The cover letter is the most important part of your application. It is your first chance to make a positive impression on a potential employer and show your personality and motivation for the training position you are applying for. In contrast to the CV, which mainly shows your qualifications and professional experience, the cover letter offers the opportunity to emphasise your individual strengths and interests. A well-written cover letter can open the door to an interview and is therefore a crucial step on the way to your dream apprenticeship.
The following components must be included in every cover letter:
Research the company: As a first step, inform yourself thoroughly about the company and the job advert. This will help you to convey your interest in the company and the position authentically in your cover letter.
Complete recipient address and sender address: List your name and full address at the top left of the document. Add the company’s address and the name of the contact person below it.
Salutation and introduction: If known, use the name of the contact person in the salutation. Start the letter with a personal explanation of how you became aware of the training position.
Establish a link to the company: Describe why you have decided to train at this particular company. Show that you have familiarised yourself with the company and its values. This is because the content of your cover letter is a response to the job advert. Show why you would like to complete your apprenticeship at this particular company. Refer to specific aspects of the company or industry.
Emphasise qualifications and strengths: Explain what skills and talents you have and why you are best suited to the position. You can be confident when doing this. However, make sure that you focus on the qualities that are important for the position.
It’s not about perfection: Of course, your cover letter should be appealing and error-free, but much more important than a „perfect“, more or less standard text are the reasons you give that make your application convincing.
- Why are you interested in this particular apprenticeship?
- Why exactly this company?
- Why does this company suit YOU?
- Think about the questions and incorporate your answers into the cover letter.
Conclusion and call to action: End your cover letter with a strong closing sentence that calls for action, such as an invitation to a personal interview.
Professional layout: Use professional templates for the layout of your cover letter. Platforms such as Canva offer a variety of free and appealing designs that will make you stand out. But be careful: be creative, but above all choose a design that matches the job description or the company.
We have attached a sample cover letter as a little extra below, which you can use as a guide when writing your own application.
Proofreading and fine-tuning: Write as much as necessary, but as little as possible. Above all: Check grammar and spelling! Even the best cover letter is useless if it’s full of mistakes, because that doesn’t leave a good impression. Therefore, have someone else proofread your cover letter or use an online proofreading programme to eliminate typos and grammatical errors.
One more thing: don’t use abbreviations such as „MfG“ or „LG“ in your greeting. Your cover letter is not a WhatsApp message, but a testimony to your politeness. Emojis do not belong in the application either. You can smile in your application photo and in the interview!
Here you can find suggestions on how your application letter could look. (samples should be stored here)