How to write a cover letter that gets interviews
What every good cover letter does, a paragraph-by-paragraph structure, a full example letter and how to tailor it fast.
By Will Bryant · Updated October 12, 2026
A good cover letter fits on one page and does three things: it gives a specific reason you want this job, proves you can do it with two examples matched to the posting, and shows you know something real about the employer. Close by asking for a conversation, and cut any line that could sit in someone else’s letter.
Do cover letters still matter?
The evidence is thinner than most advice admits, but it points one way. In one field test by a resume-writing company, applications with a tailored cover letter got callbacks 16.4% of the time, against 12.5% with a generic letter and 10.7% with none. The test sent 7,287 fictitious applications in 2019 and 2020 and hasn’t been peer reviewed, so treat it as one data point. In the same company’s survey of 236 hiring professionals, 87% said they read cover letters.
AI has changed what a letter signals. A 2025 study of an AI cover letter tool on a large online labor platform found the tool made letters match job posts more closely and raised callbacks, but once it was available, the link between a well-matched letter and a callback fell by 51%, and employers leaned more on applicants’ past work. The study is a preprint, not yet peer reviewed. A letter that only echoes the job ad is easy to produce now, so the specifics from your own work are what set yours apart.
In the UK, the careers service Prospects is blunt about it: ‘Applications should always include a cover letter unless the job advert advises you differently.’
The structure, paragraph by paragraph
MIT’s career office says a cover letter ‘should be no longer than one page’ and lays it out as an introduction, two or three body paragraphs and a closing. Each part has one job. The lines below are invented for illustration.
| Part | Its job | Weak | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greeting | Reach a person | ‘Hey team,’ | ‘Dear Ms. Grant,’ or, with no name to find, ‘Dear Hiring Manager,’ |
| Opening | Name the job and a specific reason | ‘I am writing to apply for the position advertised on your website.’ | ‘Your posting asks for a marketing manager who can grow member sign-ups without growing the budget, and that’s the work I’ve done for four years.’ |
| Proof 1 | Match the posting’s top requirement, with a result | ‘I am a results-driven professional with excellent communication skills.’ | ‘I rebuilt our email program around three member groups, and open rates rose from 18% to 31%.’ |
| Proof 2 | Match a second requirement | ‘I have extensive experience in many areas of marketing.’ | ‘I’ve presented our quarterly results to the board for two years, from a dashboard I rebuilt.’ |
| Why them | One real thing about the employer | ‘Your company is a leader in its industry.’ | ‘I was glad to read that you’re opening two branches next spring.’ |
| Close | Ask for the conversation | ‘I hope to hear from you soon.’ | ‘I’d welcome the chance to talk about how I could help you reach next year’s growth target.’ |
The three things every good cover letter does
1. It opens with something specific
Not ‘I am writing to apply’, which tells the reader nothing they don’t already know. Give a real reason you want this job, or a sharp line of proof. Three more openings, all invented:
- ‘Your posting mentions cutting onboarding time in half next year, and I did that for our support team in 2025.’
- ‘I’ve used your scheduling software for six years as a clinic manager, so I know how it feels on a busy Monday, and I’d like to help other clinics get more from it.’
- ‘After 11 years in hospital pharmacy, I’m applying for your medication safety analyst role because preventing errors is the part of the job I’ve always been best at.’
There are more in cover letter opening lines.
2. It proves you can do this job
Pick the two requirements the posting stresses most and write one short story for each: what the situation was, what you did, and what changed, with a number if you have a real one. MIT’s advice is to ‘Cite a couple of examples from your experience’ and to ‘Try not to simply repeat your resume in paragraph form’. Use the posting’s own words where they’re true of you, as you would on an ATS-friendly resume.
3. It shows you understand the employer
One genuine, specific thing, not flattery: a product you’ve used, a value they act on, a number they publish, or a plan they’ve announced. MIT suggests using the job description and the company’s website or LinkedIn page to find what the employer values.
A full example letter
This letter is invented for illustration, in US format.
Dear Ms. Grant,
Your posting asks for a marketing manager who can grow member sign-ups without growing the budget. That’s the work I’ve done for the past four years at a regional credit union, and I’d like to do it for your members next.
Last year I rebuilt our email program around three member groups: new graduates, young families and people nearing retirement. Open rates rose from 18% to 31%, and we opened 2,400 new checking accounts against a target of 1,500. I also moved a third of our paid search budget into partnerships with local employers, and our cost per new member fell by 28%.
Your posting also mentions reporting to the board. I’ve presented our quarterly results to our board for two years, from a dashboard I rebuilt so every campaign shows its cost, its sign-ups and how many of those members were still active six months later.
I was glad to read that you’re opening two branches next spring. New branches are where employer partnerships pay off fastest, and I’d like to help you fill yours from the first week.
I’d welcome the chance to talk about how I could help your team reach next year’s growth target. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Dana Whitfield
Why it works
- The first two sentences name the job, the posting’s main ask and the matching experience.
- Each middle paragraph answers one requirement from the posting, with a number.
- The ‘why them’ line is about the employer’s own plans, and it ties back to the applicant’s strongest skill.
Tailor it without starting from zero
Tailoring doesn’t mean a blank page each time.
- Keep a bank of six to eight short stories, each with a result, and note which skills each one proves.
- For each job, rewrite only three things: the opening, the two stories you pick to match the posting’s top requirements, and the ‘why them’ paragraph.
- Swap in the posting’s words wherever they’re true of you.
- Keep the format plain, one page, and send it as the file type the posting asks for.
From the founder
Next steps
- Draft it for one job: the free cover letter generator writes a one-page letter for a specific posting from the posting and your resume, using only facts you supply. The full letter arrives by email and as a Word document in your account, and you edit it and send it yourself.
- Changing careers? How to write a career change cover letter has eight sample letters by move.
- More on the craft: cover letter opening lines and what a good cover letter looks like.
- Get the resume to match: how to make an ATS-friendly resume.
Get a cover letter tailored to the role and company, ready to send. Free with a Standout account.
Write my cover letter, free →Common questions
They can. In one field test by a resume-writing company, applications with a tailored cover letter got callbacks 16.4% of the time, against 12.5% with a generic letter and 10.7% with none. It's a single study and not peer reviewed, but it suggests the tailoring matters more than simply sending a letter. If a posting asks for one, send one.
One page. MIT's career office says a cover letter should be no longer than one page, with an introduction, two or three body paragraphs and a closing, and the UK careers site Prospects suggests three to five concise paragraphs. The example letter in this guide runs to about 200 words. If yours spills past a page, cut the sentences that explain rather than prove.
A structure, yes; a fill-in-the-blanks template, no. A copied template reads as generic, and in the one field test we found, a generic letter barely beat sending none, with 12.5% callbacks against 10.7%. Use the paragraph structure in this guide, then write each letter fresh for the role.
For a role you really want, write a short one. In one field test by a resume-writing company, a tailored letter got 16.4% callbacks against 10.7% for no letter at all. An optional letter is also your chance to explain what a resume can't, such as a career change, a gap or a move to a new city.
The hiring manager, by name, if you can find it in the posting or on the company's website. If you can't, MIT's career office says to write 'Dear Hiring Manager'. For UK letters, Prospects advises signing off 'Yours sincerely' when you've used a name and 'Yours faithfully' after a general greeting.
For a first draft, yes, as long as you edit it properly. In a 2025 study of an AI cover letter tool on a large online job platform (a preprint, not yet peer reviewed), the time people spent editing the AI's drafts went along with more hiring success, though that's a correlation, not proof. Replace every general claim with a specific result from your own work, and read the letter aloud before you send it.
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