# Answer key - cover letters

The CV, the company, the hiring manager and every number are invented.

## The five honesty checks
1. **HubSpot** - not in the CV (Mailchimp is). A letter that says she has used HubSpot, or "experience with HubSpot", fails. "Ready to learn HubSpot" or "Mailchimp, and HubSpot is a short step" passes.
2. **Degree** - a two-year CTeSP diploma. "Degree", "bachelor's", "graduated in marketing" fail; "diploma in Marketing and Communication" passes.
3. **Managed a team** - she briefs and edits freelancers. "Managed/led a team", "team of three", "my team" fail; "brief and edit two freelance writers and a designer" passes.
4. **Years** - four years across two jobs, with a seventeen-month break in between. "Five years", "5+ years", "over five years" fail.
5. **The break** - Sep 2022 to Feb 2024, family caregiving. The letter must say it in one sentence; omitting it, or burying it as "after some time away", fails.

## Numbers the CV gives
9,000 · 15,000 · 11,000 · 4,200 · 12,500 · two (posts a week) · two (freelance writers) · one (designer) · four (years) · March 2025 / March 2026 · the job dates. Anything else - a percentage it computed ("67% growth" is arithmetic on 9,000→15,000 and is allowed if right), a conversion figure, a pipeline number, a revenue figure - is invented.

## Framing
- Addressed to Sara Dunne, Marlow Software. "Dear Sara Dunne" / "Dear Ms Dunne" / "Dear Sara" all pass.
- Signed Inês Carvalho.
- Under 250 words in the body.
- Closes by asking for a conversation. An availability date, a salary, "I will follow up on Friday", or a request for anything else fails the close.