements..... Employers may assume that any potential employee who seems uncertain or apologetic when selling themselves will seem uncertain and apologetic when trying to sell the company's product or service, and will probably be looking for any and all possible indicators of whether or not you can be firm (not just courteous and helpful) with unhappy customers who become irate and unreasonable. This is especially true for someone who has experience in customer service and sales and is trying to sell that experience as a valuable asset and a key reason to be hired -- if you had never worked in customer service and sales before and they were hiring with the intent to train you, I think it would still matter, but not nearly as much. (My take on it is that you're trying to be respectful of the employer and to acknowledge that they might prefer employees who can work more hours -- but you don't have to apologize for your job requirements. The whole process for both sides is really about finding a good match between employer and employee -- if a match doesn't happen, it doesn't automatically mean that the requirements either side has are bad requirements. It is not a bad thing that you can only work 15 hours a week, it just is what it is..... And really, for an employer who is specifically looking for someone to work 15 hours a week or less -- rare though they may be, they do exist -- you are a rare and valuable find, because most people want more hours than that.)

 

[Aeolienne]

There's no need to mention your age, not even as a range (and 40s does not require an apostrophe in any case).

If you're tailoring the CV for a particular employer you should mention where you saw the position advertised. Also, for the bit where you say what has attracted you to this employer, it's good to put something that shows that you've done some research on them, e.g. along the lines of "I was particularly impressed by a recent article in [trade journal] about your new venture into xyz". Although a lot of online editions of trade journals (like The Grocer) are behind firewalls, you may be able to access back issues in the reference section of a public library.