Applying, step by step · 6 min read
How do I write a cover letter for a specific job?
Three short paragraphs: why this role, the two must-haves you show best with proof, and how you'd start. Under a page, in your own voice.
The short answer
Write three short paragraphs. First, name the role and one specific reason you want this job at this employer. Second, take the two must-haves from the post you can prove best and give one concrete example of each. Third, say how you'd handle the first thing the job would ask of you, or how you'd close a small gap, and close politely. Keep it under a page and in your own voice. A cover letter that could be sent to any employer isn't doing its job.
On this page 5 sections
Paragraph one: why this job
Name the role. Then give one reason that only fits this employer: something they make, a problem they're solving, a team you've seen talk about their work. If the reason would fit their competitor too, find a better one.
Paragraph two: two must-haves, with proof
Choose the two must-haves you show best. For each, one or two sentences: the situation, what you did, what changed. This is where you can add detail your CV couldn't fit.
Paragraph three: how you'd start
Show you've thought about the first months. 'In the first weeks I'd want to learn how the team currently handles X' is stronger than 'I look forward to hearing from you', though you can say that too.
A quick check before sending
- Does it name the employer and the role correctly?
- Could you swap in another company name without changing anything? If yes, rewrite paragraph one.
- Is every example something on your CV or something you could talk about?
- Does it fit on one page with room to spare?
OffLadder CV, our free Chrome extension, writes a cover letter, screening answers and a follow-up note from your CV and the post you have open. It only uses what your CV says, so you're never asked to defend a line you didn't write.
Questions people ask
- Do employers still read cover letters?
- Some do and some don't, and you can't tell which from outside. When a post asks for one, it's usually read. A specific letter also helps when your CV doesn't make the link to the role obvious, such as after a career change.
- How long should a cover letter be?
- Around 200 to 350 words. Three or four short paragraphs.
- Who do I address it to?
- The hiring manager by name if the post or the company's site names them. Otherwise 'Dear hiring team' is fine.
- Should I repeat my CV?
- No. Pick two examples and tell them a little more fully than a CV line can: what the situation was, what you did, what happened.
- What's the most common mistake?
- Writing about what you want from the job instead of what you'd bring to it. One sentence on why you want it is plenty; the rest is evidence.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.