Covering letter

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	Topic: Covering letter
Posted : 25/02/10 / Views : 424 / Replies : 2 /
marek.hollands 33 posts last on: 22 min send private reply	Can someone give me some pointers on what you should include in your covering letter when applying for castings. Best wishes Marek

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	Reply #1
Posted : 25/02/10
Tony.Gibbons 43 posts last on: 3 hours send private reply	Hi Marek, I'm sure everyone will have their own way of writing a cover letter, but I definitely think it is important to highlight relevant (and recent) experience. What have you done (or can you do) that makes you suited to the particular role and production? This may sound obvious, but it is only through casting myself that I've realised how important it is - if a CD has a lot of applications, all with very generic letters (or all saying "see CV/link for experience"), a letter that identifies yourself as someone with relevant and appropriate experience can instantly set you apart from many. Also, try and make the letter seem individual, and not like you've copied the content from the last job you applied for's letter! Maybe list why you are interested, where you saw the job advertised etc. Hope this helps, though I'm sure there'll be many more with possibly more insight!

Reply #1

Posted : 25/02/10

Tony.Gibbons
43 posts
last on: 3 hours
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Hi Marek,
I'm sure everyone will have their own way of writing a cover letter, but I definitely think it is important to highlight relevant (and recent) experience. What have you done (or can you do) that makes you suited to the particular role and production?
This may sound obvious, but it is only through casting myself that I've realised how important it is - if a CD has a lot of applications, all with very generic letters (or all saying "see CV/link for experience"), a letter that identifies yourself as someone with relevant and appropriate experience can instantly set you apart from many.

Also, try and make the letter seem individual, and not like you've copied the content from the last job you applied for's letter! Maybe list why you are interested, where you saw the job advertised etc.

Hope this helps, though I'm sure there'll be many more with possibly more insight!

	Reply #2
Posted : 25/02/10
leeravitz 1543 posts last on: 18 hours send private reply	Tony's points are perfectly valid, I'd say, and the truth will remain that you can write the most beautiful and eloquent covering letter in the world, and still not be considered right for the job. It is worth remembering that those who actually have to field relatively few applicants (there may not be many!) probably read all letters regardless, and those who are fielding masses of applicants are unlikely to even get around to reading 75% of the material that is sent to them. We can get far too hung up on the 'importance' of the covering letter - it's really just meant to serve as a helpful introduction to an unknown quantity. Still, you can try and ensure ways in which the letter will not immediately go into a reject pile when it arrives, and encourage people to consider you further. As Tony says, the best usage is undoubtedly to point out reasons why you are suitable for the job in hand, what experience you hold that may inform the playing of the given role, or why working for the company concerned, given its ethos, especially appeals to your instincts or interests. Everyone is interested to read this sort of material if it is genuine, because it is effectively helping them to see how you might become a useful benefit to the cast, and everybody wants to find a talented, appropriate and committed cast. If you happen to have good inside information about the company concerned, hold a decent knowledge of their recent work, or have mutual friends who have worked for them, these may be elements worth flagging up somewhere in the letter, and may catch the attention, although introducing them by no means guarantees you any job offers. It can be useful to keep material brief, so it doesn't outstay its welcome (but not so brief that it reveals nothing individual about what you and only you, in particular, offer). It is worth directing attention to relevant material on the CV, although there is no need to go into detail about it, as the CV is also available to be seen should the employer wish to look at it. If possible, writing something that is actually amusing, intriguing or generally worthwhile to read will certainly make your letter stand out from the crowd of workaday material that habitually gets mailed out (though this doesn't mean anyone wants you to write a cover letter that is 16 pages long, and comes in the form of a tone poem!). But, failing that, it is simply wise to be business-like, professional, honest and brisk, and to make sure that things like punctuation, grammar and spelling have all been checked. Taking the time to make it look as if you have thought about the content of the letter is always beneficial because it gives a good impression of how seriously you take the application. Other than that, though, there are no golden rules! Every letter is potentially different, though having a good basic template that you may start out from can save you a lot of time when you having to write many distinct applications in a day.

Reply #2

Posted : 25/02/10

leeravitz
1543 posts
last on: 18 hours
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Tony's points are perfectly valid, I'd say, and the truth will remain that you can write the most beautiful and eloquent covering letter in the world, and still not be considered right for the job. It is worth remembering that those who actually have to field relatively few applicants (there may not be many!) probably read all letters regardless, and those who are fielding masses of applicants are unlikely to even get around to reading 75% of the material that is sent to them. We can get far too hung up on the 'importance' of the covering letter - it's really just meant to serve as a helpful introduction to an unknown quantity.

Still, you *can* try and ensure ways in which the letter will not immediately go into a reject pile when it arrives, and encourage people to consider you further. As Tony says, the best usage is undoubtedly to point out reasons why you are suitable for the job in hand, what experience you hold that may inform the playing of the given role, or why working for the company concerned, given its ethos, especially appeals to your instincts or interests. Everyone is interested to read this sort of material if it is genuine, because it is effectively helping them to see how you might become a useful benefit to the cast, and *everybody* wants to find a talented, appropriate and committed cast.

If you happen to have good inside information about the company concerned, hold a decent knowledge of their recent work, or have mutual friends who have worked for them, these may be elements worth flagging up somewhere in the letter, and may catch the attention, although introducing them by no means guarantees you any job offers.

It can be useful to keep material brief, so it doesn't outstay its welcome (but not so brief that it reveals nothing individual about what you and only you, in particular, offer). It is worth directing attention to relevant material on the CV, although there is no need to go into detail about it, as the CV is also available to be seen should the employer wish to look at it.

If possible, writing something that is actually amusing, intriguing or generally worthwhile to read will certainly make your letter stand out from the crowd of workaday material that habitually gets mailed out (though this doesn't mean anyone wants you to write a cover letter that is 16 pages long, and comes in the form of a tone poem!). But, failing that, it is simply wise to be business-like, professional, honest and brisk, and to make sure that things like punctuation, grammar and spelling have all been checked. Taking the time to make it look as if you have thought about the content of the letter is always beneficial because it gives a good impression of how seriously you take the application.

Other than that, though, there are no golden rules! Every letter is potentially different, though having a good basic template that you may start out from can save *you* a lot of time when you having to write many distinct applications in a day.

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