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How to write a covering letter for UK job applications

6 minute read · Updated 2026-08-24

A covering letter is not a summary of your CV in prose. If it repeats the CV, the reader skips it. Knowing how to write a covering letter that earns its place means using it for the things a CV cannot carry: why this employer, why now, and the context behind anything on your CV that raises a question. This guide gives a structure, a worked example and the practical rules for UK applications.

When you need one, and when you do not

Send a covering letter when the advert asks for one, when you are applying speculatively, when you are changing sector, when you have a gap or a move that needs explaining, and for professional and public sector roles where it is still expected. Many public sector and NHS applications replace it with a supporting statement against the person specification, which is the same job done in a more structured way.

You can skip it for quick apply routes on job boards where there is no field for it, and for high volume roles where the employer explicitly says CV only. Never attach a generic letter with the wrong company name in it, which is worse than sending nothing.

How to write a covering letter in three paragraphs

Keep the whole thing to one side of A4, ideally 250 to 350 words.

  1. Opening: the role, where you saw it, and one line that says why you are a serious candidate. No throat clearing.
  2. Middle: two or three of the advert's requirements, each matched to specific evidence from your experience. This is the part that decides whether you get read.
  3. Close: why this employer specifically, your availability and notice period, and a straightforward closing line.

Address it to a named person if the advert gives one, and use Dear Mr Ahmed with Yours sincerely, or Dear Sir or Madam with Yours faithfully if you genuinely cannot find a name. It is worth two minutes on the company's website to find one.

A worked example

Dear Ms Grant,

I am applying for the Facilities Coordinator role at your Leeds site, advertised on HIRING UK. I have spent four years coordinating contractors, statutory testing and reactive repairs across two commercial buildings, and I hold IOSH Managing Safely.

Your advert asks for someone who can run a planned maintenance schedule and manage contractors on site. In my current role I own the PPM calendar for fire alarm, emergency lighting, water hygiene and lift testing, and I hold the records that our insurer inspects annually. I raise and close jobs on the CAFM system, issue permits to work, and I am the point of contact when a contractor turns up without RAMS. Last year I brought the reactive repair backlog down by tightening the sign off process rather than adding cost.

You also ask for experience of tenant liaison. I run the quarterly building user meeting and manage the out of hours phone on a one week in three rota, so I am used to being the person who has to explain a shutdown to people it inconveniences.

I am applying to you in particular because you manage the buildings rather than subcontracting the function, which is the direction I want my career to go. I am available for interview at short notice and my notice period is one month.

Yours sincerely,

Notice how little of that is adjectives. Every claim is checkable, and the letter tells the reader something the CV cannot: motive.

Explaining the awkward bits

The covering letter is the right place for context that would clutter a CV. Keep each explanation to one calm sentence and then move on:

  • A gap: travel, caring for a relative, study, redundancy, recovery from illness now resolved.
  • Relocating: say you are moving to the area and give the date, otherwise a distant address gets you filtered out.
  • Applying below your previous level: say why deliberately, so it does not look like something went wrong.
  • Missing one requirement: acknowledge it once, and say what you are doing about it, for example that your SSSTS is booked for next month.
  • Right to work: if it is not obvious, state that you have the right to work in the UK and can provide evidence.

Speculative letters and email applications

Speculative approaches work in sectors with constant turnover: construction, care, logistics, hospitality, trades and small professional firms. Find the right person, keep it to four short paragraphs, and be concrete about what you are offering: the ticket you hold, when you are available, and how far you can travel. Follow up once, politely, about a week later.

When applying by email, put the letter in the body of the email rather than as a second attachment, because many readers never open it. Use a clear subject line such as Application: Class 1 Driver, Bradford depot. Attach the CV as a PDF named with your own name. Check the spelling of the company, the contact and the job title, then read the whole thing aloud once before you send it.

Next step: make sure the CV underneath the letter is doing its job by checking it against our guide to writing a UK CV, then upload it and apply to something live from our latest vacancies.