You are applying what you already know about skills and evidence to the two documents almost every Irish employer still asks for first: a CV and a cover letter.

By the end of this lesson you will have substantial first drafts of both for a realistic weekend, part-time or holiday role you could apply for this year, saved in your Strand 2.2 portfolio folder as CV v1 and Cover Letter v1. Keep both files where you can find them again, because you will come back and improve them later in the year.

Before you look at a sample, mark each statement true or false on what you honestly think right now. Do not look anything up. You will revisit these ideas when you draft your own CV and letter.

Key terms for this lesson

Read Aoife’s CV and cover letter for a part-time sales assistant role at a local independent sports shop (invented classroom sample). Pick a label, then click the part of the document it fits. When the class is ready, reveal the model and see where you differ.

You are looking for three things: what belongs on the CV, what the letter must add, and any line that is too vague to help a shortlister.

Watch-out: a CV made of personality adjectives and a letter that only restates the CV will not get shortlisted. You fix both today.

Start by locking in a realistic role you could actually apply for this year, such as weekend retail or café work, a sports shop floor role, hardware or stock work, a holiday job, or another live local vacancy you know about. Then open two separate documents in your Strand 2.2 folder and name them CV v1 and Cover Letter v1.

Your CV v1 uses the Irish school-leaver layout, so it carries your contact details, your education, your experience (paid, voluntary or school-based), your skills with the evidence behind them, and two referees you will ask, marked “to be confirmed after I ask” until they have said yes. Your Cover Letter v1 runs to about 200 words: it names the employer, says why you want this role, and gives one specific moment that proves you would fit, without rehashing what the CV already lists.

Before you leave, both files should exist, every CV heading should hold real content, and the letter should have its opening plus one evidence paragraph. You can polish them before the next lesson, but the bulk of both drafts is written now.

You leave with CV v1 and Cover Letter v1 started for a named role, and a clearer split between what the CV lists and what the letter must add.

• You tested common beliefs about CVs, photos, length, letters and referees
• You annotated a sample CV and cover letter to see how the two documents share the work
• You met the main components: personal details, education, experience, skills and referees
• You saw that a cover letter must add motive and a specific moment, not repeat the CV
• You drafted CV v1 and Cover Letter v1 in your Strand 2.2 portfolio for a realistic role you could apply for this year

Next lessons build on this pack: AI in applications, competency forms, and shortlisting. Keep both files findable; you will revise them as building blocks for later Strand 2 assessment and Portfolio in Action work.