A cover letter goes with your CV when you apply for a job. The CV lists what you have done; the cover letter explains why it matters for this role, at this company, now. Many applications are read in under a minute, so the letter has one job: to make the reader want to interview you. This guide covers the two kinds of cover letter, how to structure one, what to put in each paragraph and the mistakes that get letters binned.
What a cover letter is for
A CV is a record. A cover letter is an argument. It should not repeat the CV; it should pick out the two or three things in it that match the job and explain them in plain sentences. It also does what a CV cannot: it shows how you write, how you think about the employer, and whether you bothered to find out who they are. For many roles it is your first piece of work the employer sees.
Two kinds of letter
The application letter
Written in response to an advertised vacancy. The advert gives you the job title, the requirements and usually a name. Your letter answers the advert point by point, in the order the advert uses.
The speculative letter
Written to a company that has not advertised, asking whether they have or expect to have a suitable opening. Because nobody asked for it, the first paragraph has to earn the reader’s attention: say precisely what kind of role you are looking for and why this company. Keep it to one page and make it easy to say yes to a short conversation rather than a job.
Structure
A cover letter follows the layout of a formal letter (see Formal Letter Format) and has four short paragraphs. The ready-made layout is on the Cover Letter Template page.
1. Why you are writing
Name the job and where you saw it. If someone who knows the employer suggested you apply, say so in the first sentence; a familiar name keeps people reading. Then one sentence on why you want this role at this company. Enthusiasm is fine, but make it specific.
2. What you offer
Take the three most important requirements from the advert and give one piece of evidence for each: a result, a number, a project, a responsibility. “I managed the rota for a team of twelve and cut overtime by a fifth” beats “I have strong organisational skills”. If you lack a specific skill the advert asks for, show the nearest transferable one and say how quickly you have picked up similar things before. Do not list every job you have had; that is the CV’s job.
3. Why this employer
One paragraph that proves you have looked. Mention something real: a product you use, a recent announcement, a published value, the way the team is described on the careers page. Then connect it to how you work. This is the paragraph that separates a letter written for them from a letter sent to thirty companies.
4. What happens next
Say when you are available, give your notice period if you are in work, and ask for an interview. Give a phone number and an email address even though they are on the CV. Thank the reader. The old advice to say you will phone to arrange an appointment is best dropped: most employers now run their own process, and an unsolicited call can irritate. If an advert gives a timetable, respect it.
Tone and length
Write as you would speak to a sensible manager: plainly, in the first person, without jargon or flattery. Short sentences. One page, or 250 to 400 words. Address a named person wherever possible and close with “Yours sincerely”; if you genuinely cannot find a name, “Dear Sir or Madam” and “Yours faithfully”. Use the same font and header as your CV so the two documents look like a set.
Common mistakes
- The all-purpose letter. Readers can tell. Change at least the opening, the evidence paragraph and the “why this employer” paragraph for every application.
- Repeating the CV. If the letter is a prose version of the CV, it adds nothing. Select and explain instead.
- Talking about what you want. “This role would be a great step for my career” tells the employer nothing. Lead with what you will do for them.
- Clichés. “Hard-working team player with excellent communication skills” could be anyone. Replace each claim with an example.
- Wrong name, wrong company. The commonest fatal error in letters adapted from a previous application. Check every proper noun before sending.
- Typos. Proofread on screen, then on paper or a phone, then ask someone else. See the spelling and punctuation guides.
- Salary. Do not raise it unless the advert asks you to. If it does, give a range based on the market rate for the role.
Email and online forms
If you apply by email, the email itself is the cover letter: a clear subject line with the job title and any reference, the four paragraphs without postal addresses, your name and phone number at the end, and the CV attached as a PDF named with your name. If an application form has a box for a supporting statement, paste the four paragraphs there without the greeting and sign-off, and check the word limit. Save a copy of each version; interviewers often quote your letter back to you.
Before you send it
- Does the first sentence name the job?
- Does every claim in paragraph two have evidence?
- Could paragraph three have been written only for this company?
- Is there a phone number, an email address and a clear request?
- Is it one page, with the right names throughout?
Related guides
Cover Letter Template, CV Templates and how to write a CV, Formal Letter Format for the layout rules, and Letter Writing Examples.