There’s a recurring debate about whether cover letters still matter. The honest answer: it depends entirely on who’s reading.
For high-volume roles processed by large HR departments, cover letters often go unread until a hiring manager is already interested based on the resume alone. For roles at smaller companies, for senior positions, for applications where you’re not the obvious candidate, or for any situation where a human being reviews your application before a recruiter does — a cover letter still carries real weight.
The problem isn’t that cover letters don’t work. It’s that most cover letters are bad in predictable, fixable ways.
What a Cover Letter Is Actually For
The resume tells them what you’ve done. The cover letter answers a different question: why this role, why this company, and why now?
These aren’t soft, feel-good questions. They’re signals of fit and intent that a resume can’t communicate. A candidate who can articulate clearly why they want this specific job at this specific organisation is a lower hiring risk than one who can’t — they’re more likely to stay, less likely to be disappointed by reality, and easier to orient once they join.
The other thing a cover letter does: it demonstrates communication. Hiring managers in roles requiring written communication (almost all professional roles) read cover letters as a first sample of how you express yourself. A generic, sprawling letter signals something. A clear, specific, well-constructed letter signals something different.
The Most Common Cover Letter Mistakes
Starting with “I am writing to apply for…” They know you’re applying. You attached your resume. Starting a letter by telling someone what they already know wastes their first impression of you.
Restating the resume. “As you can see from my CV, I have five years of experience in…” — they can see it. Don’t repeat it. The cover letter should add information, not summarise what’s already there.
Generic company praise that sounds like research but isn’t. “Your company’s commitment to innovation and customer excellence really stood out to me” tells the reader that you did a Google search and looked at their website’s About page. It’s the written equivalent of saying “I’m very passionate about this industry.”
Three paragraphs about yourself followed by nothing about them. The most readable cover letters have some balance — not a 50/50 split, but some explicit connection between your background and their specific situation.
Length. A cover letter that runs to a full page is usually 60% padding. The right length for most applications is four to five short paragraphs — shorter than you think.
Structure That Works
This isn’t a rigid template — it’s a framework. The order and emphasis should shift depending on the role and your circumstances.
Opening: Lead with something specific. The role you’re applying for (by name) and one sentence that immediately signals you understand the company’s situation or why you’re applying. Not “I was excited to see this posting” — something that shows you’ve thought.
The case: What makes you relevant for this specific role. Not a list of everything on your CV — one or two specific things that map directly to what they’re hiring for. With concrete detail, not vague description.
The bridge: Why this company, not just any company with a similar opening. One specific, genuine reason. The more specific and verifiable the better — “I used your product at my previous company for two years and have a view on where it could go” is better than “I admire your growth story.”
The close: Brief, confident. What you’d like to happen next, without being either passive (“I look forward to hearing from you”) or presumptuous (“I will call on Tuesday to discuss”). A simple, direct expression of interest.
Before and After: Rewrites That Show the Difference
Example 1: Opening paragraph
Before:
I am writing to apply for the Content Marketing Manager position at Fieldwork Digital. I am a passionate content marketer with five years of experience in B2B SaaS, and I believe my skills make me an excellent fit for this role.
After:
Fieldwork Digital is in an interesting position right now — you’ve grown rapidly in the mid-market but your content is still largely introductory. As Content Marketing Manager at two previous SaaS companies, I built content programmes specifically for audiences that had moved past the basics, which is where I think the real opportunity is for you.
The “after” version is shorter, shows they’ve looked at the company’s actual content situation, and immediately demonstrates the kind of thinking they’d be hiring.
Example 2: Describing experience
Before:
In my previous role at Apex Solutions, I was responsible for managing the company’s social media accounts, creating content for multiple platforms, and developing the content strategy. I collaborated with the sales team and other stakeholders to ensure our content aligned with company goals.
After:
At Apex Solutions I built the content function from scratch — no previous writer, no playbook. Within 18 months the blog had become the company’s second-largest source of trial sign-ups. I did this mainly by working closely with the sales team to understand objections before turning them into content, which meant the audience arriving from content was better qualified than those from paid.
Same role, different effect. The second version is specific, shows initiative, and links the work to a business outcome in a way that’s relevant to a future employer.
Example 3: Career change cover letter opening
This is a situation where the cover letter matters more, not less. Don’t bury the career change — address it directly.
Before:
I am writing to apply for the Account Executive position. Although my background is in teaching, I am keen to transition into sales and bring my excellent communication skills to your team.
After:
I spent seven years as a secondary school teacher before deciding to move into B2B sales — and the transition has been more direct than most people assume. Teaching is essentially a communication and persuasion role. Every lesson is a pitch to a room of people who didn’t choose to be there. The skills that make someone effective in a classroom — reading an audience, adapting in real time, explaining complex things simply — are the same ones that make a good account executive. I’ve since done three months of part-time SDR work to test that hypothesis and got to 140% of target in month two.
The “after” version makes the case for the career change rather than apologising for it, and it uses specific evidence.
When You’re Not the Obvious Candidate
The situations where a cover letter matters most are also the situations most people write their worst letters — career changes, overqualification, gaps in employment, applying from a different industry.
For these cases, the rule is: address it directly and briefly, then move on. Don’t over-explain, don’t pre-emptively defend, don’t turn the letter into a justification. One sentence that acknowledges the apparent mismatch and one or two sentences that reframe it is usually enough.
“I’m applying for a more junior role than my previous title suggests — I’m making a deliberate move into [new field], and I’m realistic about needing to build credibility from a lower starting point.” That’s enough. Don’t write three paragraphs about your reasons for the change unless you’re specifically asked.
Cover Letters for Applications Through Portals
Most large company job applications go through a portal that asks you to upload a cover letter as an attachment or paste it into a text box. The challenge with text boxes is that formatting is stripped — no bold, no bullet points, just text.
For portal applications:
- Write in plain text-friendly paragraphs (no lists that depend on formatting)
- Keep it even shorter than usual — people skim text boxes faster
- Put your strongest sentence first, not after two lines of setup
The same principles apply, just adapted for a lower-friction reading environment.
FAQ
Should I write a cover letter even when it says “optional”? Usually yes, if the role matters to you. “Optional” means they won’t discard you for not including one — it doesn’t mean a good letter goes unread.
How personalised does it need to be? Enough to show you read the job description and have spent some time on the company. You don’t need to have researched every recent press release. A letter that addresses their specific role requirements and mentions something specific and accurate about the organisation is meaningfully better than a generic one.
What if I’m applying to a lot of roles at once? Create a strong template with a structure you can adapt quickly. The opening paragraph and the “why this company” paragraph are the sections that need role-specific content. The experience paragraph often stays more consistent across applications in the same function. A 10-minute tailoring pass on a good template is more sustainable than writing from scratch every time.
Do cover letters need to be one page? One page maximum, and usually you won’t fill it. A cover letter that’s longer than 400 words for a standard professional role is almost certainly too long.
Can I use AI to write my cover letter? AI tools can help you structure your thinking or draft a first version, but the output typically sounds like a cover letter template — clear but generic. The most effective letters have something specific and slightly unexpected about them that signals genuine engagement. If you use AI assistance, treat the output as a first draft and rewrite the opening and the company-specific section in your own voice.
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Jobiety Editorial Team
Our editorial team researches and tests every piece of career advice we publish. We draw on real hiring data, interviews with recruiters, and hands-on experience to give you guidance that works.
