How to write a cover letter with specific examples

Most cover letters fail in the same way: they could have been sent to any employer. The writer says they are a hard worker and a good communicator, and the reader learns nothing they did not already assume. A specific letter is not longer or cleverer. It simply contains a few facts that only this applicant, for this job, could write. This guide shows how to find those facts, how to check them, and how to adapt the same material when the message is not a formal application at all.

What a cover letter can and cannot do

The UK National Careers Service describes a cover letter as something that introduces you to an employer and asks them to think about your application, and says it is a short letter, usually 3 to 5 paragraphs long. That is a modest job description, and it is the right one. A cover letter cannot replace a weak CV, and it cannot guarantee an interview. What it can do is connect the two sides: it says which job you mean, why your experience is relevant to it, and how to reach you.

Two cautions before we begin. First, advice on cover letters differs between countries and industries. The National Careers Service is a UK source, and some of its conventions, such as "Yours sincerely" and "Yours faithfully", are British. In other countries a shorter, less formal message may be normal, and some employers do not read cover letters at all. Always follow the instructions in the advert. Second, nothing here promises a reply. A well-written letter improves the clarity of your application. It does not control what the employer decides.

Read the advert for evidence, not for keywords

Start by splitting the advert into four lists: what the job does day to day, what is required, what is "desirable", and what the employer says about itself. Then write down, next to each required item, one thing you have actually done that shows it. If you cannot write anything next to an item, that is useful information, and we come back to it below.

The National Careers Service advises you to match the keywords used by the employer in the advert and to show that you have researched the company, through its website, recent news or people you know who work there. Treat both as a way of being relevant, not a trick. Copying the advert's phrases back to the employer without evidence adds nothing. Using the employer's words for the things you really did is simply clear.

Choose two or three examples, not ten

A cover letter has room for two or three pieces of evidence. Choose the ones that match the most important requirements, and that you can describe in a few sentences without exaggerating. The National Careers Service recommends backing up statements with facts and using the STAR method, which stands for situation, task, action and result. In a letter you will usually compress it to two or three sentences: what the situation was, what you did, and what changed.

Compare these two versions of the same idea. The first is generic: "I am an excellent communicator and team player." The second is specific, and it is a fictional example: "In my previous role I ran the weekly handover for a six-person team and kept a shared log of unresolved customer requests, so that nobody had to ask twice." The second tells the reader what you did, how often, for whom and why. It also invites a follow-up question, which is exactly what you want in an interview.

A simple structure that works

There is no mandatory structure, but this one covers what the National Careers Service describes and suits most applications:

1. Opening. Say which job you are applying for, and where you saw it. If you are writing to ask about openings and not applying to a vacancy, say what kind of work you are looking for.
2. The match. One or two paragraphs with your chosen examples, each tied to a requirement in the advert.
3. Why this employer. One or two sentences that show you looked at what they do. Be accurate; a vague compliment is worse than none.
4. Closing. Thank them for considering your application, point to your CV for details, and say how to contact you. Check that your contact details are the same on the letter and the CV.

Address the letter to a named person if you can find one. The National Careers Service suggests checking the company website for the head of the department, the head of human resources or a recruitment manager. If you cannot find a name, "Dear Sir or Madam" is acceptable in a UK setting, with "Yours faithfully" at the end.

Writing about results without overclaiming

Evidence is only useful if the reader can trust it. Three habits protect you.

• Say what you did, not what the team did. "I wrote the monthly report" is different from "the team produced the monthly report". If it was shared work, say so and say your part.
• Give numbers only when you have them. A figure you can source, such as a time saved or a number of customers, helps. An invented or rounded-up figure is a risk, because an interviewer may ask how you measured it.
• Do not claim a cause you cannot show. If sales rose after you changed the process, you can say that they rose after the change. You cannot always say that your change caused it.

The same rule covers personal details. The National Careers Service advises against putting your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality on a CV. Rules about what an employer may ask differ between countries, so check the local guidance and include only what the application needs.

Worked example: matching a letter to an advert

The numbers below are invented to show the method. A fictional advert for an operations coordinator lists five requirements. The applicant has credible evidence for three of them.

Three of five requirements are supported: 3 / 5 x 100 = 60 per cent. This is only a count. It is not a score that any employer or software computes, and it is not a prediction. The requirements are not equally important, and an employer may weigh budget ownership far more heavily than the other four. What the table does is stop you from spending a paragraph on a requirement you cannot support and leaving out one you can.

Notice what the applicant did with the two gaps. They did not invent budget experience. They kept the letter to what is true and put their effort into the three examples that are strong. If a gap matters a great deal for the job, it is better to meet it openly than to hope nobody notices.

One message does not fit every situation

An application letter, a referral request, a note to a recruiter, a thank-you after an interview and an introduction to someone you would like to meet all do different jobs. They differ in length, in how much you ask, and in how you treat the reader's time.

• A formal application can use the full structure above.
• A referral request should be short, make it easy to say no, and give the person enough information to forward you without extra work.
• A message to a recruiter needs the role you want, two facts that show you fit, and your availability. Do not paste a full letter.
• A follow-up after an interview thanks the person, refers to one thing you discussed, and adds a useful fact if you have one.
• A networking introduction says who you are, why you are writing to this person and what small thing you are asking for.

If you use the same wording for all five, the reader notices. Keep your examples consistent, because they are true, and change the framing to fit the request.

Editing checklist before you send

• Does every claim have a fact or an example behind it?
• Is the job title, employer name and the recruiter's name spelled correctly?
• Is there any sentence that could appear unchanged in a letter to another employer? If so, rewrite it or delete it.
• Do the dates, numbers and job titles match your CV?
• Is the font the same as your CV, as the National Careers Service suggests, and is the length within what the advert asks?
• Did you read it aloud once, and have someone else check the spelling and grammar?
• Did you keep a copy? The employer may ask about it in an interview.

Tool that fits

The Application Letter Lab (EUR 12, paid once) is a set of 24 original templates: 8 application letters, 4 referral requests, 4 recruiter messages, 4 post-interview follow-ups and 4 networking introductions. Each comes as an editable Word file, a PDF preview and a plain-text copy, with a notes page on what to personalise and what to remove before sending, and placeholders in brackets that are highlighted in the Word files. An 8-page writing guide and ten fictional filled-in examples are included. The templates are starting points: they do not promise a reply, an interview or a job.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. UK National Careers Service, How to write a cover letter
2. UK National Careers Service, How to write a CV (STAR method, what to leave out)
3. HiddenWay worked example: our own arithmetic, with invented requirements

We checked each source on 17 October 2026. If a fact here is out of date, tell us at hello@hiddenway.info.

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