Cover letter examples
Cover Letter Examples: Samples by Job and Situation
Cover letter examples by job and situation, a basic template to copy and how to pair the letter with your resume.
Cover letter examples show how to structure a one-page letter for a specific job or situation: an opening that names the role, one or two paragraphs that connect your evidence to what the employer needs, and a short close. Choose the example nearest your situation and rewrite every detail with your own facts.
Start with the letter that matches your situation
Use the teaching or nursing example for an advertised role, or the company-application example when you are approaching an employer without a posted vacancy. The opening should name the opportunity; the middle should connect two relevant facts from your experience to it.
Do not copy a fictional achievement or leave a placeholder in the final letter. Check the employer and role names, the application instructions, your contact details and the matching resume before sending.
Artist Cover Letter Example: Galleries, Residencies and Commissions
An artist cover letter that explains why this gallery, residency or client fits your work and points to specific pieces.
Read the exampleBasic Cover Letter Template: A Simple Example You Can Adapt
A plain, one-page cover letter template with the five parts every letter needs and a note on what to change each time you use it.
Read the exampleCustomer Service Cover Letter Example: With or Without Experience
A customer service cover letter that describes one real customer situation instead of calling yourself a people person.
Read the exampleDigital Marketing Cover Letter Example: Campaigns and Results
A digital marketing cover letter built around one real campaign: the goal, the channel, what you measured and what changed.
Read the exampleCover Letter for Resume: Examples and How the Two Fit Together
A cover letter written to sit alongside your resume: it picks two facts from the resume and explains why they matter for this job.
Read the exampleGraphic Designer Cover Letter Example: Point to Your Portfolio
A graphic designer cover letter that sends the reader to two specific portfolio projects and explains the brief and your decisions.
Read the exampleSpeculative Cover Letter to a Company: Example and Structure
A letter to a company with no advertised vacancy, organised around one specific contribution instead of a general request for any available role.
Read the exampleTeacher Cover Letter: Structure and a Complete Example
A teacher cover letter that connects your subject, level and classroom practice to one named vacancy without inventing experience.
Read the exampleNurse Cover Letter With No Experience: Copyable Structure
A focused cover-letter example for a first nursing role, built from clinical evidence rather than generic claims about passion.
Read the exampleCover letter examples by situation
| Situation | What to focus on | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Advertised teaching role | Subjects, levels and one classroom example | Teacher cover letter |
| Healthcare with no experience | Clinical placements and supervised tasks | Nurse cover letter with no experience |
| No advertised vacancy | Why this company and what you could help with | Speculative cover letter |
| First job | Coursework, projects and part-time work as evidence | First-job cover letter |
| Internship | Availability, course requirements and one project | Internship cover letter |
| Any job, simple format | The five standard parts, one evidence paragraph | Basic cover letter template |
| Sending with your resume | Two resume facts and the context behind them | Cover letter for resume |
| Design and creative roles | Two portfolio projects and your role in them | Graphic designer cover letter, artist cover letter |
| Marketing | One campaign, the channel and the measured result | Digital marketing cover letter |
| Customer service | One real customer situation and your shifts | Customer service cover letter |
Cover letter format
- Your name and contact details, then the date and the employer's name.
- A greeting: the hiring manager's name if you know it, otherwise "Dear Hiring Team".
- Opening: the role you are applying for and one sentence on why you fit.
- Middle: one or two paragraphs, each connecting a requirement in the posting to something you did.
- Close: availability, a thank-you and how to reach you.
- Sign-off with your full name. Keep the whole letter to one page.
A basic cover letter template
Cover letter template (fictional placeholders)
Dear [Hiring manager's name or Hiring Team],
I am applying for the [Job title] role at [Company]. [One sentence on the evidence that makes you a fit].
In my [current role, course or project], I [task you did] for [who or what], which [result or what changed]. Your posting asks for [requirement]; this is the part of the work I would bring on day one.
I have also [second piece of evidence], which relates to [second requirement].
I am available from [date] and would welcome a conversation. Thank you for your time.
Kind regards, [Your Name] · [Phone] · [Email]
Cover letter for a resume: how the two work together
The resume lists what you did; the cover letter explains why two or three of those things matter for this particular job. The cover letter for resume example shows this in full. Do not repeat the resume line by line. Pick the evidence closest to the posting and add the context a bullet point cannot hold, such as why you are changing field or what you learned on a project.
Keep names, dates and job titles identical in both documents, and send them in the format the employer asks for. You can build both with matching designs in the cover letter builder and resume builder.
Mistakes that weaken a cover letter
- Opening with "I am writing to apply for…" and nothing specific after it.
- Leaving another company's name or a template placeholder in the final letter.
- Claiming a result, licence or qualification you cannot show.
- Writing more than one page or repeating the whole resume.
Cover letter questions
Do I need a cover letter if the job does not ask for one?
It is optional, but a short, specific letter helps when you are changing careers, applying without an advertised vacancy or explaining a gap. Skip it only if the application form has no place for one.
How do I address a cover letter if I do not know the name?
Use "Dear Hiring Team" or "Dear [Department] Team". Avoid "To whom it may concern" when a more specific greeting is possible.
Can I use the same cover letter for every application?
Reuse the structure, not the content. The role, the company and the evidence paragraph should change for each posting.
Can I use AI to write a cover letter?
AI can draft wording, but check every claim before sending. Remove any skill, number or experience the draft added that is not true for you.