How to write a great cover letter

Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about my brand new FREE employability blog, which includes a comprehensive glossary of key business, legal and finance terms.

In addition, for those of you looking to prepare for interviews and boost your commercial awareness in the run up to interview season, our Interview case studies course now includes EIGHT interview case studies, covering everything from mergers and acquisitions, contractual terms and analysis of legislation, to the role of a firm's key practice areas and various legal and commercial terms and concepts.

Now onto cover letters...

How to write a great cover letter

As with CVs, there is no objectively correct way to approach cover letters.

Some firms may set word or character limits, whilst others may simply ask you to attach a separate document. Cover letters for certain roles may also require a different emphasis. A speculative application for casual work experience can call for a very different technique than that required when making full-time job applications. For example, if you are applying for experience at a small high street firm, you will not necessarily need to spend ages distinguishing it from its competitors.

However, do try to approach cover letters in this context with a focus on “what I can do for you” rather than “what you can do for me”. With all this in mind, before getting started, there’s no harm in doing a little research to gauge what is expected from you.

Length and structure

Either way, cover letters should be fairly concise – usually no longer than a page – and well written, with a strong structure. After all, this may well provide the firm with its first impression of the standard of work that you’re able to deliver. To that end, using temporary headings whilst drafting your cover letter can help you to maintain a clear structure from the outset.

Content

A cover letter for an established graduate scheme at a large City firm should probably include an overview of your reasons for making the application and an insight into why you believe you are a suitable candidate.

The structure I usually go for involves kicking off with an introductory sentence explaining where I’m currently at (e.g. “I am a penultimate year Law & Business student at Warwick University”), as well as mentioning the specific role or placement that I’m applying for (e.g. “I am applying for the [Firm Name] 2023 summer vacation scheme”.

I’ll then cover why I’m interested in the career (more advice here), why I’m interested in the firm (more advice here), and why I think I’d succeed in the role (more advice here), before finishing off with a conclusion, which might thank them in advance for considering my application.

Should you use headings?

Rather than using headings in my final draft, I’ll make sure my introductory sentence for each main paragraph clearly sign posts what I’m talking about. For example:

• My career motivation paragraph might start with “My interest in commercial law stems from…”
• My firm motivation paragraph might then start with “I am applying to [Firm Name] in particular for the following key reasons…”
• My “Why you” paragraph might kick off with “Finally, I believe I have developed a foundation of the competencies required to succeed as a trainee solicitor…”.

We dedicate a full animated video to cover letters in our?Writing successful applications course,?which also provides a comprehensive guide to writing successful CVs and applications, including in-depth advice on answering career and firm motivation questions, researching firms, and drawing skills and strengths from a broad range of experiences.

You may also find our?Law firm research, profiles and interview insights and?Writing professionally?courses, plus our?Application, Interview & Internship Handbook, helpful in this context.

As a reminder, the?Commercial Law Academy is a comprehensive e-learning platform for aspiring commercial lawyers.

Our 20 in-depth courses provide insights into legal careers, firm profiles and interview insights, expert advice on writing applications and tackling psychometric tests, dozens of example (verified) successful cover letters and applications, resources to help you prepare for interviews and internships, example interview case studies, practical content to help you understand and confidently discuss commercial concepts and current affairs, plus tips on how to network, negotiate, deliver presentations and write professionally.