oxford cover letter pdf

How to Write a Great Cover Letter

Table of Contents

What is a cover letter?

A cover letter (or ‘covering letter’) is a document you often send in with your CV or resume as part of an application. In the days of postal applications, it was traditionally placed as the front cover of your CV, hence the origin of the name. Although CVs are best if tailored to each individual application, they are, by nature, generalised. Given that they must always describe your past achievements and experiences, they don’t tend to change much… A cover letter, on the other hand, should be specifically targeted to the individual application!

A cover letter is your chance to tell the employer why you want the job, and, more importantly, why they should want you . Whilst a CV is a brilliantly concise way of showing your experience, it doesn’t allow for much personality to shine through and so your cover letter is an opportunity to make yourself stand out from the crowd, and sell your skills.

What should a cover letter say?

A cover letter should be polite and formal, yet personal. If you know who the person in charge of the application process is, then write to them individually, e.g. “Dear Mr. Williams/Ms. Smith”, rather than “Dear Sir/Madam.”

Famous YouTuber and entrepreneur Casey Neistat says the most annoying thing about job applicants is that they spend far too long talking about why working for his company would be the best thing for them and what the company could do for them , but virtually no time saying what they could do for the company.

Put yourselves in the employer’s shoes. You’re looking for someone to do a job for you. You want someone who will be motivated, reliable, and good at the job. Do you care whether it’s their dream job that they’ve always hoped for, that will achieve their goal of XYZ? Probably not. What you care about is someone who will get the job done better than anyone else.

So a cover letter should, in effect, say this: “Here’s what I can do for you…”.

Tell the employer about the skills you have which are particularly suited to this job, and give evidence of them – explain to the hiring manager you can make a difference to their company using your skills and experience. Use the letter to highlight parts of your CV that are particularly appropriate for the job in question, and expand on them by giving detail about why this experience makes you suitable for the job.

Top cover letter tips for students

1. Don’t just summarise your CV! The employer is more than capable of reading your CV, you don’t need to waste cover letter space simply repeating it. Use this opportunity to expand on the skills and experience mentioned in your CV and explain why you would be a great person for the job! Use this chance to mention things that might not be in your CV – personality traits, previous feedback etc. Don’t just recite your previous work experience – tell them why you want the job and why you would be good at it!

2. Always customise your letter to fit the job. A surefire way to turn off employers is to send out a generic cover letter. It’s okay to have a starting template (particularly if you’re applying for many similar jobs) but make sure that you always personalise it to mention specific aspects of the company and role. Once you’ve finished writing, read over your letter again – if you can imagine an employer having any doubt over whether you meant to apply to thier company, go back and personalise more!

3. Don’t oversell yourself. Phrases like ‘I am uniquely qualified,’ and ‘You will not find a candidate better suited to this position,’ may be common in cover letters, but that doesn’t mean they’re the best way to go! Not only do you have no idea what the other candidates may be like, this type of sales-y language can be very off-putting. You want to give an honest account of your skills and how they fit the job – if it’s right for you, the hiring manager will see that. It’s fine to sell your skills, and make sure that you get across your relevant achievements, but don’t go too far.

4. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. It is very rare that you will meet every single requirement laid out in a job description, and that’s fine! It’s common for job-seekers, particularly early on in their careers, to use phrases like ‘While I only have limited work experience in Social Media…’ but it’s much better to focus on the strengths you do have, and the other (maybe transferable) skills you can bring to the job.

5.  Show some personality.  While you want your letter to be professional, it’s okay to write in the same way that you would speak – the employer can see your experience from your CV, now it’s time to sell you!  Try writing a first draft of the letter as though you were explaining to a friend, parent, or teacher why you wanted this job, and thought you could succeed at it – you’ll be surprised at how engaging a cover letter you can end up with this way!

Learn more about our online internships and Oxford Summer School to get a head start in your future and make your application stand out.

Sample cover letter for Full Time position at Oxford University

Department of Engineering Science,

University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PJ15/08/2016

I wish to apply for the Research Studentship in Experimentation and Modelling of Wear, which I saw advertised on Jobs.ac.uk website. I graduate from the Technological Educational Institute of Crete the Department of Civil Engineering. I believe that my experience, my unconditional Love and commitment in the field of research will make me a valuable link in the chain of your evolutionary research.

From a very young age my curiosity about the world and the universe around me led me to find out quickly what I love. Always I was wondering how the world works. All of my answers they came to me observing the nature and following the nature laws. Like Sir Isaac Newton with gravity. This curiosity as a child led me to leave all of my brother toy cars only with wheels. Have developed this strong passion towards engineer thanks to my father who is an engineer and my role model. Furthermore as I had an interest and talent for research and engineering, my father guided me by giving me “food” for my curiosity and motivation to keep looking.

During my university studies I was working voluntarily as an assistant in the university Lab Strength of Material. I was part of an admirful team, leading by a great professor which she was able to take out the best from each one and use it for the progress of the Lab and the university. My role was to simplify experimental procedures, analyzing-comparing data and creating experimental models. The issues that our team had to face push me to think outside of the box. Looking backwards and taking the advantage of the existence knowledge by combining the Special Theory of Relativity (macroscale) and the Quantum Theory (microscale) through the philosophical point of view of Plato. Was that time that I put the milestone in the Theory of Scale. The application of this theory, with the valuable contribution of my tutor, in to our thesis gave us the opportunity to publish our work and change the way that our lectures take place. The positive results in the academic society from this theory gave me the confidence to apply for this research studentship that your admirful university offers.

I believe that a combination, in the early steps, of the Wear Law and the Theory of Scale will be the key to predict the development of damage, will develop science in different levels, will give a different perspective on the way we analyze data, a different idea about how the world works and on this way we will unlock the universe and expand the technological boundaries in order to make peoples every day life better.

As my great ancestors Pythagoras and Plato believed on their theory, Ideas exist in the Ideal World and born, in our world. On my turn I believe that Oxford is the place that Ideal ideas are born, Oxford is the place that encourages curiosity and new innovations are coming in the light of Science. It will be a great honour to be a member of your team, offer and share my knowledge and contribute with my heart and my mind in the creation of a universal Wear Law.

I have enclosed my resume to display my past achievements, as well as to demonstrate how I can be a valuable part of the research.

I would be grateful if my application is considered for my placement in your honourable university. Thank you in anticipation and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Eirini Marinaki

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18 The Cover Letter

• Published: July 2019
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Many view the cover letter as a nuisance that must be dealt with when a manuscript is submitted. Some journals make no mention of specific requirements for the letter; others not only require it, but also have specific guidelines. The cover letter is the opportunity to speak directly to the editor with the goal of convincing her to send your paper out for review. This chapter discusses the importance of the cover letter and its essential elements.

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A curriculum vitae (or résumé in the US) is a concise summary of your skills, achievements, and interests inside and outside of your academic work.

Employers may initially spend a very short time scanning your CV (perhaps as little as a few seconds), so it must be able to convey the most relevant points about your skills and experience in a clear, accessible way. The primary challenge is to make it easy for the reader to find exactly what they are looking for. You should focus on the reader's core requirements and adjust or adapt your CV for each application.

• Keep it to one or two full pages (academic CVs may be longer) - check if there is specified page limit in the application guidance
• Use bullet points to present the information concisely
• Avoid too much context, excessive detail or unfocused material that will dilute the impact of your most relevant messages.

Remember the purpose

Your CV is to get you the  interview  or  meeting , NOT the job itself.

Try to address these key elements in your descriptions:

• What you were  responsible  for
• What you  achieved
• And how you have worked within a  team/with others  

...so that the reader wants to learn more by meeting you.

Target your CV

• Target your CV to each position you are applying to – it should not be just a list of everything that you have done
• Sometimes organisations will give guidance (on their website/recruitment materials) on what they want you to include in your CV - if they do, follow it.

Be evidence-based

• Provide clear evidence of your contribution and impact
• Focus on  responsibilities , to showcase your skills...
• … and  achievements  by using numbers, percentages, and values to quantify your impact and give a sense of scale/context.
• A well written CV is  easy  to read and scan quickly; clear font of 10 pt or 11 pt; some blank spaces; not too narrow a margin
• We would recommend writing your role/position and the name of the organisation on the left-hand side of the page and the dates on the right-hand side
• Use simple language – avoid jargon, generalisations, ‘management speak’, and acronyms
• Do not write in prose or paragraphs – as space is limited
• CVs are usually a record of what you have done in the past, so completed tasks and activities should be written in the past tense. If you are describing an activity/role/job you are currently doing, the present tense is fine.

How to create your focused, relevant CV

• Make a list (for yourself) of all of your experience, achievements, and key dates, including educational achievement, work experience, prizes, awards, involvement in societies, sports and clubs and your other interests and skills (for example, languages and special/unusual IT skills). Note down the key skills and attributes which led to these achievements.
• Identify the skills and competencies required for the role you are applying to. You can do this by reading the job advertisement or job description and by looking at the organisation’s website, publicity material and recruitment literature. Check the relevant  occupation section of our website  and see our page on  demonstrating you fit the job criteria  for more advice.
• From your list, select the  most relevant  examples that demonstrate the skills and competencies required for the role. Remember, you will have gained valuable  transferable  skills in a broad range of activities that you may have undertaken.
• Select the format of CV – for most student applications, the traditional reverse chronological format is recommended. If you are unsure about which CV type is appropriate, please ask one of our careers advisers.

Dividing your CV into sections/headings makes it easier for the reader, e.g.: 

• EDUCATION: normally at the top (especially for recent graduates entering the jobs market for the first or second time). Include awards under each relevant education section, for example, grant awards for a DPhil, school prizes, undergraduate prizes or high rankings (‘2nd in year’)
• EXPERIENCE (rather than “Employment”): this can include voluntary work, student society roles, internships, paid work, etc.
• INTERESTS or COMMUNITY ACTIVITY AND SKILLS should be included to indicate extra, diverse talents. Within this section, you might use sub-categories such as IT Skills (but only if they are specialist or unusual); Languages; Music; Sports; etc.

What you don’t need to include

Remember that the CV is meant to get you the  interview/meeting , so don’t feel you have to include every last detail – leave the reader wanting to learn more about you. You don't need to include the following in a CV:

• The words ‘Curriculum Vitae’ or ‘CV’
• Date of birth and/or age
• Marital status, disability, children, partner, sexual preferences, sex, racial background, religion
• Home address
• Nationality – unless you want to show that you do have the Right to Work in the country in question
• Referees – this takes up space, they’ll assume you have them, there are probably other opportunities to record these details
• Basic IT skills: these days everyone can use the internet, word processing, spreadsheets, etc., to a competent level – but do include any super-advanced qualifications in MS Office and of course any specialist software like python, C++, SPSS, etc.
• Interests such as ‘socialising with friends, cooking, reading, cinema’ etc. If you do choose to include them, give more details e.g.: ‘French films of 1940-1960’.

Using bullet points

Aim to create impactful bullet points, with each bullet focused on a single idea. Consider applying the ‘CAR’ mnemonic

• Context : the organisation name, your job title and dates is often sufficient.
• Action Words  that demonstrate you took  responsibility  are useful for starting the bullet point, to highlight skills used – e.g. analysed, created, recommended, managed or led. See our list of action words on our  Demonstrate You Fit the Job Criteria  page for more.
• Results  can often be linked within an individual bullet point.

Standard CV Formats

Traditional cv, key resources.

Traditional CV - Example 1

Traditional CV - Example 2

Traditional CV - Example 3

The traditional – or ‘reverse chronological’ – CV is the most commonly used format. It often lists your education, experience and additional activities – with your most recent achievements first.

The sections of the traditional CV will normally be as follows:

• Personal information  – such as contact details – but NOT date of birth, sex, marital status etc. Space may mean you should just list one contact detail, e.g. Oxford email address (not [email protected] ), and your mobile number
• Experience – the core of your CV
• Additional skills

This format makes it easy for employers to spot relevant information quickly and gives a complete picture of a candidate in a clear and structured way.

Remember, however, that you can alter the headings to suit the application you are making. For example, you could use the heading “Teaching Experience” instead of “Experience” if you are applying for a teaching job. Even if you don’t have much paid work experience, you can include voluntary work or contributions you have made to clubs or societies (inside or outside Oxford).

Skills based CV

Key resource.

Skills-based CV  (PDF)

In a skills-based CV, the information is arranged to highlight relevant  employability skills , with details presented under different skills categories. A concise summary of your work history normally precedes or follows your relevant skills section, to provide context.

This type of CV is used to highlight the transferability of your skills, and so is useful if you are applying to a role without direct experience. We generally only recommend using this style if you have great experience, as a considerable amount of evidence is required to make the skills sound meaningful. As such, it is normally used by:

• people changing career direction
• people transitioning from academia into industry or other sectors.

However, a similar style may be useful if you are applying to your first ever piece of work experience and have had few positions of responsibility, as it allows you to emphasise transferable skills you have gained from studying at Oxford.

Resumes for North America

If you are heading to North America, then you might need a résumé rather than a CV. They are very similar documents so use our CV guide, and supplement it with the information here to turn a great CV into a great résumé.

Format differences

Default page size – A4 (21 cm x 29.7 cm) is replaced by Letter (8.5″ x 11″ or 21.59 cm x 27.94 cm)

Use ‘Page Layout’ options in Word (or equivalent) to change the size of your document page

• Cut down a piece of A3 paper to size when checking out how it prints

Spelling – insure / ensure the résumé is oriented / orientated to the readers’ spelling conventions:

• Set your default language to US or Canadian English to use your spelling and grammar check
• Watch out for common ‘Britishisms’ such as ‘analysed’ and ‘organised’ (both have a ‘z’ in North America)
• See  Wikipedia’s page on spelling differences .

Application etiquette

• Include a cover letter with a résumé, unless you are told otherwise
• Write a considered and thoughtful thank you letter within 48 hours of any interview
• Convert your résumé and cover letter into PDFs before sending them to an employer.

Academic CVs

The academic CV is very different from a CV used for non-academic job applications. It focuses purely on your academic achievements and experience, and there is no page limit – although you should always keep it concise and relevant.

Academic CV (PDF)

Before you start

First, look at the skills and competencies that the hiring department / research group requires. You can identify these from the person specification, the job advert, or your own research. Is this a research or teaching only job? Or will you be doing research, teaching and administration (typical for lectureships)? Do they highlight any particular skill areas, such as organisation or team work?

Look at what you need to do to apply. CVs are usually accompanied by cover letters, but they might also ask you to submit an application form, research and/or teaching statement.

Once you are clear what the employer wants, start to tailor your CV to the post.

Typical sections

The following sections are typical for the academic CV:

• Personal Information . Start the CV with your name, address, telephone number and email address.
• Research Interests . Write bullet points or a short paragraph summarising your research.
• Education . Include degrees, possibly titles of theses, and the names of supervisors.
• Awards and Funding . Include undergraduate/postgraduate prizes, travel grants, doctoral scholarships, early career fellowships, and grants you have led on or are named on.
• Research Experience . Include any postdoctoral positions or fellowships and research assistant jobs. You might include more detail about your doctoral research in this section too.
• Teaching Experience . Note any lecturing, seminar, tutorial, supervising, demonstrating, mentoring experience, and potentially non-academic teaching such as through schools and tutoring. Give details about the role and responsibilities – even if it was informal – such as level of students, class sizes and topics you taught.
• Admin Experience . Highlight any conferences/seminars/reading groups you’ve organised, committees you have sat upon, and any other relevant administration experience. You may also see this section referred to as 'Academic Responsibilities' or 'Academic Service'.
• Relevant Training . Include academic teaching training, research methods training, management skills training etc.
• Relevant research/technical/laboratory skills . You may find it useful to list these under one heading if you find yourself repeating them throughout various sections.
• Patents . Give details of the title, inventors, patent number and date granted.
• Professional memberships.  List these – e.g. the Royal Society of Chemistry or the British Association of American Studies. Include dates.
• Publications . Give full details as you would if citing them, and use a consistent style. You may wish to highlight (e.g. bold/underline) your name.
• Conference presentations and posters . Highlight whether paper or poster and cite similarly to your publications with full author list, title, date and location. Subsections can highlight 'invited' contributions.
• Referees . Ideally, these should all be academic referees. They should be people who know you well and who are known in your field.
• Make sure the CV is focused on academia. Only include non-academic work experience or extra-curricular activities and interests if you feel they are very relevant to the post you are applying for, but articulate the transferable skills/knowledge involved. You might include languages and IT skills if they are relevant.
• You might include your nationality in your personal details if you think it will be an advantage – e.g. so that they know you are a European citizen and have the right to work in the UK.
• If you have limited or no published work, consider including works in progress. Clearly label publications as ‘forthcoming’, ‘under review’ or ‘submitted’ if they are in process, but not yet in print or accepted. If you are unconcerned about giving your ideas away before they go to a publisher, you could have a separate heading for ‘Working Papers’ that you are preparing for publication but have not submitted yet. Include when and where you plan to submit them.
• If you have been invited to give seminars or conference papers, highlight them under a separate heading.
• Translate jargon/acronyms that others might not understand, especially if applying abroad.
• Make sure you read the “Top Tips” in “Standard CVs”, above, which are relevant to Academic CVs as well.

Narrative CVs

What are narrative cvs.

‘Narrative CVs’ are becoming a common requirement in academic funding and even job applications. They are significantly different from a traditional academic CV that is more based on a list of your experience and achievements, moving towards descriptions of your contributions. Narrative CVs aim to improve research culture and assessment by broadening the outputs, skills, and experiences that are valued by research, beyond publication metrics.

Depending on the funder or organisation, they may have different names, such as the UKRI Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) or the ‘Your research contributions’ section of Wellcome applications.

The trend is likely to continue as more researchers and evaluators recognise the benefits of narrative CVs for capturing the diversity and quality of research outputs and outcomes.

What is the typical format of a Narrative CV?

There is no one standard format for Narrative CVs, but most consist of different sections that ask you to describe your contributions and achievements in various aspects of research and innovation, such as outputs, impact, environment, leadership, funding, awards, teaching, service and engagement. You should refer closely to the instructions, guidance, or template your specific funder or institution provides, as requirements can differ.

Each section should provide a concise summary of the researcher’s activities, achievements and reflections, with evidence and links to relevant sources where possible.

Guidance on writing your Narrative CV

Funders and institutions are beginning to develop guidance on developing Narrative CVs, so check resources and guides they provide. Oxford University Research Services have developed valuable Guides and Resources and have a recorded webinar for supporting your development of Narrative CVs.

The following summarises the key advice provided in the guide for drafting your Narrative CV:

Be Selective: The Narrative CV aims to emphasise quality of contributions, rather than quantity.

• Attempt to highlight fewer key contributions in good detail, rather than provide long lists with little detail
• Ensure your selected contributions are strong but also relevant to the funding call or position you are applying for
• Focus on your past achievements, not your future plans

Provide evidence: For your selected contributions, describe outcomes and your role in enabling them, rather than purely listing outputs. Qualitative and quantitative evidence is suitable.

Consider including collaborative activities. You can use evidence from within and beyond academia if they are relevant to your application.

Provide context: you are allowed to explain how your activities benefited you at your career stage and enhanced your skills. Narrative CVs understand that not all researchers have the same level of opportunities available to them, and explanations of context can demonstrate your ability level within the constraints of your situation.

Some top tips for starting the writing process:

• Note down what the funding call or position guidance calls for you to provide evidence on
• Make a list of your activities that meet these, and begin to identify your strongest and most relevant examples
• Begin expanding on these, explaining their significance, what resulted from them, what you gained, quantitative or qualitative evidence to demonstrate impact
• Check for overlap between sections, and ensure your examples are placed in the most relevant section
• Consider including a sentence summarising the key point you want the reviewer to remember

Writing a Narrative CV can feel challenging at first, and therefore practicing and drafting this new format early can be beneficial.

Check Your CV

Personal details.

• Does your name stand out? (Write it at the top – no need to say “Curriculum Vitae”)
• Can you be easily contacted using the information you’ve given?
• Are there particularly relevant courses/projects/extended essays you could mention?
• Are A-levels and GCSEs summarised on one or two lines each?
• Have you given an indication of the equivalence or grading system of any  non-UK qualifications ?
• Are section headings tailored to the recipient? (e.g. Teaching Experience, Voluntary Work, etc.)
• Have you included greater detail on more relevant experience?
• Have you tailored your achievements and skills to the job?
• Are your sentences punchy and concise?
• Have you followed the advice in our page on  demonstrating you fit the job criteria ?
• Are the dates on the right hand side, so the first thing people read (down the left hand side) is the organisation name, and your job?

Other Skills

• Is it clear what level of attainment you have in languages, IT, etc.?
• Are you able to use this section as another opportunity to demonstrate the required competencies?
• Have you indicated your level of commitment?

Referees (academic CVs only)

• Is this section headed “referees” and not “references”?
• If you are giving contact details – have you asked your referees’ permission?
• Does the section take up too much space? If so, put their details on a single line – for example:

Dr M. Misra, Keble College, Oxford, OX1 1AB, [email protected] , 01865 377778

• Does it look attractive at first glance? Would  you  want to read it? Would an  employer  want to read it?
• Does it fit onto one or two  full  pages?
• Has it been checked for accurate and consistent grammar and spelling? Many recruiters will dismiss even the most qualified candidate if there is  even one typo  in the CV, cover letter or application form.
• Are fonts (type and size) consistent and not too small (11pt minimum)?
• Is the layout well balanced, with effective use of space, using the full width of the page?
• Broadly speaking, does the most relevant information occupy the most space?
• Are dates reverse chronological if you are using this type of format?
• Have you quantified your achievements?
• Have you checked for gaps in your history? We recommend that you explain any significant time gaps in your CV. There is no right or wrong way of presenting your personal circumstances. You may have been travelling, working on an independent project (e.g. writing), been ill, or caring for others. If it helps, speak with a Careers Adviser to identify the most effective way for you to present your circumstances on a CV and/or cover letter as this will differ for each individual.
• Hold your CV at arms-length – does it look easy to read?
• Fold it vertically and scan the left side in 3 seconds – Will the reader get the gist of your application? – Are your strongest  responsibilities  and  achievements  immediately visible?
• Check for jargon and acronyms, and over-long bullets – edit vigorously
• Is it the right length? – Some employers (e.g. investment banks) expect just one page, so check beforehand – Aim for a  maximum  of two pages, except for an academic CV
• Save your CV as a PDF to ensure it keeps its beautiful formatting
• Finally,  finally , take a break and then proofread – yes, again! Double-check for typos and errors. Then send it off!

It can take a number of revisions before you are happy with your CV, and getting independent advice can prove very helpful: it might all make perfect sense to you, but you could be surprised by the things that others may question or not understand. Make an appointment and ask for feedback from a Careers Adviser.

Our Resources

Example cvs.

Traditional CV - Example 3  

Academic CV (PDF)

Skills-based CV (PDF)

Related pages

Cover Letters

• Creative CVs
• Demonstrate You Fit the Job Criteria
• Application Forms
• References and Referees

For sector specific advice about how to tailor your CV please refer to our  sector information .

The Careers Service subscribes to  GoinGlobal  on behalf of Oxford students. It features around 40 country guides.

Advice appointments

You can get advice on your CV from any of our Careers Advisers by booking an  advice appointment . Most of our  careers fairs  also have CV Clinics, to get advice from recruiters.

Video resource

Top tips for creating a winning cv | with julia sadler, oxford university careers adviser.

Employers may initially spend a very short time scanning your CV (perhaps as little as a few seconds), so it must be able to convey the most relevant points about you in a clear, accessible way.In this video, Julia Sadler , Oxford University Careers Adviser, shares tips for creating a winning CV. 

External Resources

Video resources.

Other Resources

• Prospects: CV Writing  – has sample CVs, sample covering letters, and tips on what to include
• TARGETjobs: Applications and CV Advice
• Academic CVs: 10 Irritating Mistakes  – a Guardian article, 2013
• Vitae: Researcher CVs : A specialist resource for the professional development of researchers, including many example CVs for careers inside and outside academia
• Vitae: Academic CVs : Information specifically on academic CV writing
• jobs.ac.uk  – more information on academic CVs

AI or robot reviewers and other paid-for services

There is a new breed of automatic CV review software and websites that will analyse and ‘score’ your CV against their criteria. Some of these are free (or free initially), most will expect you to sign up and may charge. The merits of these reviews remain unclear; mostly the review will remind you about much that is described in this briefing around the language.

A CV is just one aspect of your application; if your fundamental motivation for applying is sound, then the CV, application form, cover letter and other information will all feel consistent and appear more attractive.

There are also numerous organisations offering to write your CV/Resume for a fee; we believe that if you follow the advice above, and come for a (free) CV review at the Careers Service as part of a 20-minute 1:1 appointment, you will get the best service for you. 

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