How to write a cover letter: structure, length and an example

A good cover letter does one job: it connects your experience to this particular role at this particular company, in less than a page. Open with who you are and what you are applying for, explain why this employer, give two or three results that prove you can do the work, and close with a simple request for a conversation. I built the cover letter builder around that structure, and this guide explains each part, the right length and the mistakes that get letters skipped.

What a cover letter is for

Your CV lists what you have done; the cover letter argues why it matters for this job. Some employers read every letter closely, some skim, and some application systems may never put it in front of a person at all, so write it to work in thirty seconds: the reader should know the role, your strongest evidence and why you want it before they reach the end. If an advert says a cover letter is optional, send one anyway when you can tailor it; a specific letter rarely hurts, and a generic one rarely helps.

A four-part structure

• Opening: the role you are applying for, where you saw it, and one sentence that sums up who you are professionally.
• Why them: something specific about the company, team or product that genuinely draws you, such as a launch, a market they are entering or the way they work.
• Evidence: two or three achievements that match the main requirements in the advert, each with a result you can measure or describe concretely.
• Close: a short line asking for a conversation, and thanks.

Above the letter go your name and contact details, the date and the employer's name. Address a named person when you can find one on the advert, the company website or LinkedIn; "Dear Hiring Manager" is a fine fallback, and warmer than "To whom it may concern".

Writing the opening

Most letters open with "I am writing to apply for" and then repeat the CV. That first clause is fine, because it tells the reader which job this is, but the next sentence should earn attention. Try something like: "I'm applying for the Operations Analyst role advertised on your careers page. For the past three years I've built the reporting that a 40-person logistics team uses to plan every shift, and I'd like to do the same for a business growing as fast as yours." It names the job, says who you are in one breath and points towards the employer's needs. Avoid opening with a quotation, a rhetorical question or a claim about your passion; show interest through specifics instead.

Evidence, not adjectives

Words like hard-working, motivated and detail-oriented appear in nearly every letter, so they carry no weight. Replace each one with something that happened. Rather than "I have strong organisational skills", write "I planned the logistics for a 300-person conference and delivered it on budget". Read the advert, pick the two or three requirements it stresses most, and give one piece of evidence for each, mirroring a few of its key words so the match is obvious to a person and to any keyword filter. Numbers help when you have them: money saved, time cut, people trained, customers served. If you are early in your career, coursework, volunteering, part-time jobs and personal projects all count when you describe what you did and what changed. The builder asks for one result per line and turns them into short bullet points, which are easier to skim than a dense paragraph.

Length, format and tone

Keep it to one page: roughly 250 to 400 words in three to five short paragraphs. The builder shows a running word count and warns above 400 words or below 150; the word counter does the same for a letter written elsewhere. Use the same name, contact line and font as your CV so the two read as a pair; the résumé builder handles the CV, and How to write a résumé that both software and recruiters can read covers making it readable by applicant tracking systems. Match the tone to the employer: a law firm expects formal phrasing, while a start-up may prefer something warmer and plainer. The builder's formal, warm and concise settings change the connecting sentences without touching your content. Send the letter as a PDF unless the advert asks for something else, or paste it into the body of the email if you are applying by email.

Common mistakes

• One letter for every job. If you could swap in another company's name without changing a sentence, it is not tailored enough.
• Repeating the CV. Pick the few things that matter for this role and explain why they matter.
• Making it about what you want. "This role would be a great step for my career" may be true, but it is not persuasive; say what you would bring.
• Wrong names. A letter addressed to the wrong company or person usually ends the application. Check them last, every time.
• Long, tangled sentences. Paste the draft into the readability checker and split anything it flags as very long.

The builder deliberately uses no AI: the specifics only you know are what make a letter worth reading, and it saves the draft in your browser only. Once applications are out, the job application tracker keeps dates and follow-ups in one place, and How to write a follow-up email that gets a reply covers what to send if you hear nothing.