Let's be honest: most cover letters are terrible. They restate the resume in paragraph form, open with "To Whom It May Concern," and add nothing. No wonder many recruiters skip them entirely.
But a great cover letter still wins interviews — especially at smaller companies, startups, and roles where writing matters. The trick is to add information your resume can't.
What a cover letter should do
A cover letter has exactly three jobs: explain why you want this specific job, show you understand the company's problem, and demonstrate you can help solve it. That's it. If a sentence doesn't do one of those three things, cut it.
The cover letter structure
Opening paragraph (2-3 sentences)
Skip the "I am writing to apply for…" opener. Everyone writes that. Instead, lead with something specific that shows you've done your homework.
Weak: "I am writing to apply for the Product Manager position at Acme Corp. I believe my skills make me a strong fit."
Strong: "I've been following Acme's pivot into developer tools since your Series B announcement, and the PM role on the API platform caught my eye. I've spent the last four years building exactly this kind of product at a comparable stage."
Middle paragraph(s) — the proof
This is where you connect your experience to their problem. Pick one or two things from the job description and show — with specifics — how you've solved that problem before.
Don't list every job you've had. Pick the one or two most relevant wins and tell the story behind them. Numbers help.
Example: "In my current role, I owned the launch of a developer-facing dashboard that grew weekly active users from 800 to 4,200 in six months. I see Acme is early in its API platform journey, and I'd love to bring that playbook to your team."
Closing paragraph (2 sentences)
Restate your interest, name the role, and make the ask. Don't apologize for taking their time.
Example: "I'd love to talk through how I could help scale Acme's API platform. Thanks for considering my application — I'd welcome the chance to interview."
Cover letter dos and don'ts
Do
- Address a real person by name (LinkedIn makes this easy)
- Mirror the company's language — if they say 'client,' say 'client'
- Keep it under 350 words
- Match your resume's font and formatting
- Proofread three times, then have a friend proofread once more
Don't
- Use 'To Whom It May Concern' — find a name or use 'Hi [Team]'
- Repeat your resume bullets in sentence form
- Apologize for your experience ('I know I don't have all the qualifications…')
- Talk about what the company can do for you — talk about what you can do for them
- Use a generic template you found online without customizing
When you don't need a cover letter
Not every application needs one. Skip it if the job posting explicitly says not to send one, if you're applying through a portal that makes it optional and you're short on time, or if you genuinely have nothing specific to say. A weak cover letter hurts more than no cover letter.
What if you can't find a name?
Try LinkedIn first — search for "Hiring Manager [Company]" or "[Company] [role you're applying for]." If you genuinely can't find a name, "Hi [Team Name] team" or "Dear [Company] hiring team" is fine. Skip "To Whom It May Concern" — it screams 1995.
Cover letters for career changers
If you're changing careers, your cover letter does work your resume can't. The resume shows your past; the cover letter explains why your past is relevant to a different future.
Lead with the bridge. Name the role you want, acknowledge the pivot honestly, and make the case for why your background is an asset — not a gap to apologize for. One or two specific stories from your previous career that map to the new role will do more than a list of claimed skills.
Example opener: "After eight years in classroom education, I'm transitioning into instructional design — and the curriculum work I've done for 1,200 students maps directly to the kind of learning experiences Northwind builds."
A short example cover letter
“Hi Sarah — I came across the Senior Designer role at Northwind after reading your team's recent post on design systems. I've spent the last five years building and maintaining design systems at two startups, most recently shipping a component library adopted by 40+ engineers. I'd love to bring that experience to Northwind and help your design and engineering teams move faster together. Would love to chat — thanks for considering me.”
Notice what's not there: no résumé recap, no "I am writing to apply," no apologies. Just a real, specific, short pitch.
How to sign off
Keep it simple and warm. "Best," "Thanks," "Looking forward to hearing from you," and "Warmly," all work. Avoid "Sincerely" (too stiff for most modern roles) and "Cheers" (too casual for most corporate roles).
Your sign-off is the last thing they read. Match the tone of the company — a startup cover letter can be warmer and looser; a law firm cover letter should be more formal.
The one thing that matters most
Specificity. A specific company, a specific problem, a specific result you've shipped. Everything else is filler. For more on the resume side of this, our resume summary examples break down how to write a tight pitch in three lines. ✨