Hi Nick,

The cover should be 1-page max.

You can structure a cover in 4 parts:

1. Introduction, mentioning the position you are interested in and a specific element you find attractive for that company
2. Why you are qualified for the job, where you can report 3 skills/stories from your CV, ideally related to leadership, impact, drive and/or teamwork depending on the company
3. Why you are interested in that particular firm, with 2-3 specific reasons mentioned
4. Final remarks, mentioning again your interest and contacts

In part 2 you can write about experiences that show skills useful in consulting such as drive, problem-solving, leadership, teamwork and convincing others.

It is important that in part 3 you make your cover specific to a particular firm – the rule of thumb is, can you send the exact same cover to another consulting company if you change the name? If that’s the case, your cover is too generic.

For some offices (eg the Middle East) you should also make it clear why you are applying to that particular office if you are an expat.

Best,

Francesco

Hey there,

Since there are already good answers on the structure, I want to focus on your key problem (''I am finding it hard to keep it down to one page'').

• Make sure that every sentence in your cover letter adds value, no filler sentences, phrases, or repetitions of the same facts or statements
• Make sure that your sentences are as brief as possible. Experience shows that you can easily take out 25% on average by just writing in a more concise manner
• Only focus on a couple of relevant experiences when showcasing why you are the perfect candidate

Follow this + the structure provided by others and you should easily end up with less than 1 page (font size 12, Times New Roman, normal margins, including the letterhead).

Cheers,

Florian

Hi Nick,

One page max (300-400 words)! Think of yourself as the hiring manager/recruiter..if a busy 2 or 3 page cover letter lands on your screen, how would you feel about reading it?!

Concise, easy to read & engaging storytelling is very important to make your cover letter stand out. The cover letter needs to cover all parts of your story and make it very easy for the reader to say "Yes". 

Feel free to send me a direct message if you need more help with this.

Hi Nick,

The cover letter should be 1 page and should include either 2 or 3 examples. These need to be directly related to the "themes" of what the company looks for (i.e. qual/quant skills, communication skills, leadership, etc.)