A company I want to work for has released a vacancy for a Sales Administrator, on line. Candidates are invited to write a CV and cover letter in application for the position.

Please assist me to write this.

First of all you need to research the company. You say the vacancy is online, so the company probably have a website. Visit the site and find out everything you can about the company.

Go through each page on the site and search for useful information about the company, its values, mission statement, and stated objectives. You can copy and paste the points you want to use directly on to a word document.

If there is no website find out whatever you can about the company from literature, advertisements, or anyone you know who works there

This will tell you something of the company culture, give you an understanding of the management team, and let you see whether you will fit into the culture. It will also help you tailor your CV and cover letter for them.

For example, suppose it illustrates on the website that the company support a local charity that is devoted to the older people of the community. They encourage staff to get involved with visiting in their homes or at community centres.

You can say in your Cover letter “I see the company works with the older people in the community. I admire that and would be keen to participate in that effort.”

Or they say that they are a multinational company and can offer careers and progression opportunities to their staff. You can say “I am keen to build a career with a large multinational company”.

Then have a close look at the vacancy they have posted. Look at every single word of it, and edit your CV to make sure it reflects whatever they specify.

For example if the advert says responsibilities include;-

• managing incoming sales requests and queries
• liaising with clients
• liaising with sales staff
• Sales office administration.

You need to review your CV and make sure it reflects ALL those points. (As long as they are within your experience).

You make think it is obvious that the sales administrator would manage incoming requests and queries, and liaise with clients. They have specified it is a responsibility, so alter your CV to show you have each competency, skill or experience.

Check your CV shows that you have experience of liaising with sales staff .State that you have experience of Sales office administration.

You should demonstrate, echoing their words, that you can tick the box on each point.

Suppose the advert goes on to say that the successful candidate will have;-

• strong organisational skills
• multi-tasking experience
• Good IT skills
• be an excellent communicator,
• Be able to work in a pressurised environment
• Experience of working in a similar environment would be useful but not essential

Your CV must demonstrate and specifically state that you have strong organisational skills, multi-tasking experience, Good IT skills, you are an excellent communicator, can work in a pressurised environment, and have experience of working in a similar environment

Illustrate these competencies, give examples and quantify them if you can. “Worked with a team who reduced customer queries by 10 % year on year “

Obviously whatever you write must be accurate. Use the information your research gives you to portray yourself as a good fit for the job specification. Don’t lie, you will eventually be caught out.

Check your CV to reflect your ability to fulfil their requirements. Consider reordering bullet points to make it easy to find the ones they specify by putting them at the top of your information about previous positions

I have written extensively about CV writing on the site. To revisit the relevant lessons, please go to this page and read all the lessons

CV Writing Lessons

This page has samples and checklists for you including cover letters

CV Writing Conclusion

So once you are happy your CV clearly demonstrates your fit, turn your attention to the cover letter

I have written extensively about cover letter writing on the site. To revisit the relevant lesson, please go to this page

Cover Letter for CV

So as discussed earlier, use the information you have gleaned from the site to establish some common ground.

If you do not meet the requirements of the job specification, the cover letter is the place to mention it and explain why.

Perhaps mention that you have your referee’s agreement for the company to contact them directly, if that is the case.

If you would like us to review your CV or produce a job search package for you, please go directly to www.careercvshop.com and select your package. Remember that if you are outside the EU, there will be a 20 % discount applied to your basket at checkout.