
How to End a Cover Letter (+Closing Paragraph Examples)
Closing a cover letter doesn't have to give you a headache. Our guide will show you how to end a cover letter with a proven closing paragraph, examples and sign off samples.
Learn how to write a CV that will awe the hiring manager. Our comprehensive guide will show you how to make your CV stand out from the crowd, so you get the job you always wanted.
In a minute you’ll learn how to write a CV that wins you that job, because—
This is *the* job you have been seeking for months.
You have the necessary skills. You know you’d be a great fit. Your whole life led up to this opportunity.
And your CV has to show that.
Cause if it doesn’t—kiss that dream job goodbye.
This guide will show you:
Save hours of work and get a CV like this. Pick a template, fill it in. Quick and easy. Choose from 21 CV templates and download your CV now.
What users say about Resumelab:
I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your CV.”
Patrick
I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work!
Dylan
My previous CV was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!
George
Contact Information
Lucy Waters
Marketing Manager
Address: 25 South Street, Liverpool, L4 1SE
Phone: 07323 764000
Email: lucy.waters@mail.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lucyjwaters
Twitter: twitter.com/lucywaters44
Summary
As an analytically-minded senior marketing manager with 6+ years of experience, I am eager to join XYZ Corp to help manage the strategy development and lead cross-functional teams. In previous roles, I increased website traffic by 300% in 10 months and developed SEO strategy that brought in 10K monthly users for the most strategic sales landing pages.
Experience
Marketing Manager
Solstice
2015–2018
Key achievement:
Marketing Specialist
Canon Inc.
2011–2014
Key achievement:
Education
MSc in New Media Marketing, Distinction
University of Liverpool
2011
Key Skills
Certifications
Now, let's learn how to make a CV they'll love.
The “CV” abbreviation stands for curriculum vitae which means “course of life” in Latin. In the US, Canada, and Australia it's used for academic purposes.
In other parts of the world, CV is a document that briefly outlines your work experience, skills, education, and professional achievements, and you use it to apply for regular positions.
It's basically very much like an America resume.
If you are looking a job in the UK, the rest of Europe, or New Zealand you should write a CV for a job you're applying to. This guide will show you step-by-step how to write a CV for any job.
If you’re looking for a job in the US, Canada, or Australia, switch over to: How to Write a Resume: Writing Guide & 20+ Examples and check out how to format the US resume.
Applying for an academic post? Check out: Academic CV Template & Writing Guide
Not sure what document to use in your application? Find out: CV vs Resume: What Are the Differences & When to Use Which
Bad dream:
The hiring manager casts a glance at your CV. After a split second, she tosses it to the side of her desk and never looks at it again.
What went wrong?
Your CV format wasn't easy to follow.
Don’t worry. The dream isn’t real. Here’s how to format your CV so that it gets across your value proposition fast.
Writing your curriculum vitae in ordered sections will make it easy for hiring managers to scan and pick up important details.
For experienced candidates:
For fresh graduates and entry-level job seekers:
Expert Hint: How long should a CV be? If you have less than 5 years of professional experience, do your best to keep a CV one-page. For candidates with more extensive work history, two-page CVs are fine.
That’s pretty plain, innit?
Well, not exactly. Contact information on a CV got a tad trickier in the digital era.
Here’s what to list:
Expert Hint: As for your social media handles, LinkedIn is a must. Almost 90% of recruiters use it, reports show. If they can’t find you there, you’ll automatically look suspicious. Other than that? Link to those profiles you use for professional or semi-professional purposes. Looking for a job in tech? Link to your GitHub account. An artistic or creative role? Tumblr, Pinterest, or even Instagram are good ideas. Journalism or PR? Twitter. You get the drill, right?
The key thing is to keep your contact details professional. That mostly refers to your email address.
Here’s just how important it is:
A recent study found that almost 76% of CV’s are ignored if you have an unprofessional email address.
That means two things:
The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your CV in our CV builder now.
Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our CV maker now.
Remember—
The hiring manager hasn’t read your CV yet.
You need to make them.
Just below your contact information, put a CV personal profile (also called a summary statement) or a career objective. Make it a sneak peek of your best achievements.
Got years of relevant experience? Write a CV personal profile. Make it a highlight reel of your professional journey so far and show what value you bring to the table.
Not much experience yet? Go for a CV career objective. Say what skills you’ve mastered so far and how well you’ll fit in.
Expert Hint: Although this section is at the top of your CV, write it last. Think about it as a trailer for the rest of your curriculum vitae. You want the best bits to be there, but first, make sure you have enough to choose from.
Whichever one is right for you, keep one thing in mind—
It’s not about you. It’s about them. Don’t say what you want out of the job. Focus on what you have to offer.
But enough theory. See what I mean on these examples:
See this? “I’m good at my job and I know how to help you achieve spectacular results.”
Everyone knows who you are. It’s in your job title. And leveraging skills is expected. Thanks, but no thanks.
Quite a difference, right?
Notice two things in particular—
First of all, both good examples use the company name. Bad ones are generic. Remember: address a particular employer in your CV personal profile or career objective.
That means you cannot spam around one identical CV to every company within a 50-mile radius—and that’s the point. This is not how you write a CV. Personalisation works wonders.
Secondly, while it’s fine to use personal pronouns in your CV, see just how many of these are there in bad examples. If you’re only about me-myself-and-I on your CV, that doesn’t make you very hireable (or likeable for that matter).
If there’s a single most important CV section, it’s this one: the work experience.
See these CV examples:
Executive Assistant
Royal Bank of Scotland
2013–2018
Key achievement: Designed a new automated travel arrangements system: Slashed executive time lost to travel problems by 48%.
Numbers, achievements, action verbs—all check. Royal Bank of Scotland 2013 - 2018 Responsibilities:
Executive Assistant
Could you be any more generic? Come one—these are the duties every exec assistant performs. Nothing about it makes this candidate unique.
Good news: putting education on a CV is usually easy.
List:
Expert Hint: If you’ve graduated with a first, or a 2:1, include that on your CV. Leave lower honours off.
But—
What if you’re writing your CV with little or no work experience?
In this case, it’s your education that can make up for it. Consider two things:
What are the best skills for a CV?
In short: those that your employer wants from you.
Remember when I mentioned tailoring your CV to match the job description? Here it comes again.
Note that it’s never a good idea to copy-paste ready CV skills list. But in case you feel you could use some inspiration, a recent survey revealed what transferable skills are most sought after by employers:
Here’s the deal: all job seekers lie on their CVs.
Recruiters and hiring managers know that.
The twist?
With little effort, you can make them actually believe yours.
Add additional CV sections that validate your worth on the job market. List verifiable achievements.
Don’t have any of the above? Well—get some. Do an online course, apply for a couple of industry conferences, get additional training. Most of these things won’t take more than 2 weeks to complete and they can make a hell of a difference for your curriculum vitae.
Still—you can think of other extra sections if the above examples don’t work.
Expert Hint: Are cover letters necessary? Yes they are. The results of our study show that a whopping 83% of recruiters deem them important for their hiring decisions.
Double your impact with a matching CV and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There’s 18 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
I hope you learned how to write a CV that gets jobs. Just in case, let's go over key points:
Doubts? Questions? Concerns. I’m here to listen and help you out. Have any tips on how to make a CV? Drop me a line in the comments. Let’s chat!
Closing a cover letter doesn't have to give you a headache. Our guide will show you how to end a cover letter with a proven closing paragraph, examples and sign off samples.
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