How to Write a Cover Letter: Structure, Two Full Samples and When to Skip It
This guide is for anyone deciding whether to write a cover letter and, if so, what to put in it. It covers the situations where a letter helps and where it is wasted effort, a four-paragraph structure, two complete samples (one for an experienced applicant, one for a fresher), and how to turn the letter into a short email body when you are applying by email rather than through a portal.
When a cover letter is worth writing, and when it is not
A cover letter earns its place when it adds something the resume cannot say on its own: why you are moving, why this employer, how an unusual background fits, or which part of your experience matters most for this role. If all it would do is repeat your resume in sentences, it adds reading time without adding information.
| Situation | Write one? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The posting asks for a cover letter | Yes, always | Leaving it out signals you did not read the instructions |
| Applying by email to a person | Yes, as the email body | The email has to say something; make it the letter |
| Changing careers or returning after a gap | Yes | The resume shows what you did; the letter explains the link to what you want to do |
| Small company or startup with a named hiring manager | Usually yes | One person reads everything and a specific note gets noticed |
| Portal with an optional upload field | If you can make it specific | A generic letter adds nothing; a tailored one can help |
| Portal with no field for it, or a mass campus drive | No | Nobody will see it; spend the time tailoring the resume instead |
One honest note before you start: this site has a resume builder and an SOP builder, but no cover letter builder. Write your letter in a word processor or directly in your email. If you want it to match your resume, copy the same name and contact line at the top and use a similar font.
A four-paragraph structure that fits most letters
A cover letter for most jobs runs 250 to 400 words. That is enough for four short paragraphs, each with one job to do:
- Opening (2–3 sentences). Name the role, say where you saw it or who referred you, and state in one line why you are a fit. Do not start with your name; it is already in the signature.
- Evidence (4–6 sentences). Pick the one or two requirements in the posting that matter most and show, with a specific example, that you have done that work. This is the paragraph most letters get wrong by listing everything instead of proving one thing.
- Why this employer (2–3 sentences). Something specific you know about the company, team or product, and how it connects to what you want to do next. If you cannot find anything specific, keep this paragraph short rather than filling it with praise.
- Close (2 sentences). Practical details the reader needs (notice period, location, availability) and a plain line saying you would welcome a conversation.
Address it to a person whenever you can find one. "Dear Ms Rao" reads better than "Dear Sir/Madam", and "Respected Sir" sounds more like a school application than a job letter in most private-sector settings. If you cannot find a name, "Dear Hiring Manager" or "Dear Recruitment Team" is fine.
Sample: experienced applicant
This sample is for someone with about five years in operations applying for a supply-chain analyst role. All names and numbers are invented; replace them with your own.
Pune | +91 98XXX XXXXX | kavya.menon@email.com
6 October 2026
Dear Mr Deshpande,
I am applying for the Supply Chain Analyst role posted on your careers page. For the past five years I have run inbound logistics for a mid-sized FMCG distributor, and for the last two of those I have been the person who builds the reports our planning team uses to decide what to reorder and when.
Your posting asks for someone who can reduce stock-outs without increasing inventory. At my current company I noticed that our reorder points had not been reviewed since 2021. I rebuilt them in Excel using twelve months of sales data for our 400 fastest-moving items, and over the next two quarters stock-outs on those items fell from roughly 30 a month to under 10, while average stock held stayed about the same. I also set up a weekly dashboard in Power BI that the regional managers now use in their Monday review.
I am interested in your team specifically because you are moving to direct-to-retailer delivery in Maharashtra, which is the shift my current company made three years ago. I saw at first hand which planning problems that creates, and I would like to work on them with better tools and a larger network than we have.
My notice period is 60 days, and I am open to working from your Pune office. I would welcome the chance to talk about how I could help your planning team. My resume is attached.
Yours sincerely,
Kavya Menon
- The opening gives role, source and a one-line reason in two sentences.
- The evidence paragraph takes one requirement from the posting ("reduce stock-outs without increasing inventory") and answers it with a single story that has a before, an action and a result. The numbers are rough, which is fine as long as she can explain them in an interview; see how to quantify achievements if you are unsure how to estimate yours.
- The "why you" paragraph names a real business change at the employer and links it to her own experience. That is far more convincing than "I admire your company's values".
- The close gives the notice period, which Indian recruiters will ask about anyway, and does not mention salary. Leave expected CTC out of the letter unless the posting asks for it.
Sample: fresher or final-year student
Freshers often think they have nothing to put in the evidence paragraph. You do: a final-year project, an internship, a college society role, or something you built on your own. Choose the one closest to the job and describe what you actually did.
Ahmedabad | +91 97XXX XXXXX | arjun.patel@email.com
6 October 2026
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am applying for the Junior Accounts Executive position listed on Naukri. I completed my B.Com from Gujarat University this year with a CGPA of 8.1, and I am looking for a first role where I can work on day-to-day accounting and GST compliance.
During a three-month internship at a chartered accountancy firm in Ahmedabad, I prepared monthly GST returns for six small clients under the supervision of a senior associate, reconciled their purchase registers with the GSTR-2B data, and flagged mismatches before filing. I learnt Tally Prime there and now use it comfortably for voucher entry and ledger reports. For my final-year project I compared the working-capital cycles of three listed textile companies, which taught me to read balance sheets closely rather than just calculate ratios.
Your firm works mainly with manufacturing clients, which is the kind of accounting I enjoyed most during my internship, and the posting mentions training towards the CA Intermediate exams, which I plan to attempt next year.
I am available to join immediately and can travel to client sites within Gujarat. Thank you for considering my application; I would be glad to discuss it at a time that suits you.
Yours faithfully,
Arjun Patel
Notice what the fresher sample does not do: it does not apologise for lacking experience, and it does not claim to be a "quick learner". It shows learning instead ("I learnt Tally Prime there"). Use "Yours faithfully" when you do not know the reader's name and "Yours sincerely" when you do; "Regards" is fine in an email. For the resume that goes with this letter, see writing a resume for your first job.
Email-body cover letters vs attached letters
If you are emailing a recruiter or hiring manager directly, the email itself is the cover letter. Attaching a separate letter and writing "Please find attached my resume and cover letter" in the body means the reader has to open two files to learn what one short email could have told them.
Use a separate, formatted letter only when a portal has an upload field for it or the posting asks for one as an attachment. Otherwise cut the letter down to about 150 words and put it in the body:
Dear Mr Deshpande,
Rohan Iyer from your procurement team suggested I write to you about the Supply Chain Analyst opening.
I have spent five years in inbound logistics for an FMCG distributor. Last year I rebuilt our reorder points for 400 fast-moving items, and stock-outs on those items fell from about 30 a month to under 10 with no rise in average stock. I also built the weekly Power BI dashboard our regional managers use.
Your move to direct-to-retailer delivery is a shift I have worked through before, and I would like to help with it. My notice period is 60 days.
My resume is attached. Would you have 20 minutes for a call next week?
Regards,
Kavya Menon
+91 98XXX XXXXX
- Subject line: role name plus your name, and the referrer's name if there is one. Avoid subjects like "Resume" or "Job application".
- Attachment: name the file with your name and the role. If the recruiter is likely to upload your resume into their hiring software, send a PDF whose text can be selected and copied. The PDF from our resume builder is image-based, so keep a text-based copy for that purpose.
- Follow-up: if you hear nothing, the timing and wording are in our guide to following up after submitting your resume.
Mistakes that make a cover letter read as generic
The opening line
I am writing to express my keen interest in the post of Data Analyst in your esteemed organisation. I am a hardworking and dedicated individual.
I am applying for the Data Analyst role on your team. For two years I have built the weekly sales reports a 40-person sales team uses to set targets, and I would like to do that work at a larger scale.
"Esteemed organisation", "keen interest" and "hardworking" appear in so many letters that a reader skips them. The after version says what you do in the first two sentences.
- Retelling the whole resume. Pick one or two stories. The resume is attached for everything else.
- The wrong company name. If you reuse a letter, search it for the previous employer's name before sending. It happens more than people admit.
- Talking only about what you want. "This role will help me grow" is true but is about you. Pair it with what you bring.
- Explaining every negative. Mention a gap or a career change briefly and plainly if it needs context; do not spend a paragraph defending it. Our guide to explaining a career gap has short wording you can reuse.
- Going over one page. If it does not fit on one page at a normal font size, it is too long.
Key takeaways
- Write a cover letter when it adds something the resume cannot: a reason for a move, a referral, a link between an unusual background and the role.
- Use four short paragraphs: role and fit, one proven example, why this employer, practical details and a close.
- Prove one requirement from the posting with a specific story instead of listing every skill.
- When applying by email, the email body is the cover letter; keep it near 150 words.
- Leave out expected CTC unless asked, but do mention your notice period.
Put this into practice
- Tailoring the resume that goes with the letter? Read how to tailor your resume for each job.
- Need a plain layout that pairs well with a simple letter? Try the free Clean Professional template.
- For the wider application process, including targeting roles and handling rejection, see our career advice guide.
Frequently asked questions
Only if the posting explicitly asks for it. If it does, give a range for expected CTC in one line in the closing paragraph. Otherwise leave salary for the recruiter conversation, where you will have more information about the role. Our guide on salary negotiation emails covers how to talk about numbers once there is an offer.
You can reuse the structure and some sentences, especially the evidence paragraph if the roles are similar. Rewrite the opening and the "why this employer" paragraph every time; those are the parts a reader uses to judge whether you actually want this particular job.
Often yes, because a student resume is short and the letter is where you explain why you want that specific internship and what you have done that relates to it. Keep it shorter than a job letter, around 200 to 250 words. See how to write a resume for an internship for the resume side.
PDF, unless the employer asks for Word. A PDF keeps your layout the same on every device. Make sure the text in it can be selected and copied if you are uploading it to a job portal.