2018 Australian National University Law Students’ Society Careers Guide
Writing the Perfect Cover Letter by Jessica Elliott Jess is a final year LLB/Arts student from Sydney. She has recently completed a clerkship at King & Wood Mallesons and is the incoming Tipstaff to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW.
1. Why is a cover letter important? (And why you should include one even if one isn’t expressly required) • It is your first introduction as a candidate to the organisation. • Demonstrates why you are a good fit for the position and the organisation • Highlights your career ambitions and how you can uniquely contribute to the organisation • First test of your communication skills 2. Structure: Cover letters should look like a formal business letter. Have a look online for templates if you are unsure. One style for example is: • • •
Upper right corner include the date, followed by your name, address, phone number and email address. Below this, aligned to the left include the name of the contact person, their position and the name of the organisation. Where possible begin the letter with Dear [name of contact person]. Where you can’t find the name of the relevant person, it is acceptable to use “Dear [Recruitment Team etc.].
Sign off the letter formally. Inserting a digital signature at the end of the letter looks professional. 3. Tailoring your cover letter to the specific job application: It it is essential that the cover letter directly addresses the job criteria and specific organisation. Even if you have a generic cover letter, make sure to tweak it to target each specific job and organisation. Some jobs won’t have clear criteria (e.g. many clerkships or tipstaff/associate positions). Instead think generally about what skills are required (e.g. ability to work in a team, client-centricity, commercial awareness) and target your letter accordingly.
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4. Do your research: Being able to show why you want to work for that particular organisation (or judge) demonstrates a genuine interest and appreciation for the job. Be as specific as possible. For example, ‘I want to work under [insert leading lawyer]’ or ‘I aspire to work for [organisation] as a leader in [X] as indicated by […]’. It may sometimes be hard to distinguish between organisations. For example, if applying for clerkships many firms may appear almost identical. To tailor your cover letter it may be helpful to: • Look closely at the organisation’s websites (e.g. specialisations, recent news, pro bono) • Research the organisation in the media (e.g. Google News, Australian Financial Review, Lawyers Weekly) • Mention any contact you have had with current employees of the organisation (e.g. at career fairs). 5. Be persuasive: • Identify standout points on your CV (e.g. relevant work experience, leadership roles, and extracurricular involvements). Use these strong standouts to show how you meet the criteria. • Provide evidence to back up criteria. For example, instead of ‘I work well in a team’, it is more persuasive to write, ‘I have demonstrated my team-work capacity as [position] where I [activity]’… • Enumerating reasons is helpful and compelling. For example, ‘I believe I am an ideal candidate for three reasons. First… Second… Finally…’. 6. Writing style: • Be concise! A cover letter should generally fit comfortably onto one page. • Make it easy to read. Concision and plain writing is a desired skill. For example, short sentences and clear paragraphing. • Be meticulous about spelling, grammar and punctuation.