Create extraordinary cover letters
Cover letters are often the first impression employers have of you, so showing off your professional profile effectively and efficiently is incredibly important! Mentioning your strengths, skills, professional experience and qualifications can help you stand out as the ideal candidate, so taking the time to write an epic cover letter is worth it! Luckily, when you create a cover letter with cvapp.nz, you don’t have to spend hours finding the perfect formatting or searching for the best design layouts. We’ll help you create the perfect CVs and cover letters in minutes.
Cover letters give you the chance to speak with employers and recruiters directly. Unlike CVs, which follow a conventional template, your cover letters are free-form. This means that you can take it in whichever creative direction you like! Cover letters allow you to express yourself and can help employers understand you and your personality a little better. Sometimes, employers may ask you not to include a cover letter. You should always pay close attention to the instructions posted to a job listing, so if this is the case you can jump straight to our CV templates and start there. However, more often than not, employers will want to learn more about you from your cover letter and your motivations behind applying for the job role.
When writing a cover letter, keep your tone professional and your layout clean and well-structured. Thankfully, with cvapp.nz we take care of all the hard stuff so you don’t have to! Browse our cover letter templates and check out our blog for more advice on how to create compelling, attractive cover letters that will help you land your next job. Ka rawe!
Formatting an accounting cover letter
Cover letters, in any profession, tend to use the following structure:
- Header
- Greeting
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion and signature.
In our guide, we’ll help you explore and understand each of these elements! We know how intimidating job-hunting can be. That’s why we’ve created cover letter guides filled with great examples to help take the stress out of the job-application process. If you’re looking to apply for jobs as an accountant, here’s our top tips for each paragraph in an excellent cover letter. Let’s begin!
Cover letter header
The goal of an accountant’s cover letter is to stand out from other candidates and create a striking impression that captures the attention of employers and recruiters. To achieve this, applicants should first choose the right cover letter header, which will include a candidate’s name, address, phone number and email, as well as any other relevant contact details. Including your contact details will make it easier for employers and recruiters to contact you. While it’s not always necessary, you can include your address or mailing address, in case your employer prefers to send written communication. If you don’t want to include your personal mailing address, you can always just add the city or region that you live in!
Headers should also match the visual design of your CV. This will help keep your personal brand memorable to employers! Selecting an appropriate header is also a great way to express your personality and creativity. Browse our cover letter templates to find the right header for you! With spacious layouts, bold designs and pops of colour, we’ll help make your cover letter unique and unforgettable.
Why we use a cover letter header: Headers are a great way to help you stand out from other applicants applying for the same accounting jobs as you. Headers are also important as they inform employers on how they can contact you.
Align document styles
Creating a uniform style and design in the CV and cover letter helps illustrate both detail and consistency to employers. When you use the same fonts, font sizes and formatting for both your CV and cover letter, it’ll soon become obvious that both documents belong to you. This helps to keep your professional profile and personal brand memorable.
What’s more, this also shows employers and recruiters that you’re organised and consistent, two highly important characteristics of a great accountant. On the other side of the spectrum, poor formatting can signal to employers that you’re unorganised and not good with important details. This is not how you want to be seen as an accountant!
Luckily, we take care of the formatting so you don’t have to! You don’t have to spend hours and hours creating your own designs, moving text walls around and Googling “how do I make my image stay in the same place on Word” (we know, we’ve been there!). Simply choose a layout that suits the role you’re applying for and input your information. We’ll take care of the rest.
Cover letter greetings
Greetings are an important custom to incorporate in your cover letter. When greeting someone in your cover letter, we recommend addressing them as “Dear Mr/Mrs [insert employer name].” Double check that you have got their name and gender correct! Misspelling or misgendering your employers won’t get you off to a good start.
It’s important to keep your greeting and tone of voice professional and respectful at all times. However, it’s important to avoid being overly formal or informal! Research the company you’re applying for and the language they use across their social media and websites to figure out the most suitable tone of voice to use in your cover letter.
Address your letter to an actual person
We recommend that you always address your cover letters to a real person when possible. We encourage this for the following reasons:
- It demonstrates that you tailored your cover letter specifically to the company
- It illustrates that you’ve done your research on the company and/or employers
- It creates a personal connection between you and the employer
- When employers read their name, it creates a sense of recognition that feels personal and real
- The research shows that personalised letters are more likely to receive a response
When creating your cover letter, be careful that you’re using the right name for your employer. It’s entirely possible that some employers and recruiters would prefer to stay anonymous. You can try calling the company and finding out if they have a specific name to direct your cover letter to. If you’re going to do this, stay respectful and professional. If you can’t find a name to address your cover letter to, you can always write “Dear [Company Name] Team” or “Dear HR Department for [Company Name]. This is one of the best ways to make a great first impression on employers and recruiters.
Why we use a cover letter greeting: Cover letter greetings create connection between applicant and recruiters in a professional and friendly way.
Dear Ms. Alison Wedge,
Cover letter introduction
Look at you! We’re already at the cover letter introduction. Begin your letter with a captivating sentence or two that demonstrates your interest in the job position you’re applying for, and why you’d be a great candidate for the role. Making a great first impression with your introduction is essential as it sets the stage for the rest of your letter.
Make sure your first sentences are upbeat and unique. This pleasant introduction to your professional profile will encourage employers to keep reading through to the end of your cover letter. You may also want to write about your motivations and why you’d like to be considered for the job in your introduction.
Why we use a cover letter introduction: Your cover letter introduction highlights the value you would bring to an accounting job role.
Trust and transparency are some of the most important principles of business. After fourteen years in managerial accounting, I am fortunate to have amassed years of experience and insight that helps me
deliver trustworthy, transparent, terrific results for my clients. I have had extensive experience with financial instruments and creating effective strategies for businesses and clients. I believe that successful business performance goes beyond creating high-quality balance sheets and budgets. Creating a successful business requires a thorough assessment of a client's business culture. Over the past year, I have helped small businesses report net earnings of over $25,000,000 NZD at the end of the financial year. I am now looking for other companies that are looking to scale build their business.
Cover letter body
The body paragraph of your letter highlights the value you can provide as an accountant to employers. Outline your major accomplishments, qualifications and other relevant details that will help emphasize the value you can bring to your role as an accountant. As you reflect on your professional experience, highlight more concrete, specific accomplishments in your career so far. Try to be as specific as possible, include any figures, numbers or precise examples that demonstrate your successes in a work environment. Employers want to know how your previous experience can help you fulfill the role you’re applying for.
Clarify any ways in which these achievements and experiences helped you provide value to previous companies or how it enhanced any skills or traits that you can bring to the job. When you have finished, end your body paragraph strong by affirming your expertise as an accountant. Convincing final statements will help potential employers feel more confidence in your ability to do a great job.
Why we use a cover letter body paragraph: Demonstrate your accounting expertise and help build recruiter’s expertise in you as an accountant
As I understand it, you are currently looking for an accountant that can help oversee Gold & Golder's international operations and/or has significant experience dealing with international partners. After having lived and worked in London, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco and Singapore, I can assure you that I
have extensive experience navigating different business cultures and facilitating international financial transactions. As legal territory differs internationally, I would love the opportunity to assist Gold & Golder in scaling new international heights.
In addition to this, some of my career highlights include:
- Creating cloud invoicing software across seven different businesses, assisting a total employee database of over 160,000 employees
- Helping businesses save over $2,000,000 NZD by highlighting inefficient or unnecessary expenditure
- Managing over 2,000 clients in the last year and creating effective strategies to help them grow and scale their business goals
Concluding your cover letter
The primary aim of a cover letter is to elicit a response from employers, so it’s essential that you enter your cover letter on a powerful note. All cover letters should end with a call to action. For example, ending your cover letter with a call to action statement or questions, such as: “Would it be possible to reach out to you next week to discuss the possibility of setting up an interview?”
Call to action questions and statements influence employers into providing you with a response. It helps keep your cover letter memorable. Lastly, you can end your cover letter with a traditional goodbye like “yours sincerely,” “best wishes,” “ngā mihi” or “kind regards.” If you’re delivering your cover letter in person, you might also like to sign off with a physical signature, though it’s not always necessary.
Why we use a cover letter conclusion: Your conclusion helps introduce a call to action, one that could potentially result in a successful interview or call back!
I would love to share more details with you at an interview and welcome all questions. Thank you for your time.
Kind regards,
Wiremu Bradley
Common accounting cover letter mistakes and how to avoid them
The most common mistakes people make when writing their cover letters include:
- Writing generic letters that could’ve been sent to anyone. The best cover letters are personalised and show that you’ve tailored your letter specifically to the company or employer.
- Creating work with typos or other grammatical and punctual mistakes. Work littered with typos and mistakes is a huge turn-off for employers. Always remember: Proofreading your work is essential!
- Avoid using language that is superfluous, unnecessary and full of clichés. Clichés include statements that lack original thought, such as “team player” or “hard worker.” Try to use bold, actionable language.
- Avoid poor formatting! Downloading your file in the right format is essential. What good is a great cover letter if employers can’t open it? Or, if they open it and suddenly your work is all jumbled up. Oh no!
Use one of our professional cover letter templates
To avoid any formatting issues, we recommend using one of our expert-approved, professionally-designed cover letter templates. We’ve got heaps of helpful advice and guidance on how to create compelling cover letters in minutes.
Our cover letter templates were created by experts, allowing you to input your information and download a PDF — preserving the distinctive formatting — directly to your device. What are you waiting for?
