Not every hiring manager reads cover letters — but many do, especially for competitive roles, smaller companies and career changers. When two CVs look similar, a clear, specific cover letter can decide who gets the interview.
A good cover letter is short (250–400 words), written for one specific job, and focused on what you can do for the employer rather than what the job will do for you.
Cover letter structure
- 1Header: your name and contact details, the date, and the employer's name and company.
- 2Greeting: use the hiring manager's name if you can find it ("Dear Ms Ahmed"). Otherwise "Dear Hiring Manager".
- 3Opening paragraph: the role you are applying for and a one-sentence hook explaining why you are a strong match.
- 4Middle paragraph(s): two or three achievements that prove you meet the key requirements.
- 5Motivation paragraph: why this company specifically — its products, values, growth or mission.
- 6Closing: a confident call to action and thanks, then "Kind regards" and your name.
Opening lines that work
Strong openings
- I am applying for the Junior Data Analyst role because I have spent the last year turning messy sales data into dashboards that my current team uses every morning.
- Your advert asks for a nurse who can stay calm under pressure — for the past four years I have worked night shifts in a 30-bed emergency department.
Weak openings
- My name is Ali and I am writing to apply for the job I saw on your website.
- To whom it may concern, I believe I am the perfect candidate for this position.
Put this into practice
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Example cover letter
Dear Ms Rahman,
I am excited to apply for the Marketing Coordinator role at GreenLeaf Foods. In my current position at a regional bakery chain, I plan and publish all social media content, and over the past 12 months I have grown our Instagram audience from 4,000 to 21,000 followers while increasing online orders by 35%.
Your job description highlights email marketing and campaign reporting. I manage our weekly Mailchimp newsletter (open rate 41%, well above the industry average) and produce a monthly report for our directors using Google Analytics 4 and Looker Studio.
I have followed GreenLeaf since your plant-based range launched last year, and I would love to help bring that range to a wider audience.
I would welcome the chance to discuss how I could support your team. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Kind regards,
Sara Malik
Tips to make your letter stand out
- Mirror two or three key phrases from the job advert so the match is obvious.
- Do not repeat your CV — add context, motivation and the story behind your best result.
- Keep paragraphs to three or four lines and the whole letter to one page.
- Use the same font and header design as your CV for a consistent application.
- If you are changing careers or have a gap, briefly address it in a positive way. See our career change guide and employment gaps guide.
- Proofread the company name and hiring manager's name twice — copying the wrong company name is a common and costly mistake.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a cover letter be?+
Between 250 and 400 words — three to five short paragraphs on a single page.
Is a cover letter necessary if it is optional?+
If you really want the job, write one. It shows effort and gives you space to explain your motivation and fit in ways a CV cannot.
Can I use the same cover letter for every job?+
You can reuse a structure, but the opening, the examples you choose and the motivation paragraph should be rewritten for each employer.
BuildCVFast Editorial Team
This guide is written and reviewed by the BuildCVFast editorial team using current hiring practices, published employer guidance and official government sources where relevant. We update our guides regularly. Read our editorial policy or send us a correction.