How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter for A Career Change

Your cover letter is likely the first thing your potential new employer will see, and it will be where you get to say why you would be the ideal candidate. For most job hunters, the cover letter will give a brief overview of your recent career history, why you are passionate about getting that job and what you can bring to the company.

However, for career-changing cover letters, it takes a bit of reworking to create a succinct, compelling cover letter explaining why you should be hired. However, following our beginners guide for writing career changing cover letters could be just what you are looking for.

Like any cover letter, having an engaging opener will put you ahead of the game. Don’t open with the usual clichés; try to sum up who you are, what job you are applying for and why you want the position within the first few sentences. For example, if you are a teacher looking to get into the fashion industry, explain your current experience and why you want to move into a different career. Next, the relevant skills you have and how you’ll apply them. The second part can be tricky if you are changing careers, so find out how to incorporate your previous skills below. 

The question of why you want to change careers will likely already be on your employer’s mind. Therefore, when you get to the body of your cover letter, explain why you want a career change.

Be positive rather than negative; stating your reasons for going into your new career path and what interests and inspires you about this new era in your life, in more detail than in your opening sentences. This might take some time to describe in a succinct and clear way, however getting a friend to read over it might be a good idea. One of the key things on your employer’s mind is whether you will stick in the role you are applying for, so many are sure they’re aware of your plan to stay with that career path (even if you decide not to eventually).

You can also include the relevance of your past experience, as well as what parts of your old role you enjoyed that apply to the one you are applying for e.g. working with customers or being able to use your organisational skills. 

There are a number of transferable skills you have likely gained from your past work experience, even if it might seem entirely unrelated. Within your cover letter, describe the main skills you’ve picked up and achievements you’ve had, for example, your excellent communication skills, ability to manage a team, or expert IT knowledge. Try to directly relate these to duties you’ll need to take on in the role you are applying for and use evidence from your previous employment to back up your skillset.

No matter what your previous experience is, one key element which can put you ahead of other candidates is your knowledge of the company you are applying to work for. This goes down to simply using the manager’s name (if applying directly to them) to make your application more personal, as well as including details showing that you have knowledge of the company and the role you are applying for.

There is a good reason that company research is essential before any interview,  and that’s because most companies want to be assured that you have gone to the effort to find out about them. Many businesses are passionate about their business, and never want to read a generic application which could have been sent to anyone. Make it personal, cater it to the company and show how passionate you are.

Write in a formal and friendly manner, without shortening words or using passive language. Be proud of your achievements and don’t play yourself down.

Be too casual, you are still writing to a company who wants a professional employee, and sign offs such as “Yours Faithfully” or “Yours Sincerely” are appropriate.

Make sure that your cover letter is polite, and feel free to thank the reader for taking the time to consider your application. 

Repeat your C.V. or include irrelevant information. A cover letter should ideally be a side of A4, however this can vary depending on the role and experience you have.

Writing the perfect cover letter when changing careers is primarily down to one thing; putting yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager. What would you want from a candidate? What questions would you be asking? By tackling all of these tricky questions, you can create a watertight cover letter catered to the job you want. If you feel that additional qualifications would help to boost your chances of getting the job, compare courses and find the best one for you.