Tips for Graduates: Your Cover Letter: What to Include

When applying for graduate jobs, write up your cover letter so it's short, punchy and friendly. This makes it easy for the person hiring graduates to get a good impression of what you're about.

Include the following key information:

• Your details. Your full name, email address and telephone number at the top of the letter.
• A quick introduction. Describe yourself as a graduate, and describe your key achievements. Don't go into detail. Instead, keep it high level by saying something like, "I have a Bachelor in Visual Communications and have worked for two years as a professional graphic designer" rather than, "I graduated from the University of Technology in Sydney with a Bachelor of Communications in 2009 and have been working at a small agency called DesignX as a part time Graphic Designer for the last three years." See? The first example is much snappier!
• Key selling points. Give the employer a quick with the main reasons why they should hire you.
• An explanation of how you're the perfect match. Tell them why you're so well suited to the company and how much you'd like to work there. Show them that you'd fit right in with their existing team, their values and their culture.
• Call to action. Encourage the reader to browse through your CV to find out more about you, and suggest that you'd love to meet them face to face for a meeting or interview.

Things to remember:

• Be positive and enthusiastic!. This is your chance to shine as a graduate.
• Be brief – don't waffle on or include information that will bore your reader.
• Be friendly and make the reader want to learn more.