Job advertisement response – roles in government departments/organisations
The content of your cover letter for a position in a federal, state or local government organisation or department will be set out in a similar style to a letter which you might send for a role outside government.
You will need to outline in the letter the position for which you are applying and why you believe you are the best candidate for the role. When applying for most government roles you will need to complete a separate, and usually quite extensive document which contains evidence about how you meet the selection criteria. Because you will need to restrict the length of your cover letter to a page or so, your major challenge will to condense and summarise in your letter, information that you will have already provided in this separate document.
In the main body of the letter therefore, using the same sub heading and bullet point format as for a private enterprise position, select and write about how you meet 3 or 4 of the most important 'essential' selection criteria.