What should a cover letter add to a CV?
A cover letter gives you space to explain why your relevant experience fits this particular role and why you want to join the organisation. It should not repeat every date and responsibility already listed on your CV. Oxford's careers guidance emphasises this complementary purpose, while National Careers Service guidance recommends tailoring the letter to the job.
Read the employer's instructions first. If the application asks for a supporting statement or answers to specific questions, respond to that format and its limits. Do not assume that uploading an extra generic letter replaces the requested material.
Build a requirement-to-evidence plan
Choose two or three requirements that matter to the advertised work. Beside each, note one genuine example and the relevance to the role. This planning grid is our suggested exercise, not an employer scoring formula.
- Requirement: What task or skill does the vacancy actually name?
- Evidence: When did you use it, and what was your own contribution?
- Relevance: How would that experience help with the advertised work?
- Motivation: What specific, verified part of the organisation's work interests you?
An original editing exercise
Consider this weak fictional sentence: 'I am an excellent communicator and a perfect fit for your company.' It gives the reader no way to judge the claim.
A more concrete fictional practice sentence is: 'During a student society project, I explained the event plan to volunteers and clarified responsibilities when tasks overlapped; that experience is relevant to the coordination duties in this role.' This is an invented exercise, not an experience to claim as your own.
Write a sentence using something you actually did. Ask a reader to underline the action and the connection to the vacancy. If neither is clear, revise the reasoning rather than adding stronger adjectives.
Explain interest without inventing a connection
Choose a genuine detail from the employer's current website, an official report or a conversation you actually had. Explain why it connects to the work you want to do. Do not imply you attended an event, worked with a client or spoke to staff if you did not.
Try the organisation-name test: if you can swap in any company name without changing the paragraph, your explanation probably needs more specific reasoning. This is a useful editing prompt, not a claim that every successful letter follows one template.
Review the complete application
Check the correct role title, recipient details, requested length, file format and contact information. Keep examples consistent with your CV and be ready to discuss them at interview. Follow any employer policy on AI assistance; do not use generated achievements as personal evidence.
University projects, volunteering and experience outside the UK can be described accurately when relevant. Do not relabel them as UK employment. A well-prepared application cannot guarantee a job, internship or sponsorship. The sources below are independent guidance, not college partnerships.
- Have I answered the actual application instructions?
- Can I substantiate every claimed experience and result?
- Have I explained relevance rather than copied my whole CV?
- Would I be comfortable explaining every sentence in an interview?
References
Your next step
Tell Albion Gateway College your target role and the part of the application you want to practise. Ask about available career preparation support; no employment outcome is guaranteed.