cover letter for queensland health

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How to write a resume and cover letter

A resume is a written record of your education, skills and experience. It provides a summary of your work history, training and knowledge.

A CV (curriculum vitae) is similar but tends to be longer and more detailed. Although both terms are often used in Australia, we will refer to resumes here.

As well as your resume, you will need a cover letter to accompany your job application. It should be short and specific, highlighting your skills and experience in relation to the position you are applying for.

Your resume and cover letter is your first chance to convince an employer that you are the right person for the job.

Before you begin writing your resume, think about your work history and note your achievements and skills.

The layout of your resume should be neat, simple and easy to read. Aim for 1–3 pages, depending on how long you have been in the workforce. Employers often have to read multiple job applications so use headings and dot points to make your resume easy to read.

Employers will be looking for your:

contact details
career strengths
employment history
education and training achievements

Read more about how to write an effective resume .

If you need help with formatting, resume templates are provided with some word processors (e.g. Microsoft Word) and are available online.

Go online to find templates, cover letters, resume examples and advice about how to apply for jobs (e.g. myfuture ).

Cover letters

Your cover letter is an important component of your application and should:

introduce you to the employer
identify the position you are applying for
convey your enthusiasm for the position
highlight the stand-out qualities that make you a great candidate
inspire the reader to continue reading your application (cover letters are not a summary of your resume).

You only need to write a 1 page cover letter and address it directly to the employer or contact person for the job.

All cover letters should be tailored to suit that particular job.

Learn more about writing good cover letters .

Selection criteria

Some jobs (especially government jobs) will ask you to meet particular requirements or selection criteria. Selection criteria may also be known as core or key capabilities.

Your responses should demonstrate, with relevant examples, that you have the required experience, skills and abilities to do the job. Be succinct and use dot points where appropriate.

Read more about how to write selection criteria .

Queensland Health Cover Letter Example – Nurse

Written by <a href="https://www.resumestoimpress.com.au/career-resources/author/nic/" target="_self">Nicole Wren</a>

Written by Nicole Wren

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by Nicole Wren | Jan 13, 2020 | Examples

Queensland Health have very specific requirements when it comes to cover letters. Not only do you need to consider the key duties and responsibilities of the role, you often need to also reference core role capabilities, organisational alignment and specific hospital values.

These roles can be highly competitive, and it’s imperative you structure your application correctly. It’s also vital to adhere to specified length requirements (normally 1-2 pages). Below is a Queensland Health cover letter example, for a Clinical Nurse position.

What to Include In Your Queensland Health Cover Letter

As in any cover letter, you should start with a brief introduction about yourself, and what role you are applying for. You should explain your motivation for the role. You can then discuss your relevant skills and experience, choosing two or three examples from your resume that best demonstrate your suitability for the role, and restructuring them into the STAR format.

How Your Cover Letter and Resume Complement Each Other

Remember your cover letter is written directly to the person you’re applying to. While your resume is more about ‘you’, your cover letter should specifically communicate why you’re a great fit for the role you are applying for. When you discuss specific examples in detail in your cover letter, ensure these are (briefly) mentioned in your resume.

Queensland Health Cover Letter Example

This was a winning application Queensland Health 2 page application letter, demonstrating the key attributes. Here is a snippet from the letter:

Dear [Contact Name] and Selection Panel,

I have five years’ experience as a Clinical/ Registered Nurse within the XXXX Unit at XXX Hospital, including the past 12 months acting in the role of Pre-Admission Nurse. I am eager to continue to utilise my clinical skills, communication and leadership skills in this role.

Upon commencing in this brand-new role as a Pre-Admission Nurse, I was tasked with creating a service to assist in dramatically reducing the high non-attendance rate and waitlist numbers for endoscopy procedures, and to support effective patient care. This was achieved through leading the development and implementation of a range of policies and procedures, inclusive of contacting each patient (20-30 on a daily basis) between four days and two weeks in advance of their scheduled appointment, to discuss their appointment and how to effectively prepare for it. I have provided education and support to a range of patients with diverse clinical presentations, including patients with diabetes, mental health conditions, tetraplegia, and many more. I have provided clinical advice regarding how to prepare for colonoscopies, including if and when to cease existing medications (including anticoagulation medications) in preparation. I have provided practical support to assist patients access appointments, including facilitating transport, hospital beds in case of needing additional support, and interpreters to address language barriers. Through providing this education and support, patients are educated about what is required, which greatly improves the likelihood they will attend ready and prepared. I have received excellent feedback from patients, who have been extremely grateful for this support and who have indicated this to have greatly improved their overall patient experience with the hospital. Throughout this time, I have effectively reduced the DNA rate from 10% to 1%.

Having previously accomplished setting-up a very similar facility at the XXX in 2016, I was confident in my ability to manage the development of the Pre-Admission Nurse role within the XXXX Unit, and have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills during this time. I have developed a range of systems integral to the role of the Pre-Admission Nurse. This includes the development of a database to record each phone call made by the Pre-Admission Nurse, recording basic patient information, the date of my call and their scheduled appointment date. I have also ensured a section for recording the length of the phone call. This information is used to access financial incentive for the hospital, which is allotted to each 15-minute phone call. I have also developed a checklist completed during each patient phone call, where I review and record important information including any allergies, any significant medical issues such as cardiac/ respiratory or renal issues, any additional needs such as hoists, the patient’s living/ support arrangements etc. Once completed, I ensure this checklist is pinned to the front of the patient’s admission sheet, enabling the medical team to quickly be altered to important information to inform the patient’s care. I have received very positive feedback from staff who note this process has significantly improved efficiency upon admission.

I have advanced clinical evidence-based skills, knowledge and practice. In my role as XXXX with XXXX, I was consistently called in to assist during complex emergency presentations, where patients often had unknown medical diagnoses, and their prior medical history was unknown. I responded to such emergencies by conducting a range of rapid assessments and developing and implementing effective treatment plans. I frequently am required to retrieve patients to transport them to definitive care i.e. a major trauma centre, which sometimes can be up to a 2.5-hour flight away. I have demonstrated my ability to work independently within such situations, as I am often the only nurse attending to the patient. For example, a patient was picked up with massive internal injuries, and I was responsible for his care. The patient became very critical, and I had to implement resuscitation. The patient regained consciousness and was able to undergo emergency abdominal surgery in hospital and recovered well. I have previously worked in other remote and rural settings, including XXXX, where I similarly developed my skills in applying high quality care independently…

We hope this Queensland Health cover letter example snippet was helpful in preparing your application. Writing selection criteria can be tricky! We specialise in nursing resumes and selection criteria applications (including Queensland Health nurse roles)! We are experts in working with you to uncover and explore suitable examples to meet the application requirements and in putting it together into the required format. We can help prepare your Queensland Health application wherever in Queensland you may be. Contact us !

Nicole Wren

Senior Writer

Nicole is the principal resume writer at Resumes to Impress. Nicole loves writing and sharing her knowledge about all things job hunting and career guidance.

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Two-Page Cover Letter Addressing the Statement of Duties

Post author: theresumewriters
Post published: January 12, 2019
Post category: Australian Public Service / Cover Letters / Selection Criteria
Post comments: 2 Comments

Two-page cover letter addressing the statement of duties/selection criteria

The format which has all but wholly replaced traditional selection criteria.

By Jacquie Liversidge

Navigate to:

How to write a 2-page cover letter that addresses government requirements.

More and more, there are content length limitations placed on selection criteria responses, and the majority of the time, these are two pages, or roughly 1500 words.

This has been implemented by the Commonwealth and most state governments in response to enormous selection criteria responses being submitted for government roles, jam packed with empty content which doesn’t demonstrate an applicant’s capabilities.

When applicants write their selection criteria, there is a tendency to fill the selection criteria with ‘padding’, or useless material, to increase the length with the idea that more is better.

Length certainly isn’t everything. When it comes to selection criteria, you want to get your material out quickly and efficiently with the most impact and the lowest word count.

You want to use your audience’s limited time well.

And this is where directions for a two-page cover letter come in to play.

How to spot it when it applies

Either on the applicant guide or the initial link to the prospective role, there will be a section titled ‘How to Apply’.

Read this section carefully and make sure you are aware of what the directions are.

How to interpret the position description

Click on the position description and look over what is listed therein.

On the position description for most government applications, you will usually find the following sections titled exactly like this, or very similarly:

Position Objective
Role context
Responsibility
Knowledge, Skills and Experience (Selection Criteria – in relation to the major duties)

Selection criteria can also be called Essential Requirements, Role Specific Requirements, Success Criteria. Nonetheless, the easiest way to spot these questions are by looking for dot-pointed content that looks a bit like this:

eg. – Demonstrated ability to provide consumer-centred care

– Exceptional communication skills and conflict resolution skills.

– Proven report writing capabilities.

Once we have a good idea of the important background, context, and scope, and we’ve found the selection criteria we need to respond to, we can start on our content. Here’s a bunch of over ten detailed selection criteria examples to get you started.

Here’s an example of a two-page cover letter addressing the required sections Queensland Government. Increasingly, these questions are values based, as they were below :

Two-page statement example

The structure, introduction: why you’re applying, what you’re offering, and why you’d be a great fit, the selection criteria question restated which is entirely optional. it’s also appropriate to skip this part, and move on to the next., our response, with the topic sentence (first sentence) repeating the question. (do this for all questions), a call to action (cta) statement ending the cover letter, professional sign-off, tips, tricks, and other information to note:.

If it’s a two-page cover letter for a government role, and it says nothing about addressing the requirements of the role, but there is selection criteria present, you do still need to address the selection criteria.

Traditionally, where the position description/advertisement asks for responses to the selection criteria, you would develop your questions and title them with the question. This approach is exactly the same, but incorporates the cover letter element of an introduction statement, and it simply does not contain the selection criteria within the documents as headings.

The point of the exercise is demonstrate your capability to perform in the role via examples of your ability to do that prior. The only part of the story which demonstrates your capability, are the actions that you took.

Focus on the inner content

Save your space for the real content that will get you selected by keeping your introduction short and to the point, and your call-to-action statement at the end within 2 sentences.

Introduction example:

I wish to submit my application for the position of Communications Officer as listed on the Tasmanian Government jobs website. I am confident I would be an ideal candidate for the position given my extensive experience within the corporate communications environment, my proven successes in a variety of roles and my strong interest in supporting strategic objectives through strong external communication.

Call-to-Action example:

Thank you for taking the time to consider my application for the role of Communications Officer. Please do not hesitate to contact me on the details contained herein for further information or to arrange an interview.

Keep your content focused on the selection criteria. Keep it concise and make every word count.

And that’s all folks.

Happy hunting!

Selection criteria is disappearing. is star dead, what is active and passive language and why it matters., the number one question to ask: getting into the public service, this post has 2 comments.

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Writing your cover letter.

The cover letter is a document of equal importance to the CV. The cover letter is the first impression the selector will have of the candidate and its negative or positive impact is going to influence his or her further reading of the CV.

A Cover Letter must be very professional, well written, without misspellings. The content directly explains the candidate meets the requirements for the position, emphasising and directing the attention of the selector towards the abilities, skills and knowledge the candidate has proved, with concrete examples based on previous experience or non-work experience (ie. if you have never worked or have been outside the job market for a while).

Note: Please address your cover letter as per the following: To Whom it May Concern.

Why is the cover letter useful?

Cover letter highlights the difference with the rest of candidates.
Cover letter has to convince the selector to invite you to an interview.
Cover letter shows your motivation.
Cover letter reflects your skills for written communication.

Paragraph 1: present and explain the aim of the cover letter.

Paragraph 2: why you are interested in the company that you are writing to, in this industry and in this particular position.

Paragraph 3: what you contribute (achievements, experience); abilities and capacities that you will use to carry the position’s functions.

The order of paragraphs two and three can vary based on how you want to write the cover letter.

Paragraph 4: invitation to the interview. Be creative when finishing the letter; do not use the expression "I wait for your call". Mention that you can call to arrange an appointment or meeting, not an interview.

Warm goodbye, full name and sign the letter.

Remember to make your cover letter eye-catching; you want the reader to be taken in, read on to your CV and give you an interview. You want to distinguish yourself from the rest! Bearing this in mind, think about your main strength for the position and highlight it from the beginning – don’t let your potential employer read through lots of irrelevant data and miss the good part! Your main strength will be something that isn’t in the requirements for the job – all the other candidates will have these so think outside the box, what else can you bring to the table? Maybe you have worked for a competitor and so can educate your (potential!) new company about the competition they face.

Consider the cover letter as a business letter, a professional one.
Never more than a page for writing a resume cover letter.
Quality paper, white or very clear (same type and colour of paper that was used to print the resume).
Brief explanation of what you offer and want, without forgetting that the cover letter must be in accordance with what the company needs.
Bring (from your CV or resume) only aspects relevant to the position (abilities, capacities, achievements). Do not make a new summary of your resume. Your resume talks about you, your cover letter about the company, the target…
Use the cover letter to convince, to persuade the reader that you are the most appropriate candidate for the position, that you can perform the functions.
Show enthusiasm and interest in the company. Write something about the company or industry that shows you know about them.
Check your spelling, grammar and expressions before approving the letter.
Use short phrases, concise but with a rich lexicon writing a cover letter. No more than four or five paragraphs.
Avoid very formal expressions and facts. The cover letter is a measure of what you want to obtain.
Use action verbs writing a cover letter.
Do not overuse "I", it can give an egocentric image of the candidate.
Do not use copies of cover letters or paragraphs previously used for other selection processes. Send an original cover letter to each employer.
Write a resume cover letter in a creative way, oriented towards the client (the company), be flexible and always willing to work in a team and learn.
Don’t forget to make your letter stand out and mention something which makes you special; make your potential employer want to go on to read your CV or resume. If you did a special course or have a great qualification, mention it and let yourself shine!

Why write a cover letter instead of sending only the CV?

Writing a cover letter you are sure that you do not forget important things, excludes misunderstandings and also serves as reminder.
You can select yours words and context meanings carefully.
Because of the one-way-communication, you are able to structure your line of reasoning, without interference, thus not only gaining time, but also influencing the other party more effectively in less time.
People take the written words with more attention than a phone call to introduce your CV, and always not interrupting to other people in their work

Can a cover letter be personal and effective?

Everyone of us must have the experience of receiving letters that could have been written for any person; nothing shows the sender is directing him/herself to you especially. The use of standard phrases leaves the reader (in this case the Human resources manager) to think that they and the company are not important for the person who is writing the cove letter. The can be read with only limited attention.

If you start the cover letter with: “I refer to your advertisement in the ……. where you ask for a ….…..”

The manager will not be surprised and will search for the real start of the letter. You will want him to think from the moment he starts reading, that your letter is worth reading a lot more than all the others: SO, BE ORIGINAL!! Always remember that the letter you write is representing you and you want to be invited for a interview and show that you are the most suitable candidate for the position you are applying.

The letter as an image-builder …

Imaging reading a letter with the following sentences:

In reference to your advertisement of … looking for….

Please, find enclosed…

Thanking you in advance…

I hope to be invited for an interview…

Your cover letter is formal, standard, boring. The text in this kind of cover letters lack character, personality and impact. The overall image will be one of pure routine.

If you learn to be creative, you can change your way of thinking and your creative sentences can be used more than one also. Show in your cover letter something more about you than only the academic background and experience. Show your interest in that company, show the skills you have and you have developed in many professional and personal areas…

Disadvantage of writing a cover letter…

A cover letter lacks intonation, facial expression and posture (body-language). This has to by balanced by the careful selection of words, action verbs and creative writing skills. Try something like this:

Dear Ms. Smith

I am currently a nursing student at …. and will graduate at the end of December this year. I am passionate about nursing and wish to work for a progressive, private health care company such as Ramsay Health Care.

Through my studies, I have achieved a great appreciation and understanding evidence based nursing practice and am an enthusiastic student who is keen to begin a career in nursing.

Before commencing my nursing studies, I worked in the financial sector with Deutsche Bank in advisory services. During this time I consulted and liaised with customers and assisted the CEO with a number of stakeholder objectives providing me with critical and valuable customer service skills, which I believe are second to none. I am keen to transfer my excellent customer service skills to the clinical environment.

Yours sincerely,

Dear Mr. Smith

I am responding to your exciting ad in …….. regarding the Pharmaceutical Representative opportunity. Please regard this letter as my formal application. Enclosed is my CV detailing my extensive education, experience, and background.

I have had over 7 years experience in the sales and marketing field, and 5 years experience as a nurse. I have maintained a number o key contacts in the health care sector and would be keen to use my strong networking skills to help expand your organisations into new market areas.

Throughout my sales and marketing career I won top sales awards, and trained other sales representatives specific sales techniques to increase their sales. I enjoy working with the public, as well, demonstrating products, and educating others in their uses. I believe I would excel in pharmaceutical sales because I truly find sales a challenging and rewarding career. Additionally, my nursing background offers me a competitive advantage in providing a strong clinical background and understanding of products.

I am available for an interview at a mutually convenient time.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely

Health Officer cover letter template

Download a cover letter, expert tips to help you write your cover letter.

How to write a great cover letter
Cover letters: The good and the bad
How to tailor your cover letter to the job

Skills and experience employers are looking for

Need a resume template, too, getting ready for an interview, latest health officer jobs on seek.

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The golden rule of applying for jobs is to follow the employer’s application instructions . If the application states that you must provide a cover letter, then it is essential that you do this. If there are no instructions provided, sending a cover letter is recommended. Your cover letter is a great promotional opportunity and is often the first thing employers will read, so it needs to create a positive first impression. Your cover letter is a demonstration of your written communications skills , so if it is written poorly your resume may not be read. Your letter needs to sell your skills and suitability for the position to convince the employer to read the rest of your application and offer you an interview.

The cover letter is also an important indicator of whether you understand the business of the organisation and can make a valuable contribution, have thoroughly read the job description, and are genuinely interested in the job. Employers will probably spend less than 30 seconds reading your cover letter, so you need to provide a compelling document, which highlights your suitability for the position and organisation to ensure your application progresses to the next stage.

Getting started

Write a new cover letter for every position. It needs to be tailored to the role and organisation to sound genuine. Employers expect the letter to speak to them and their needs and requirements. It is very obvious to recruiters when an applicant has ‘cut and pasted’ text with the only change being the person it is addressed to/company name. These applications are the first to be dismissed.
Resist the temptation to use an online template. Some templates are not suitable for the Australian job market and many students find them difficult to edit.
Assess the job advertisement and position description . This is critical. Highlight the key words in these documents. You now have a list of items to address in your cover letter. Giving clear examples of how you meet these requirements will put you in a competitive position.
Use the organisation’s specific name repeatedly throughout the letter, instead of always referring to them as ‘your organisation’.

Tip : Statements as simple as ‘We are seeking an enthusiastic, motivated person to work in a cooperative team environment. The position offers variety and will require the successful applicant to develop and implement a range of communication strategies’ are sometimes hiding the complex requirements of the position. As part of your application, you will need to address each of these areas, giving an employer evidence of where you have previously demonstrated these skills and qualities.

Skills and experience

It is very important in any job application that you directly refer to the skills and experiences required for the job – this could be the difference between making it to the interview stage or receiving a ‘thanks but no thanks’ email. It is not advisable to say, ‘although I don’t have any experience in…’ or ‘my skills in … are limited’, because this is negative and does not sell/market you to the employer. If you do not possess all the skills required, you will need to provide evidence of the skills you do have and be able to explain how they could be transferred to the role.

Example:

If the employer is looking for someone with experience in using Canva software (graphic design) and you have never used it, you could say: ‘ I am proficient in the use of Adobe Illustrator and have used this to create logos, charts and diagrams. My skills in creating digital and printed images will enable me to quickly learn how to use Canva, and I would welcome the opportunity to undertake any training required.’

If you cannot think of anything that remotely meets the requirements, ask your friends or a trusted colleague, as they may be able to help you think of an example of where you may have met that requirement. If you are missing a critical technical skill and have never heard of that skill before, check that you are applying for the right job! NEVER tell lies in an application as this will ALWAYS surface at a later stage.

Format and presentation

Choose a professional, business-style format and font for your cover letter. Be consistent and use the same font style and size in both your cover letter and resume. Either Arial or Calibri in font size 10 or 11 are good choices.
Ensure your contact details are current and your email address is professional.
Make sure you remain within word or page limits. Normally cover letters are only one page, however, some applications require you to address the selection criteria/key requirements or to discuss your motivation for applying in the letter. Often these applications require a one-or-two-page cover letter. Always follow the employer’s instructions. (The different styles of written responses are covered in Topic 4 of this module).

Use a business style format with your contact details on the right hand side, the addressee and the date on the left hand side.

My city/town My phone number My email address My Linkedin profile (this is optional)

Name of recipient – e.g. Mrs S Smith Position (if known) – e.g. Manager – Graduate Recruitment Organisation name – e.g. Queensland Health Organisation address – e.g. Douglas QLD 4814 Date – 1 January, 2024

Try to find out the name and title of the addressee as this immediately creates a connection. “ To whom it may concern" may be used if you cannot find the name of a contact.

Dear Mrs Smith, - not Dear Mrs Susan Smith

Include a subject line or heading to identify the role you are applying for. Bold the text for clarity.

RE: Application for position of [insert name of role], Reference number [insert if given]

Use your opening paragraph to explain where you learned about the role. State what you are studying and what you can bring to the role.

I wish to apply for the position of [ position title ] with [ organisation name ] as advertised [ where advertised ] on [ date ]. I am currently studying a [ degree title ] at James Cook University and expect to complete my degree in November [ year ]. My experience in the area of [ specify area ] and [ specify area ] has allowed me to develop skills in [ skill ] and [ skill ] and I am keen to extend this experience with [ organisation name ] who are a recognised leader in this field.

The second paragraph is where you can promote yourself as the best candidate. Demonstrate how your skills, knowledge and experience from study and work will match the job requirements and help you to add value to the organisation. Take care not to simply repeat what is in your resume – this is your chance to expand and give examples of your skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the position you are applying for.

My studies in [ specify area ] and my active participation in the [ name of organisation ] has allowed me to develop my leadership and communication skills. As part of my studies, I acted as a Student Mentor to first year students which required me to advise groups of 20-30 students on studying at university and how to best organise their timetable to maximize their study opportunities. In addition to maintaining an overall grade point average of 5.8 (highest being 7), I also coordinated a fundraising program for the Cancer Council of Queensland. Through activities that included weekly BBQ’s, raffles and seeking corporate sponsorship, I raised $5000 for my local Cancer Council branch. This achievement required excellent organisational skills, the ability to communicate with a broad range of people and a flair for marketing.

The next paragraph should be about the organisation. You want to make it clear that you have done your research, you know their business and you want to work for them. Tell them why you are interested in the role. Be concise and genuine and make the match between the qualities they are looking for and what you have to offer.

I am aware that [ company name ] seeks to [ mission statement ]; this is an area that I am passionate about and am enthusiastic about contributing to. My thesis research on [ detail on thesis/project topic ] allowed me to develop my [ ability ] and [ ability ] abilities and I am keen to apply these to the position of [ position title ]. Throughout my degree, I have undertaken work experience with a variety of [ discipline ] firms including [ company name ], my supervisors regularly commented on my strong work ethic and my diligent attention to the projects I was assigned.

Finally, finish on a positive note thanking the employer for their consideration and including your contact details. You can also specify the documents you have attached.

I look forward to the opportunity of discussing my application with you and would be pleased to supply any further documentation you require in addition to my attached resume, statement addressing selection criteria and academic record. I can be contacted at any time on 0400 111 222 or [email protected] . Thank you for considering my application.

Last but not least, check for errors

Ensure your grammar and spelling are spot on. Ask a trusted friend to read it for you.

An example of a Cover Letter is available on our website.

Action: Go to your downloaded workbook and complete Activity 2

Email applications

Your first contact with an employer may be via email. The language you use will demonstrate your written communication skills, therefore you must take care with your wording so you can create a great first impression. While your email does not need to be in cover letter format, it does need to be professional and not resemble a text message to a friend.

If a cover letter is requested, make this a separate document and attach it with the rest of the documents. If it is not requested and you are sending an email to attach your resume, your email does not need to be in cover letter format but it is more than just an brief email.

Tip : Make sure the subject line is relevant and the message is clear to the reader. It doesn’t matter how good your cover letter or resume are if your email isn’t opened.

For the purpose of job hunting you will need a professional email address and voicemail. Take care when creating your email signature – it needs to include your full name as opposed to just your first name. Consider using your JCU email address on your job applications as it provides a professional email address, and you can use it after you graduate. JCU graduates have access to saved emails and SkyDrive files for life.

Example Email Signature:

Serena Williamson 4 th Year Bachelor of Social Work student James Cook University Ph: 0411222222 LinkedIn profile:[customise and embed your LinkedIn URL]

Expressions of Interest (EOI) and speculative applications

Many opportunities are not advertised, and so it can be worthwhile to send a speculative cover letter or email to an employer you wish to work for. Speculative applications need to be sufficiently interesting so the prospective employer will want to meet you or contact you even though they may not currently be recruiting. Approaching employers in this way also shows initiative and motivation. You need to explain the purpose of your speculative letter and express an interest in working for the organisation, and you need to clearly state the type of work you are interested in. Are you seeking graduate or casual work, paid or voluntary opportunities? It is important to get this message across quickly at the beginning of your letter.

Spamming multiple employers will decrease your chances of a reply. Employers expect an email to be directed to them personally. A little extra effort could be the deciding factor in the selection process; employers have said they can ‘feel’ the interest of an applicant through the language they use in emails and letters, so ensure your wording is professional, sincere, and passionate and demonstrate the connection between your career goals and the business.

Find a contact

You are more likely to be considered if you direct your application to a named person at an organisation. To find a key contact:

Head to the website of an organisation you want to target. Try to find a contact list or team list to locate a relevant contact.
Look for news about the organisation and current projects they are involved in – you will find them in the general and industry specific press and newsletters, LinkedIn interest groups etc. You may be able to identify the name of the project leader etc. who would be worth contacting and the content of the project that you might want to help working on.
Cold call by phoning the HR Department of the organisation you are targeting and explain who you are, your year level at JCU and field of study, and your interest in their organisation. Ask for a key contact’s name, email address, and direct phone number. It is a good idea to develop a short script and practice it before you make the call, so that you give a good first impression.
Network with alumni – JCU alumni can be a great source for contacts and referrals. Head to the JCU LinkedIn page and start researching.
Network with students – make connections with fellow students who have similar interests to you; they may have contacts in your industry area.
Use social media – many organisations have a social media presence, which you can use to find contacts.

Tailor your speculative cover letter or email

Your opening paragraph needs to introduce you, explain why you are writing, and how your education and experience could bring value to the organisation. Make it clear what type of opportunity you are seeking: graduate or casual work, paid or voluntary. It is important to get this message across early, so that employers know exactly why you are contacting them. Finally, follow-up with a phone call a few days after.

Example of an Expression of Interest email:

Dear Mrs Smith

Start with the reason you are writing:

I am writing to explore [ e.g., employment opportunities/vacation work ] with [ Company ]. I have been referred by Ms Jean White from [ where] who suggested you might be recruiting for [ opportunity ]. You will see from the attached resume that I am currently [ details of what you are doing , e.g., final year Science student ]. I am extremely keen to [ comment on why you are interested in this organisation/industry ].

Match what you can offer with what you think they are looking for (add other skills and abilities that will be of interest):

I have read from your [website/recruitment information] that your organisation employs graduates who have [ types of education/skills and abilities ]. As indicated on my resume, I [ add sentence supporting how you would be able to meet their requirements and fit the culture of the organisation ].

Indicate your interest in THIS organisation:

[add sentence demonstrating your understanding of their business, some ideas about how you could contribute, what past experiences/skills you could bring]

I strongly believe in your approach to [major achievement/mission/goal] and this area of [development/innovation] is something I would like to pursue.

Closing paragraph:

I look forward to further discussing my interest in (state the opportunity) and can be contacted at any time on [Phone number].

Additional Resources

Log into Big Interview and watch the video: Writing Persuasive Cover Letters (10.12 mins) (Instructions - go to Interviews > Interview Curriculums > Resume Curriculum to find the video)

Creating a Winning Cover Letter
What Kinds of Cover Letter Are There?
A Good Cover Letter is More Important Than You Think

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