Keep the structure, replace the facts
Recruiters recognise borrowed sentences, not borrowed structures. Keep the order of the paragraphs and write every claim about yourself from scratch.
Cover Letter Examples You Can Actually Use
Complete letters, not fragments. Start with the general example below, see what each paragraph is doing, then open the one written for your situation. Every example fits on a single page.
A cover letter example for most jobs
Written by an experienced applicant answering a job ad. Swap the role, the result and the reason you chose the company, and the structure works for almost any position.
Application for Customer Service Team Leader (ref. CS-2214)
Dear Ms Patel,
I am applying for the Customer Service Team Leader role advertised on your careers page. For the past four years I have worked on the front line of a busy energy-supplier helpdesk, the last eighteen months as acting supervisor of a team of nine, and I would like to bring that experience to Northfield Energy.
When I took over the team, we resolved 61% of calls at first contact. I rewrote our answers to the five most common billing questions and introduced a short weekly review of difficult calls. Within six months first-contact resolution reached 74%, and complaints escalated to managers fell by a third.
Your move to a single customer team for gas and electricity caught my attention, because we went through the same change last year. I know where the handovers break down and how to train people across both products without service levels slipping in the meantime.
I would welcome the chance to discuss how I could support your team through that transition. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Kind regards,
Laura Bennett
What each paragraph does
- 1
Subject line and greeting
The subject names the role and the reference number, so the letter ends up in the right pile. The greeting uses a real name. If you cannot find one, "Dear Hiring Manager" is fine.
- 2
The opening
Two sentences: which role, where you saw it and the one fact that makes you worth reading. No paragraph about how excited you are.
- 3
The proof
One result with a number, told as a short story: what the situation was, what you changed and what happened. This is the paragraph recruiters remember.
- 4
Why this employer
Something specific about the company that connects to your experience. It cannot be pasted into another application, which is exactly why it works.
- 5
The close
Ask for a conversation and thank them. One or two lines, then your name.
Cover letter examples by situation
Each one comes with the full letter, notes on why it works and the mistakes to avoid in that situation.
Cover Letter Example With No Experience
For a first job: how to turn school, volunteering and part-time work into proof.
Read the exampleInternship Cover Letter Example
For students applying for an internship or work placement, built around coursework and projects.
Read the exampleSpeculative Cover Letter Example
For writing to a company that has not advertised a job: how to make an unsolicited application worth answering.
Read the exampleCareer Change Cover Letter Example
For moving into a new field: how to translate your experience instead of apologising for it.
Read the exampleMotivation Letter for University Example
For a master's degree, an exchange or a degree programme: what admissions committees actually look for.
Read the exampleShort Cover Letter Example
A five-sentence letter for email applications and online forms with limited space.
Read the exampleHow to adapt an example without it sounding copied
Use one real number
A figure from your own work, such as customers served, time saved, a grade or a budget, does more than three adjectives. If you have no numbers, describe one concrete situation instead.
Name the company more than once
Mention the employer in the opening and again where you explain why you chose them. A letter that could be sent anywhere usually has been, and it shows.
Use the job ad's own words
If the ad asks for "stakeholder management", use that phrase where it is true of you. Applicant tracking systems and busy readers both look for it.
Pick a design for your letter
Each design shares its header with the CV template of the same name, so your letter and CV arrive as one application. Click one to start writing.
Cover letter examples: frequently asked questions
Can I copy a cover letter example word for word?
Use the structure freely, but do not send the text unchanged. Recruiters see the same popular examples again and again, and a letter that is not about you or their company tells them nothing. Replace every fact, the result and the reason you are applying.
How long should a cover letter be?
One page: three or four short paragraphs, roughly 250 to 350 words. If you need more space than that, you are probably repeating your CV.
What if I do not know the hiring manager's name?
Check the job ad, the company website and LinkedIn first. If you still cannot find a name, "Dear Hiring Manager" is perfectly acceptable. Avoid "To whom it may concern", which reads like a form letter.
Do I need a cover letter if the application does not ask for one?
If there is an optional upload field or an email address, a short letter is worth sending: it explains why you want this particular job, which a CV cannot do. If there is no way to attach one, put two or three of those sentences in the application email or the form's free-text box.
Should my cover letter match my CV?
Yes. Use the same name, contact details and, ideally, the same design, so the two documents read as one application. In Cvida every cover letter design has a CV template of the same name.
Ready to write your own?
Start from a draft in the builder, pick the design that matches your CV and download a one-page PDF.