Cover Letters

Youdontseeme

Hi

Just a bit of help really, I am about to apply for a job where it states

Applications must be made in writing with a covering letter detailing currently salary and benefits, salary expectations and a current CV.​ Please ensure that you account for all gaps in your employment and detail how you meet our essential criteria and if applicable desirable criteria.​"

Silly questions really, but here I go:

A) I am looking at relocating South to North so was expecting to
take a paycut, but this job is at the same level-ish

Is it just a case of "I currently earn 28.5K plus travel, but my expectations are 30K please, thank you very much" (the job is advertised at 25-30K)

Or, a friend just suggested something along the lines of I am willing to start on 25K with a wage review after x amount of months.

I have all the criteria (essential and desirable) on my CV already
Is repeating it a good thing? Perhaps try and word it differently?


Not done this in a while, so any help would be fab.

Ta :-)

InsideInsurance

The covering letter is the opportunity to sell yourself in a couple of paragraphs and really pull out why you would be a strong candidate for the role. CVs tend to be mainly lists and often short sentances at best. Covering letters are full pros

I am not sure I would go with your friends suggestion, they will have their own pay review cycle and you may well be saying you arent going to fit in with it.

Are you applying directly or via an agency?

Assuming your not I would go more along the lines of "As requested, my current salary is £28,500 plus travel expenses and my expectations would be at the upper end of the advertised salary range" - you could possibly add something along the lines that you feel this reflects your experience/qualifications/skills or if it is via an agency then blame them, replace "my expectations" part with something saying that the agency has advised that your experience/qualifications/skills place you at the upper end

smileylondongal

I agree with the poster above that the covering letter is a chance to sell yourself and it's also to highlight certain elements of your CV that tell anyone skimming through that you can do the job. Pick out may be three important aspects of the role description and make it relevant to what you've done, using great examples.

In terms of salary if you are thinking of going to the upper range, you do need to qualify it. Remember that London salaries (just in case you're from there!) have the weighting allowance so you might need to take a couple of thousand off if you're thinking in this regard. The most important thing is that you're not pricing yourself out of the market but that they also see that you can qualify it. One way is to call up a couple of agencies, send your CV along, and tell them 'this is what I was thinking about for salary, what do you think?' they will either give you a big thumbs up if it's realistic or manage your expectations if not.

Youdontseeme

Thanks both, was starting to think they were such daft questions no one would bother to answer them!

It's advertised on the company website so no agency (yay!)

The salary has me a tad confused, up until now positions on the same level have only been around the 18-24K mark, hence why I am so eager (I really cant afford to drop below 23K(ish) much no matter how much cheaper it is living back up North!)

Wish me luck!

YDSM