Applying for a new job can be daunting. If the thought of actually changing career isn’t enough to send you into a cold sweat, the act of sitting down and writing about yourself for an extended period of time can cause even the most disgruntled worker to stick it out for another few months.

There’s no getting away from it - applying for a job is a time-consuming process, however many people make it even harder work than it should be. While drafting, reworking, and finalising your CV does take time, we know many candidates put as much, if not more, effort into their cover letter. On the whole, we think it’s a complete waste of your time.

We know the CV is the element that employers really care about. Done well, it should succinctly communicate your skills, experience and aspirations, and should clearly demonstrate how you’ll be an asset to their organisation.

The cover letter, on the other hand, should be incredibly brief. It should simply outline who you are, the role you’re applying for, and why you think you’re right for it.

By adding anything more than this, you are either repeating information from your CV or removing elements purely to feature in the cover letter. Either way, you’ll end up with a finished application that is less than the sum of its parts- which is far from ideal.

In conclusion, while our advice for writing the perfect cover letter isn’t quite to not bother at all, it isn’t far off. Instead, spend the time you’ve saved making your CV absolutely perfect with help from our comprehensive guide.