How to write a cover letter for a job

Imagine you’re searching for a job and have found the perfect opening. Now you just need to apply and persuade the company that you’re the person they’re looking for. Writing a strong cover letter could be one way to stand out from other applicants.

What you’ll learn:

• A cover letter is an introduction that provides a summary of your professional experience and qualifications.

• Cover letters typically include contact information, a date, a greeting, an introduction, a strong case for employment and a closing call to action.

• A cover letter allows you to align yourself with a company's goals and demonstrate how your expertise and skills can contribute. 

• You might want to think twice about using an identical letter for all job submissions, duplicating your resume's details and referencing your desired pay.

Before you get started, these tips could help you think about how to approach your letter:

• Do your research. Study the job description. Explore the company’s website. Get a good sense of company so you can present yourself as an applicant with the qualities it’s looking for.

• Keep it to one page. Don’t overwrite the letter. It might take a few drafts to get to the heart of what you want to say. Harvard Business Review recommends keeping the letter to one page.

• Sweat the details. Make sure to edit your cover letter for grammatical and formatting errors. Think of the letter as your first chance to impress a new employer.

A cover letter can be more personal than your resume. It offers a chance to explain how your experiences and skills have equipped you to contribute to the organization. Tailoring your letter based on the company and the role could help you stand out, and these key components offer a place to start.

This section can include general information like your name, current role or occupation, and contact information. Job site Indeed recommends including links to your professional social media profiles and portfolio.

This is where you can address the intended recipient of the cover letter. If you know the name of the company’s hiring manager or human resources (HR) contact, you can mention them directly. Otherwise, you could use the relevant department’s name or “Dear Hiring Manager.”

In the first paragraph, you can introduce yourself, state the position you’re interested in and highlight your key strengths. Yale Law School also recommends calling out professional or personal connections to the organization, as does Indeed. For example, if a current employee referred you, this could be the time to mention that.

In the middle paragraphs, which often comprise the bulk of cover letters, you could demonstrate why you’re qualified for the role and draw connections to the company. 

Sharing details about relevant projects or challenges you’ve been a part of can illustrate how you could help advance the company’s mission. Including key contributions and notable results can show specific accomplishments.

To conclude the letter, showing appreciation and inviting the reader to follow up can reinforce your enthusiasm for the role—and your confidence in the value you bring.

Everything you write in a letter could influence how hiring managers view your application. Before your signature, consider how you close the letter. Using a professional sign-off—such as sincerely or best regards—could help you end on a high note.

When writing a cover letter, you have limited space to make an impression. So knowing what not to include could be as important as what you do include. With that in mind, here are common mistakes you may want to avoid.

Personalization could mean the difference between a generic cover letter and one that a hiring manager remembers. That doesn’t mean starting every letter from the beginning; instead, adding details could help you stand out.

A strong cover letter can complement your resume while being an entirely different reading experience. Avoiding a repeat of your resume could help add depth rather than duplicating information.

AI shows promise for use in lots of industries—including the employment industry—for making certain tasks faster and easier. But rather than using AI to write your letter, the University of Cincinnati suggests using it as a helpful starting point. Another possible use is to have AI review the finished product for grammatical and spelling errors. 

If you focus on salary expectations in your letter, you could come across as more interested in the company’s benefits than in your contribution to the company.

Cover letters offer an opportunity to tell your story, summarize your experience and detail your skills. They also allow you to emphasize the value you could bring to the company and express your enthusiasm for the job. 

As you get closer to landing a job, you can learn more about what to ask during an interview and how to negotiate salary.