In this guide, I will show you how to quickly and easily write a cover letter that you can use repeatedly when applying to multiple job ads.

A professionally written and structured cover letter which you can slightly tweak for different job applications is more effective than one hundred “original” cover letters.

The problem with most guides is they do not tell you a cover letter’s goal, which you need for context, and they do not give you step-by-step guidance. Below I will give you a simple template to follow, which you can use in every cover letter you ever write. There are no “hacks” or “tricks” in this guide, only proven practices for writing an effective cover letter which can get you to an interview.

Here’s your cover letter writing plan. Let’s start! 

• The goal of the cover letter
• Three short paragraphs
  • Paragraph 1 – Show your interest
  • Paragraph 2 – Show why you are a suitable candidate for this role
  • Paragraph 3 – Restate your interest
• Be accurate
• Templatize it
• Checklist
• Recap

The goal of the cover letter

A good cover letter and a good resume both increase your chances of being invited to a job interview or screening.

People think cover letters are outdated and completely redundant. But looking for a job is a step-by-step process, and part of those steps are determined by the employer. If the employer wants you to send a cover letter, you can’t avoid it, unless you want to be disqualified from the hiring process. It doesn’t really matter what reason the employer had to ask for a cover letter – they decide what criteria they want fulfilled by the job applicants. Forget about things being “fair” or making sense – as the candidate, you have no say in determining what the employer wants to see as part of your job application.

Some job seekers have outright stated that they won’t be applying for roles requiring cover letters. Some of their objections may have merit, but often what lies at the core of their complaints is that they just have no idea what the point is and even how to write a cover letter. However, if you really liked a certain role based on its job description, and that role requires a cover letter, there is no way to go around writing one.

To achieve your cover letter’s goal, it must take the attention of the reader to your resume and frame yourself and your experience in a positive way – to show it is in the interest of the employer to read your resume and consider your experience as a good fit for the role. A cover letter further explains why you are a good fit for the role and builds upon the drier experience information that your resume provides.

But how to find out what the interest of the employer is?

Do your research and find out!

Read the job ad thoroughly, look for news about the company, read the documents on the company’s website, and learn what their stated company values are. The accumulated knowledge will be the basis for your cover letter.

In this guide, you will find out exactly how to do all of this. I will give you examples and templates you can use by just filling in the specifics of your experience and of the job for which you are applying. The outlined structure makes writing your cover letter much easier and increases the chance that it will be carefully read and leave a good impression on whoever is reviewing it.

Three short paragraphs

Your cover letter only needs three short paragraphs. Longer than that makes it too tedious to read and doesn’t add any value. Remember, whoever is reading it likely must deal with hundreds of job applications, so we want to stay short and to the point.

Each paragraph has its own goal.

In the first paragraph, show your interest in the job you are applying for. Your interest must be in the aspects of the job described in the advertisement. Demonstrate that you read it carefully. It’s not that a very general cover letter never works, but it’s always more impressive to readers to add specifics showing that you carefully read their advertisement and that you’ve done your research on the employer and the role.

Tell them about how you learned about the role and the company – via their website, social media, news articles, or point to the person who introduced you to this information. A couple of sentences are sufficient for the first paragraph.

Example: “I’m interested in {role} for {reason}. What especially drove my interest was {a specific requirement/project/technology in the job ad} because of {state personal reason/previous experience}.”

In the second paragraph, explain why your experience is relevant for the advertised role and the company. This is the most important part of your cover letter.

Based on the research you did earlier, personalize it with specific examples from your job experience. Explain how exactly you will succeed in meeting the job requirements and how you are a good fit for the company’s stated values. When you do your research, use certain keywords you found and include them in your cover letter – for example specific technologies, company values, etc.

Example: “My experience matches precisely what you are looking for, as I am PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner certified and I’ve used scrum to successfully complete the projects I’ve led for my current employer. I’ve led up to six projects simultaneously with teams based in four different countries. In addition, I have a master’s degree in business administration.”

The above assumes they are looking for someone with an MBA with experience/certifications in project management, as well as the employer being a multinational corporation.

The main purpose of this paragraph is not to explain how you fit each and every one of the job requirements or to repeat word for word what you wrote in your resume. Instead, focus the readers’ attention on more subjective responsibilities of the work and a few key requirements. For example, if the job ad states you must also be involved in sales, you can write that when you held role X, you increased sales by 24% by doing Y. If it states that you need to have worked with a budget, give them specific numbers to demonstrate your experience.

Six or seven sentences are sufficient.

The third paragraph must simply reconfirm your interest in the role. If you have direct contact with the recruiter or hiring manager (phone, email), state that you will reach out and make sure you follow up on your promise. You do that in case they never reply to your application. Two sentences are sufficient.

Example: “I am looking forward to your call. As I know how busy you are, I will reach out for feedback if I don’t hear back from you in two weeks.”

OR

“It would be a pleasure to work for {company}. I am looking forward to hearing from you.”

By following the above guidance, you can write a short, concise, and effective cover letter.

This doesn’t mean to always follow the template blindly – it’s just a tool to help your writing. It’s completely fine to write “this is my dream job and I’m willing to relocate for the opportunity to take it” …if that’s the truth. But you must really mean it, otherwise the opposite will show during the interview, or at the latest – when you start in that role. And then you will disappoint the higher expectations that you created yourself.

Be accurate

Make sure you check for punctuation, grammar and technical errors. Make sure the full text makes sense. Send it to multiple friends and family to read and ask them specifically to look for mistakes and for things that don’t make sense. The fastest way to make a bad impression is to send a cover letter full of errors or not making sense.

Check if all the information matches your resume. You’d be surprised how often I’ve seen resumes and cover letters with mismatching email addresses, phones, or names of past roles and employers.

Templatize it

People convince themselves that cover letters need to be highly original, to have high literary qualities or that they require stellar writing skills. But the same way you don’t rewrite your whole resume for each new job application, you don’t need to be especially original with your cover letters. You don’t need to write “I’m interested in role X for reason Y.” in a hundred different ways. Once is sufficient.

Instead, just use what you have already written and edit the specifics for each job application. It’s usually a few dozen words you need to change. You’ll avoid writing mistakes and you’ll save a lot of time, but your cover letter will still look like it was tailored for that specific job ad – which leaves a good impression.

Checklist

Use this checklist to review all aspects of your cover letter.

• The whole text must be in the same font and font size – for example Times New Roman, size 11.
• ‘Justify’ the text in your text editing app.
• One empty space between each paragraph – makes it easier to read.
• The names of the role, employer, anyone else you are addressing, must be accurate. If terminology is used, make sure it’s accurate.
• Your data must be accurate – email, phone, names, past roles and employers, etc.
• No typos, grammatical or punctuation errors.
• Give it to a few close friends and family to read and specifically look for mistakes or things that don’t make sense.
• Save it and send it in .PDF format with a standard name like “John Smith Cover Letter”.

Recap

Writing a cover letter is not hard. With the right approach it’s easy, if you:

1. Are clear about its goal.
2. Use templates to make writing and editing easier.
3. Personalize it for the job ad and the employer.
4. Make sure there are no mistakes.

Do the above four things well, and your cover letter will make you stand out from all the generic or AI-slop cover letters.

If you put in extra effort, you will always stand out from all other candidates.

That is why I recommend sending cover letters even if they are not mandatory for your application. It certainly won’t hurt you, but it can give you a critical edge in your job search.