Cover Letter Guideline

In your cover letter, you should explain briefly, precisely and clearly why you are the right candidate for the position. Your basic message in the cover letter is: “I have understood who and what the company needs and can provide it!”

Approach:

1. Analyse the position description

   What are the most important terms of the description? Mark the keywords as they should reappear in the cover letter.

2. Assign the keywords to your skills from your current career history

   This means that the position description provides a framework for the structure of your cover letter.

Structure

A cover letter classically consists of

• an introduction
• a main part
• a conclusion

Introduction

Spark the reader’s interest in the first sentence. Cleverly combine this with a reference to the job offer. This can be followed by an introductory sentence about yourself, so that you make a transition to the main part.

Awaken interest & establish reference to the job offer

• How you found out about the company/job or
• Say Thanks for a phone call, conversation at a fair, etc.
• Voluntary information:
  • Why does the job in the company seem interesting to you?
  • What attracts you to this company?

Examples

• “Sincere thanks for the friendly and informative conversation at the xy trade fair. It encouraged me to…”
• “You are looking for… (Followed by a short summery of the position) I’m offering …”
• “I read with great enthusiasm that …”
• “For several years now I have been following the development of your company/research work in the area of xy …”
• “Mr. Xy informed me that you are seeking…”
• “I’m applying for the position as a prospective xy…”
• “Since I finished my internship at the … AG (=identical company) in the field xy, I follow the further development of your company with great interest. I am therefore pleased to have taken note of your job announcement and would like to introduce myself as a committed and … applicant.”

Main part

Demonstrate that your qualifications match the requirements of the company exactly and that you are therefore the right candidate for the specific vacancy.

Key idea: Ask yourself the question with each sentence: “Why am I exactly the right person for this position?”

Structure

• If necessary, write an introductory sentence about yourself
• Demonstrate professional qualifications required in the announcement with concrete examples from your own career
• Demonstrate personal skills required in the announcement with concrete examples from your own career

Concrete approach

• Job analysis: Underline the keywords in the job description.
• Comparison: compare company requirements in terms of professional qualifications and soft skills with your own qualifications
• Select the most important and suitable requirements for you. Generally, you cannot cover all the requirements in a job description.
• Address the concrete needs & expectations of the company.
• Name the keywords from the job description or the homepage.
• Then explain why you have exactly this ability and provide an example from your career to prove the respective qualification.
• Always with regard to the specific job.
• Avoid simple repetition of the curriculum vitae!

Examples

• “Based on my current professional background, I have the experience/knowledge described by you in …”
• “As a freshly graduated computer scientist I would like to contribute to the success of your company with great commitment.”
• “With great pleasure I would like to put my acquired knowledge into practice in your company.”
• “Due to my studies of industrial engineering and management with focus on xy, which I will presumably finish in two months with the grade …, I have first knowledge in the field of xy. I was already able to deepen this knowledge during my thesis on the topic xy.”
• “I was able to gain practical experience on the subject … during an internship semester at the company … There I.…”

Conclusion

• Convey a positive impression of your application to the recipient
• Try to find an individual, positive final formulation that flatters the recipient
  • You can once again emphasize your motivation and at the same time show that you are well informed about the company. This way you will distinguish yourself from the majority of applicants who have not done exactly that.
  • You can also address any organizational information that may be required.
• The conclusion of the Cover Letter consists of a polite but confident request to respond.

Distinguish yourself positively

• Approach the company individually, ideally you show that you are well informed about the company
• Is there a first indication of this in the job description?
• Research on homepage: Is there a specific business objective that the company wants to achieve in the middle term? An award that one wants to win? A concrete research project?

Organizational matters

• Mentioning possible starting date
• Salary expectations, if required
• Readiness to change location, if required

Examples

• “I would like to play an active role in winning next year’s Enterprise Award xy for your company.”
• “I would like to contribute my enthusiasm for xy and my personal pioneering character (terms from job description / homepage) to Maier-Müller AG.”
• “As Brand Manager I would like to develop your top products in the food sector in a future-oriented way and …”
• “I can support your team from 01.03. To 31.08.20xx with my engagement.”
• “Should you have any further questions, I would be happy to answer them in a personal conversation.”

Final Check

• Have you responded to the company’s expectations?
• Have you outlined your skills and suitability for the position?
• Have you presented yourself attractively without repeating your CV?

Formalities

≤ one page, with formatting based on the DIN standard for letters, and does NOT contain any spelling or grammatical errors.

The most important rules:

• Formatting Rules
  • Orientation to DIN 5008
  • Keep to page margins
  • 1-line line spacing
  • Do not compress
  • Important: Max. one page!
  • Font and font size well readable, not too small (min. 10 pt).
  • Recommended: Arial (11 pt) (classic), Calibri (12), Calibri (11), Verdana (10)
  • Bahnschrift (11) Not justified, for better readability use left alignment.
• Sender
  • Start approx. 16.9 mm from the upper edge of the page.
  • Sender alternatively in header (“Letterhead”)
  • Sender information: Name, street, house number, postal code, city, telephone number, private e-mail-address Telephone numbers are separated into their functional components by spaces
• Recipient

  • Distance sender field and receiver field: 3-4 blank lines

  • No blank line between street and city in the address field

  • “zu Händen” is no longer used

  • Information:

    Name of the company with legal form Department or contact person Street, house number or mailbox Postcode City

• Date and Place
  • Right-aligned over the subject line
  • Place is only mentioned if it differs from the sender
  • 1. February 20xx or 01.02.20xx (not: 01. February 2014)
• Subject
  • Dismiss the word “subject”
  • Bold Text
  • Maximum 2-line subject
  • Leave 1-2 blank lines between subject and salutation, one blank line for 2-line subject
• Salutation and Text
  • “Dear Mrs. X”, “Dear Mr. Y”, “Dear Ladies and Gentlemen” if no contact person is named in the job announcement. Spell name correctly and use title if necessary
  • Blank line between salutation and cover letter text. Visually separate Paragraphs in the cover letter text with blank lines.
• Greeting and Closure
  • One blank line between the text of the cover letter and the greeting
  • “Sincerely yours”; “Best wishes”; “Greetings from Karlsruhe”
  • Don’t forget your signature (scan it in and insert it as an image)
  • Optional: First and last Name
• Attachments
  • After the signature one often write the term “Attachments” in Germany
  • Can be placed, but is not necessary
  • Attached documents are no longer listed

Reference

• Cover Letter: Instruction from KIT Career Service