Cover Letter Templates and Examples

Cover letter templates and examples

A cover letter is a one-page letter sent with your CV (résumé) that explains why you want this specific job and why you can do it. A strong one runs 250 to 400 words in four paragraphs, and every sentence connects your experience to the employer’s needs.

4 paragraphs

in every strong cover letter

250 to 400

words is the target length

1 page

and never more

3 candidates

in the full example below

One letter, three candidates

The four-paragraph structure holds for everyone. What changes is the evidence in paragraph two. Choose a candidate to see the same job applied for from three starting points.

Daniel Oseidaniel.osei@email.com · 07700 900456 3 June 2026 Dear Ms Chen,

I’m applying for the Marketing Coordinator role advertised on LinkedIn. In three years at Fresh Pantry I’ve run campaigns for six product launches, and I’d like to bring that experience to Brightwell. Most recently I led the launch of our oat-milk range, coordinating design, social and retail teams. The campaign reached 1.2 million people and sold out its first production run in four weeks. I also rebuilt our email newsletter, lifting open rates from 18% to 31%. Brightwell’s move into plant-based snacks is exactly the kind of launch I enjoy most, and your focus on local farms fits the stories I like to tell. Thank you for considering my application. I’d welcome the chance to discuss how I could help with your autumn launches.

Yours sincerely,
Daniel Osei

Role: Marketing Coordinator, Brightwell Foods

Name the role and your headlineYears of experience and the single most relevant fact.Two results with numbersReach, sales, percentages: proof, not adjectives.Show you know themOne detail from their news or products.Ask for the conversationA clear, confident request for an interview.

How to write a cover letter that gets interviews →

Five ways to open

The first sentence decides whether the reader keeps going. Each opener below names the role and gives a reason to read on; choose the one that matches your strongest card.

Opener	Example	Best when
The headline	“In three years at Fresh Pantry I’ve run campaigns for six product launches.”	You have directly relevant experience.
The referral	“Sara Ahmed in your design team suggested I apply for this role.”	Someone at the company knows you.
The result	“Last year my campaign sold out a product’s first run in four weeks.”	One achievement is unusually strong.
The customer	“I’ve bought Brightwell oat bars every week since university.”	You genuinely know their product.
The change	“After six years teaching English, I’m bringing my writing skills to marketing.”	You are moving between fields.

The achievement formula

Paragraph two persuades through evidence. Build each achievement from three parts: an action verb, the result it produced, and a number that shows scale. Pick a field to see the formula filled in.

Action verb Led

What you worked on a product launch campaign

Result with a number reaching 1.2 million people

“Led a product launch campaign, reaching 1.2 million people.”

An action verb is a word that names something you did (led, built, reduced). Starting with it puts you in charge of the sentence.

Cover letter examples for every industry →

Matching the job advert

Before you write, mark the three requirements the advert repeats or puts first. Your second paragraph should give one piece of evidence for each, in the same order.

The advert asks for	Your evidence
Campaign planning	Planned six product launches in three years at Fresh Pantry
Working with data	Ran the oat-milk campaign that reached 1.2 million people and sold out in four weeks
Clear writing	Rebuilt the email newsletter, lifting open rates from 18% to 31%

Use the advert’s own words where they are true for you. Many employers scan for them first.

Closing when you are changing careers

If you are moving into a new field, the closing paragraph is where you connect your past work to the new role in one line, so the reader ends on why you fit, not on what you lack. More examples are in cover letters for a career change.

“Eight years of teaching taught me to explain complex ideas to people who are short of time, which is exactly what your onboarding team does. I’d welcome the chance to show you how.”

Before you send

Addressed to a named person, spelled correctly
The company name is right everywhere
The job title matches the advert exactly
Saved as a PDF named with your full name
Read aloud once, start to finish

Guides on cover letters

4 guides · newest first

Cover Letter Templates for Career Change10+ career change cover letter templates covering tech to marketing, teacher to trainer, military to civilian, finance to nonprofit, and more industry transitions.Apr 14, 2026 · 19 min read

Cover Letter for Students with No ExperienceEntry-level cover letter templates for students and recent graduates with four-part framework, language patterns, and ways to frame coursework as real experience.Apr 3, 2026 · 13 min read

How to Write a Cover Letter That Gets Interviews in 2026Write a cover letter recruiters actually read. Four-paragraph structure, opener formulas, real examples from tech, finance, nonprofit, and academia.Apr 3, 2026 · 15 min read

Cover Letter Examples for Every IndustryIndustry-specific cover letter templates for technology, healthcare, finance, marketing, education, and more. 12 ready-to-use examples with ATS optimization tips.Apr 3, 2026 · 23 min read