Cover letter for CV application

[Guest]

DH on gardening leave due to redundancy.

There is an ideal job for him to apply for but we are struggling with writing the perfect cover letter to ensure he gets an interview.

What are the do's and don'ts with cover letters? He needs to email his CV and letter to apply.

Also they ask for current salary. What does he put, what he was on plus more or a band/in the region of? He was employed but on a lower salary than this job (it is a head of dept job rather than what he was doing) and he was still self employed but didn't do any work through his own company for the last 18 months. He has glossed over the redundancy as included the year long job as part of self employment rather than PAYE. (Long story but boss has just made 10+ redundant in one go so reference will be rubbish as redundancy meetings have all been horrible for him, very negative).

Any advice would be great - cover letter ideas and salary to quote.

[DisneyF1rstT1me]

My advice re the covering letter is a bit generic but basically keep it to 1 page if poss, be very specific as to why he wants to work for that firm in particular and highlight just 1-3 things about him that make him right for the job. They can see his cv for the rest. Triple check for spelling and grammar issues before sending obviously.

If the salary is only going in the covering letter I think I'd leave it out but be prepared for the question in interview. My current salary is the only thing I ever lie about in an interview. I usually say I'm on what I think I should be on - market rate, I don't go crazy. I've never had anyone ask for proof of my current salary. I'm bracing myself now for hordes of people criticising me for this admission!

Good luck to your husband.

[chrisxal]

Hmmm I have never been asked what salary I am on but there is no point in lying because assuming you got the job they would know what your previous salary was by your P45 and how much tax you have paid.

[DisneyF1rstT1me]

Originally Posted by chrisxal

Hmmm I have never been asked what salary I am on but there is no point in lying because assuming you got the job they would know what your previous salary was by your P45 and how much tax you have paid.

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That's a good point, they do. Well, no one has ever pulled me up on my stated salary then. I've only worked for 3 different companies in my proper career though (as in once I stopped doing any old job just to get by) so I'm not exactly a reliable statistic to extrapolate from!

[chrisxal]

The standard reference requests I have received normally ask for applicants start date, leaving date, reason for leaving, job role/title, salary, how many days absence and would I re-employ. The answers to these questions require factual replies not personal opinions apart from the last one but if my answer is no to the last question I do not elaborate if they are interested they then they would telephone for private conversation. However that isn't what the OP was asking, I agree keep the covering letter fairly short, tell them why you are applying for the position and how your skills and experience is a good match, don't need to tell them about your qualifications etc they can read your CV.

[Twin mummy]

My CV is more factual, though I tailor the emphasis depending on the job I'm applying for.
In the covering letter I focus on the job/ person description and make sure I tie in my experience to cover each of the points wanted.

As for salary mine is a fixed salary scale so I say what point I'm on.

[Guest]

For current salary he puts current salary. I am not sure what is the confusion over that, they are not asking for what he would like or what he thinks he deserves, they are asking for a factual piece of information. It is also one they may be able to verify down the line so making something up would be a really bad idea.

I also don’t understand what you are saying about the self employment / redundancy / year long job and no PAYE. He needs to be a lot clearer on that in any discussions because I would be quite concerned.

Hard to comment on the letter because it is an individual thing. I usually bring out a few career highlights and also highlight where I meet the role criteria.

[Cherrypie]

You’re perfectly entitled to put my salary expectations are around £xk - obviously you will roughly know what the job role should be paying x

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Cherrypie

You’re perfectly entitled to put my salary expectations are around £xk - obviously you will roughly know what the job role should be paying x

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I wouldn’t provide salary expectations until asked.

[ERICSMUM]

Originally Posted by Claudette

I wouldn’t provide salary expectations until asked.

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I agree - it might cause the recruiter to dump your application.