The vacancy asks for a cover letter: how do I avoid repeating my résumé?

Research before drafting

Job Bank places research of the employer and role before preparing a résumé and cover letter. The letter introduces why your skills fit the particular job. This is career guidance rather than a legal requirement. An application that explicitly requests a letter deserves attention to its questions and format instead of attaching a generic statement to every vacancy.

Choose the link the résumé leaves unclear

Identify one or two important duties and explain how a real example prepares you for them. State why the actual role interests you, using verified information about the organisation. Do not claim familiarity with a project you have never seen or use praise that could describe any company. Keep the explanation consistent with the dates and experience in your résumé.

Make the document usable

Check the requested length, recipient, file type and whether the letter is entered into a form or attached. Confirm the role title and remove another employer’s name left in a reused draft. Read the opening and ending aloud for clarity. Keep personal identity documents and referee contact details outside the letter unless a verified process specifically needs them.

Review against the selection questions

Save the version submitted and ask whether it answers the employer’s stated questions with evidence. If the vacancy does not request a letter, decide based on its instructions rather than assuming an attachment always improves the application. This guide does not predict a response, prove a hiring preference or authorise inventing an experience to fill a perceived gap.

An original before-and-after illustration

A generic opening says “I am hardworking and interested in your company.” A more useful opening identifies the actual role and a relevant task: “I am applying for the scheduling assistant role. In my volunteer project I kept the shared rota current and checked changes with the event lead before sending updates.” This is a hypothetical writing example. Use your own real setting, task and contribution, then explain how it relates to the vacancy; do not copy the claim if it did not happen.

Review one real application before sending

Put the advert, résumé and letter together. Check that the opening names the correct role, each example connects to a requested duty, and no date or claim conflicts with the résumé. If an instruction is unclear, ask the recruiter what format or selection question is required. Save the final version and submission confirmation so that a later interview can build on the same facts. If there is no response, review fit and clarity without assuming that a letter guarantees contact.

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