Most cover letters open with “I am writing to apply for…” and restate the CV. A good one does something the CV cannot: it shows you understand this specific role, and gives one reason to believe you can do it.
Open with a hook, not a formality
Skip the throat-clearing. Start with something true and specific about the company or the role, and why it pulls you. One genuine sentence beats a paragraph of template.
A simple structure
- Why this company: show you actually know who they are.
- Why you: one or two proof points that match what they need.
- Close: a confident line about fit and a clear next step.
Mirror their words, keep it short
Use the language from the job ad where it is honest to do so; it shows you read it and helps with any screening. Then stop. Under a page, always.
Example opening
“I have recommended your budgeting app to three friends who are bad with money, and it stuck every time. That is rare, and it is exactly the kind of product I want to help build. I have spent four years making complex tools feel simple, most recently…”
Common mistakes
- Restating the CV in prose. Add something it cannot say.
- One letter for every job. Generic reads as generic.
- Going over a page. Nobody reads the second one.