At the graduate level, the content does not need to be much different from the content of covering letter for other business careers. That includes:* Why consulting* Why this firm* Why this role (if the firm offers multiple roles or direct entry to different practices)* Why you (summary of your unique selling points, but less detail than your CV)* About you (any relevant background not captured by your CV)* Your career plans (where you see this role taking you, especially if the firm operates a policy of employing Analysts for only 2 years before expecting them to move on)* Direct answers to any questions the firm asks candidates to address in their applications (these are obviously the "go/no-go" criteria for applications, but you'd be amazed how often candidates ignore them)If you were applying as an experienced hire, you might have specific job elements or consulting projects you needed to pull out in more detail than that allowed in the overview format of the CV, but as a graduate entrant that's unnecessary and would probebly be going into too much detail.In fact, the covering letter rules more people out than into consideration for the job. You should pay as much attention to the style (clear, professional, succinct) and quality (spelling, punctuation, grammar) of your written communication as the content.A literary work of art is nice, but will only ever get you to the next round rather than winning you the job there and then. However, a poorly written covering letter can make a smart candidate sound like an idiot and discourage the recruiter from even turning the page to read the CV.Good luck.
