Make it too short. By pulling out the most relevant skills and abilities to the job, you can then elaborate and extend information on these. You want to show them you are capable of doing the job and have the skills and experience to be able to perform what they need.



Make it too long. Do not waffle and put irrelevant skills, hobbies, and interests in, as this will not get you the job. Keep it short and too the point about any construction skills and experience you have. Keep it to one A4 page.

Mass-produce your cover letter. Not tailoring your cover letter to the role and company will provide you with many problems. They will spot it a mile off and your application will surely go in the bin. Customising the content to the construction job you are applying to will allow you to impress and interest the reader.

Use ?I?. The cover letter is about the construction role you are going for and how you will suit it, not an invitation to talk just about yourself.

Regurgitate your CV. The reader will move onto your CV after your cover letter so it is not worth regurgitating it. You want to entice the reader to find out more about you and only pull out your most attractive selling points.

Have a weak first sentence. The first sentence is crucial and must grab the reader's attention. E.g. write ?I am applying for the quantity surveyor role you have advertised in xxx. It would match my excellent 5 years experience in the construction industry?.

Have an abrupt ending. Finish politely and let them know when you may be available for interview and that you look forward to hearing from them. Do not just finish it by ending a sentence.

So, by following these straightforward pointers in what to avoid when creating your cover letter, you will make sure you do not push the reader to throw your application away. The cover letter is the first thing the reader will see, so it is very important to make sure you get this right when applying for a new construction job.