Can someone help me with a cover letter?

HELP: To all the managers out there! What are some of the general things that you would like to see in a cover letter or CV that would make you consider sponsoring someone from overseas? I.e. would you want to know the reason they are moving over?

• I am looking to gain a sponsorship visa over in the UK. I am an occupational therapist. I wonder should I mention in the cover letter that I want to work in the UK because my partner lives there? Any other things I should mention that would help persuade the employer to consider me knowing that they have to go through the sponsorship process?

• Answer:

  Your first hurdle is to convince me to want to hire you at all. Your reasons for leaving your home country are immaterial to me. For an OT, this is actually easier because your results are measurable. Provide enough evidence to support your claim that you are a world-class OT worth importing. By definition, a professional being offered sponsorship is supposed to be better than a local person at the same pay rate, which makes them world-class. This evidence I would expect to be in the form of reference letters from your patients, glowing reviews from your direct supervisor, and so on. If you submitted a 5-page cover letter full of references, links to vides, and pictures, I'd make the conclusion that you are indeed world class. :) I would value direct testimonials from your patients very high. But that's just me and I don't hire OTs.