A cover letter should explain, in three or four short paragraphs, why your experience matters for this specific job — not repeat what your CV already says. Aim for 200 to 350 words on one page, and write a new one for each application, since a generic letter is transparently generic.
What it is for
Your CV answers “what has this person done”. The letter answers “why does that matter here, and why this company”. It is also the only place to address something that needs context: a career change, a relocation, a gap, or an unusual jump in seniority.
The structure
Paragraph 1: why you are writing, with a hook
Name the role and give one concrete reason you are a strong fit. Do not open with “I am writing to apply for the position advertised on your website”, which spends a sentence saying nothing.
“I’ve spent four years making payment systems faster, most recently cutting settlement latency by 40% at a marketplace handling two million transactions a day. Your platform engineering role looks like the same problem at a larger scale.”
Paragraph 2: your strongest relevant proof
One achievement, told properly. Not a list — the CV is the list. Pick the single thing closest to what the advert emphasises and give it two or three sentences: the situation, what you did, what changed.
Paragraph 3: why this company
The paragraph that separates a real letter from a template. Reference something specific: a product decision, a market they have entered, something in their engineering blog, the way the role is scoped. One accurate sentence here beats a paragraph of flattery.
If you cannot write this paragraph, you have not researched the company enough to interview well either.
Paragraph 4: close
Short and direct. “I’d welcome the chance to talk about how this would work in practice. I’m available for a call any afternoon this week.” No pleading, no thanking them three times.
Worked example
Dear Hiring Team,
I’ve spent four years making payment systems faster, most recently cutting settlement latency by 40% at a marketplace handling two million transactions a day. Your platform engineering role looks like the same problem at a larger scale, which is why I’m writing.
The latency work is the part I’d point to. Our reconciliation service was taking eleven minutes to close a batch, which meant merchants saw yesterday’s money. I rebuilt the pipeline around incremental settlement and moved the heavy joins into a read replica, bringing it to under four minutes. It has run since without a manual intervention.
What draws me to your team specifically is the decision to keep ledger logic in-house rather than outsourcing to a provider. Having watched a previous employer take the other route and spend two years unwinding it, I would rather work somewhere that made the harder call early.
I’d welcome the chance to talk it through. I’m available for a call any afternoon this week.
Yours sincerely,
Ayesha Khan
Lines to cut
- “I am writing to apply for the position of…”
- “I believe I would be a great asset to your team”
- “As you can see from my attached CV…”
- “I am a hard-working individual with excellent communication skills”
- “Thank you for taking the time to consider my application” — one closing line is enough
Formatting
Match the letter’s font and header to your CV so they read as one document. Send as PDF unless asked otherwise. If the application is an email body rather than an attachment, use the same text without the address block.
For the CV that goes with it, start with the free CV maker guide.
Build your CV free — ten ATS-safe templates, an instant quality score, and a PDF or Word download. No account needed, and your CV stays in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need a cover letter in 2026?
When there is a field for it, yes. Many recruiters do not read every one, but a good letter is decisive when two candidates look similar on paper, and a missing one is occasionally treated as a lack of interest.
How long should a cover letter be?
Three or four short paragraphs, roughly 200 to 350 words, on a single page. Nobody has ever complained that a cover letter was too short.
Should a cover letter repeat my CV?
No. The CV lists what you have done. The letter explains why those things matter for this specific job, and covers anything that needs context, such as a career change or a relocation.
What if I do not know the hiring manager’s name?
‘Dear Hiring Team’ is fine. Avoid ‘To Whom It May Concern’, which reads as a form letter. A minute on LinkedIn often turns up the right name.