How Long Should a Cover Letter Be? UK Answer & Pro Tips
How long should a cover letter be? Find out the answer for any professional, including a teacher seeking a teaching job, a PhD, or an academic position.
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‘I need to write a bartender cover letter. But what should I include there'? If you consider writing a winning bar staff cover letter, then you’re in the right place. Most of us have vague classroom memories of having been taught about covering letters, but few remember the details.
So how to write your cover letter to land a job behind the counter? Scroll down for a quick but comprehensive rundown of what a bartender cover letter should include, expert bar work cover letter examples, and advice.
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Charles Bryan
2 Chapel Lane
Wick Hill
RG12 2HW
077 6677 8899
charles.bryan@lcmail.co.uk
31st August 2021
Sophie Abbott
Public House Manager
TJ O’Sullivan’s Pub
99 Boughton Rd
Bracknell
RG40 9GY
Dear Sophie,
As a regular patron of TJ O’Sullivan’s Pub, I was very happy to hear Conway Walsh mention that you were recruiting new bar staff. Having worked as a bartender for the past 3.5+ years, I gained a real appreciation for the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making an establishment like yours run so smoothly. I also created dozens of drinks, three of which made it into menu rotation and one of which remains a selling point for Zelenoff’s Sports Bar.
Working as a bartender at Zelenoff’s, I found different ways to take the initiative to make the bar a more enjoyable place for bar staff to work in and to increase profitability wherever possible. Directly related to these goals is keeping the whole experience as smooth, safe, and enjoyable for patrons. I reorganised the bar area to streamline drink preparation, resulting in up to 10% less breakage during busy shifts and saving the bar up to £1000 annually. I voluntarily attended and contributed to over 25 training sessions and team meetings focused on improving patron experience and safety as well as the professional development of permanent and casual staff. I also directly maximised sales by discreetly and professionally upselling when taking orders for spirits, wine, beer, and soft drinks, bringing in an estimated 15–25% more revenue without compromising on the bar’s strict policies regarding the responsible sale of alcohol.
I believe that the dedication I have shown to making Zelenoff’s the kind of place people look forward to spending their time, as well as making coming into work a pleasure for other bar staff, all while focusing on profitability, would be a real asset for TJ O’Sullivan’s Pub.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I would love to discuss my other achievements and ideas for the future during the course of an interview.
Yours Sincerely,
Charles Bryan
Now here’s how to write your own cover letter for bar work:
Every cover letter should include a well laid-out header. A header is the upper part of a business letter, and a cover letter is simply a kind of business letter. The standard UK business letter format requires that a cover letter header include the elements listed below.
Aligned to right:
Leave a line.
Aligned to the right:
Charles Bryan
2 Chapel Lane
Wick Hill
RG12 2HW
077 6677 8899
charles.bryan@lcmail.co.uk
31st August 2021
Sophie Abbott
Public House Manager
TJ O’Sullivan’s Pub
99 Boughton Rd
Bracknell
RG40 9GY
You can adjust every cover letter created in the builder to meet the job requirements. Choose the name of your profession and the company to which you’re applying, and the LiveCareer cover letter builder will automatically adapt the content for you. Create a cover letter faster than you ever thought possible and apply for the job in record time.
A cover letter should start with a greeting or salutation of some kind. The best case would be ‘Dear’ + the first name of the bar manager to whom you’re writing.
If you’re unsure of the person’s gender and don’t feel comfortable using just their first name, simply use ‘Dear’ + their full name, e.g. ‘Dear Leigh Smith’. This way you can avoid having to use a gendered title like Ms or Mr. Always double-check the person’s gender before using a gendered title.
Can’t find a specific person to write to even after rereading the job advert, checking the company website, searching on LinkedIn and similar sites as well as calling the company to ask? Think about the role that person would fill in your recruitment process and be as specific as you can.
At the very least use something like ‘Dear Hiring Manager’. Do not use the well-worn ‘To Whom It May Concern’ or the archaic ‘Dear Sir/Madame’. A little effort goes a long way here.
Dear Sophie,
Why should your bar work cover letter include an opening paragraph? Here are three good reasons:
Start your bar staff cover letter with an achievement. Explain how you can apply your skills to the bar’s situation. Use accomplishment statements to structure your achievement around something like the PAR (Project-Action-Result) structure.
As a regular patron of TJ O’Sullivan’s Pub, I was very happy to hear Conway Walsh mention that you were recruiting new bar staff. Having worked as a bartender for the past 3.5+ years, I gained a real appreciation for the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making an establishment like yours run so smoothly. I also created dozens of drinks, three of which made it into menu rotation and one of which remains a selling point for Zelenoff’s Sports Bar.
You don’t have to create any content yourself. The LiveCareer cover letter generator will automatically suggest the best content for your cover letter with ready-made examples and expert tips.
Your cover letter (or, motivation letter) should, of course, have a main body section. The opening leads your reader up to this point, the main part of your bar cover letter. Writing this part, important as it is, is actually quite easy once you have your opening paragraph written. It’s simpler still once you have your CV written and in front of you.
All you need to do is basically string together two or three complete accomplishment statements. Use the PAR method mentioned above or something similar. The most important thing is to quantify each achievement. The goal is to put numbers to the benefits you bought to your employer in each case.
Working as a bartender at Zelenoff’s, I found different ways to take the initiative to make the bar a more enjoyable place for bar staff to work in and to increase profitability wherever possible. Directly related to these goals is keeping the whole experience as smooth, safe, and enjoyable for patrons. I reorganised the bar area to streamline drink preparation, resulting in up to 10% less breakage during busy shifts and saving the bar up to £1000 annually. I voluntarily attended and contributed to over 25 training sessions and team meetings focused on improving patron experience and safety as well as the professional development of permanent and casual staff. I also directly maximised sales by discreetly and professionally upselling when taking orders for spirits, wine, beer, and soft drinks, bringing in an estimated 15–25% more revenue without compromising on the bar’s strict policies regarding the responsible sale of alcohol.
A good bar cover letter should include a strong summary of the skills and achievements mentioned in the first 2–3 paragraphs. Tie up all loose ends and wrap everything up in a couple or so sentences. Hammer home the point that these bar skills could be very useful to the establishment to which you’re applying.
Then, include a clear call to action (CTA) and be sure to thank the bar manager for taking the time to consider your application. Finally, sign off on your cover letter according to how you greeted your reader:
I believe that the dedication I have shown to making Zelenoff’s the kind of place people look forward to spending their time, as well as making coming into work a pleasure for other bar staff, all while focusing on profitability, would be a real asset for TJ O’Sullivan’s Pub.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I would love to discuss my other achievements and ideas for the future during the course of an interview.
Yours sincerely,
Charles Bryan
There are things that make your cover letter better by being left out of it. Avoid the following:
Here are some formatting guidelines to keep in mind when structuring a cover letter:
Your cover letter should be short, between half an A4 page to one A4 page, 250–400 words in total, including:
A cover letter alone simply won’t be enough—you need an impactful CV, too. Create your CV in minutes. Just follow our wizard and fill in every CV section with ready-made content. Get started by choosing a professional CV template.
I hope this articles has given you a better idea of what a cover letter for bar work should include. Leave any comments or questions down below and please share any bar cover letter experiences—heroic, nightmarish, and anything in between—in the comments section too!
Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.
About the author
Since 2013, the LiveCareer UK team has shared the best advice to help you advance your career. Experts from our UK editorial team have written more than one hundred guides on how to write the perfect CV or cover letter.
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