Happy Monday,I've been doing a few covering letters recently and it strikes me that I don't have a clue how to do them.I always start off with a short paragraph saying “I wish to apply for the post of…”. I then write a paragraph trying to demonstrate market knowledge and explain why I want to join the particular industry. However I always worry that I don’t really give enough information about why I want to join the particular firm. My final paragraph always uses examples to demonstrate their core competencies from their website i.e. “My current project requires me to communicate with …”.I find it really hard to get all the information I want into such a small space. I have a good CV and nearly always get interviews but I am bringing it to a new level (MBBB) this year and want to make sure I do everything right. Any thoughts, advice or common pitfalls?Anon

Those interviews you have been winning are not from your covering letter that is for sure.At any 'level' of consulting you should avoid (both in the CV and covering letter) wasting space on - and I quote - My current project requires me to communicate with …”. This is a common trap people fall into, talking about responsibilities, functions etc. Instead use your CV and covering letter to focus on wins/value adds: structure it like this problem/solution/supside e.g. x company lacked market share in Y, declining revenues in ABC, I (not 'we' - never 'we') did/advised/implemented etc XYZ resulting in value adding 123 or result 456 etc. You get the point. Specifically for MBBB (not sure about Booz these days though, seems to be in a right mess), also focus on phrasing your CV and cov letter to communicate leadership - this is critical. In fact you should already be subsuming this into your structured CV which talks about wins. Use a very brief paragraph, just a couple of lines, for each position to outline the scope of the role/practice, then bullett point your wins etc. Nice big margins, plenty of white space. Detail projects with the role not on another page.

Mars,Thank you for your advice, I will take it on board and hopefully improve my future covering letters.Anyone got any other advice?

Mars,Given that you are arguably the most knowledgeable person on the forum do you think that you might have the time to read my CV and a covering letter and give me some feedback? I appreciate that this is a bit of a big ask but if you were able to do it would really appreciate it.

See button above... "get your CV reviewed"...

Your covering letter should be your crowning sales pitch. It should have a great structure and each point you make should add something significant. I would structure the covering letter to be thoughtful and insightful in answering three things:1) Why consultancy (management or otherwise)?2) Why company XYZ?3) Why me?In each of the sections always ask yourself "SO WHAT?" Is what you are writing really adding value? If what you have written does not show this then trust me the person reading it will not get it either. Think about how each experience (both academic and not) has developed particular skills required to be a great consultant. Some of the skills you should be looking to show are leadership, teamwork, communication and things that I guess would fall under value addition (creativity, dedication, having an 80:20 mindset, structure, zero-defect analysis etc)Add a final paragraph that summarises why you are interested in consultancy and specifically why you want to join the firm you are applying to.Make sure you limit your covering letter to one page.

"Add a final paragraph that summarises why you are interested in consultancy and specifically why you want to join the firm you are applying to."Wouldn't this just be repeating points A and B in your list? I'm not sure the summary is needed, bearing in mind that this is meant to be a concise cover letter which gets straight to the point in any event.Do any of you lot have any good example cover letters you can share with the rest of us?

The risk of talking about l'eadership, teamwork, communication and things that I guess would fall under value addition (creativity, dedication, having an 80:20 mindset, structure, zero-defect analysis etc)' which Bainee suggested is that it is pointless to make any statement about yourself which you cannot evidence. You could cover the page with telling everyone you are dynamic, team orientated, good communicator etc but 1 they will see whether you are (or not) at interview and no one expects to ascertain your communication skills from a CV/letter 2 they cannot be substantiated, wasting precious space on a single page better dedicated to selling what you CAN evidence. Same for motivation - you are sending your letter/CV to company X, so for the moment your motivation for applying is less relevant than the fact you are motivated to do so at all; they will look to learn about specific knowledge of and interest in their firm at interview, so again don't waste the space.In a strong cover letter, introduce yourself, why you are applying to them at all (if you are a marketing expert for example and the role is in marketing consultancy), and 3 to 4 BULLETT points no the problem/solution/result principle.Simply sign off with a reiteration of interest. Don't tell them in a letter you can be free anytime for interview - it's a 2 way street after all and your time is also precious. The whole idea of a cover letter is to introduce the real del - your polished CV, not to replace it.

"Wouldn't this just be repeating points A and B in your list? I'm not sure the summary is needed, bearing in mind that this is meant to be a concise cover letter which gets straight to the point in any event."It really depends on how you have structured your covering letter. In some case it is necessary to have a summarising statement similar to "reiteration of interest" as Mars A Day put it. The final section could be something like:“I believe that my XYZ experiences have provided me with the skills necessary to succeed in ABC. I am keen to pursue XYZ as it would ABCI look forward to hearing from youYours sincerelyName”------------------------------------------------"The risk of talking about l'eadership, teamwork, communication and things that I guess would fall under value addition (creativity, dedication, having an 80:20 mindset, structure, zero-defect analysis etc)' which Bainee suggested is that it is pointless to make any statement about yourself which you cannot evidence"Very true, which is why I also stated "Think about how each experience (both academic and not) has developed particular skills required to be a great consultant"You need to link your experiences with the skills you have gained and not just add a list of skills.I realise that my covering letter would be very different from Mars A Day and from everyone else for that matter. That is not saying that mine is better but just different and more suitable for my when you consider my experiences.

80/20 mindset? is that actually an value? I know for certain that certain senior partners at good strat houses are 100%. This is actually an area of conflict often with clients. 80/20 usually means the project time is shorter, so smaller fees.

I'm not sure too much dedication is a value either. It tends to lead to long hours and disgruntled subordinates.