The cover letter, and when it matters

Ask ten recruiters whether they read cover letters and you will get a spread from "never" to "always, first". Both are true, in different places. The variation is not random, though, and knowing where you are tells you how much to invest.

Where they are read

• Small organisations, where the hiring manager reads applications directly. Very likely read.
• Roles where writing is part of the job. Read closely, and treated as a work sample.
• Public sector, education, non-profits, and anything with a formal application pack. Often scored explicitly against criteria.
• Any application where something needs explaining — a change of field, a gap, a relocation, an unusual pattern. Read, because the reader wants the explanation.
• High-volume corporate hiring through a portal, screened by a recruiter against a requirements list. Frequently not read at first pass, sometimes read before the screening call.

The practical rule: write one whenever it is optional but you have something specific to say, always when it is required or when the application needs an explanation, and keep it short everywhere. Because applications and interviews rely heavily on personal accounts, this link is relevant to understanding how reported evidence can be distorted.

What it is for

A cover letter is not a prose version of your résumé. If it repeats the résumé, it wastes the one chance you have to say something the structured document cannot hold. For additional job-search tools, CareerOneStop offers a broader reference point.

It does three jobs, and only these:

• Answers the question the reader will otherwise ask. Why this employer, why this move, why the gap, why the relocation.
• Connects your history to their specific problem, in a way a bullet list cannot.
• Demonstrates that you can write a clear paragraph, which is a genuine differentiator in most fields.

A structure that works

Four paragraphs, under 350 words, on one page with room to spare.

Opening — why this role, specifically

Not "I am writing to apply for", which the reader can see. Open with the specific reason this posting and this organisation. One or two sentences, drawn from research.

The case — the strongest relevant evidence

One paragraph, one or two examples, chosen for this role rather than for general impressiveness. This is where you make the argument that the résumé only implies.

The explanation — if one is needed

The gap, the change of direction, the fact that you are applying from another region. Plain, forward-facing, two sentences. If nothing needs explaining, cut this paragraph rather than inventing something.

Close — practical and brief

Availability, notice period, willingness to travel or relocate if relevant. No pleading, no "I look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate my passion".

Openings, compared

• Dead: "I am writing to express my strong interest in the Operations Coordinator position advertised on your website."
• Dead: "As a passionate and dedicated professional with over ten years of experience..."
• Alive: "You are opening the second facility in the autumn and this role sits across both. I ran the first six months of a two-site operation in 2022, including the part where the second site had no permanent supervisor."

The third opening works because it is about their situation and it could not have been sent to anyone else.

Common failures

• Addressed to "Dear Sir or Madam" when the hiring manager is named in the posting or findable in ninety seconds.
• The wrong company name, which happens more often than you would believe and ends the application immediately.
• A paragraph about what the job would do for you. The reader is solving their problem, not yours.
• Adjective stacking. "Highly motivated, detail-oriented, results-driven" is three words the reader has stopped seeing.
• Explaining a gap or a dismissal in more detail than asked for. Two sentences is closure; two paragraphs is a wound.

The email version

When applying by email with the résumé attached, the email body is the cover letter. Do not attach a separate letter and write "please see attached" in the body — that is two documents where one would do, and the body is the one that gets read on a phone.

Same structure, tighter: three short paragraphs, a subject line with the role title and your name, and the résumé attached as a PDF with your name in the filename.